Stains, stains go away; do not return another day!

Q: I have two questions. First, how do I clean red candle wax from a beige carpet? Second, how do I clean the wall paint from a hardwood floor? Thanks! — Mimi S., Santa Fe, N.M.

A: For your first question, grab a butter knife or small putty knife and carefully scrape away as much of the excess wax from the carpet as possible. Be careful not to dislodge or tear the carpet fibers; if a particular glob of wax is too difficult, just leave it for now.

“Next, plug in a clothes iron and turn it to its LOWEST setting. This is extremely important — nylon carpet fibers will melt if the temperature is too high, making the stain many times worse (and requiring replacement of that piece of carpet). In fact, you may want to test the iron on a hard-to-see part of the carpet first.

“Take two or three paper towels and layer them on top of the candle-wax stain. Gently iron over the towels (turn off the steam setting), checking the stain after each pass. Replace the towels as needed and keep ironing. The warmth should melt the candle wax, and the towels should soak it up. You may need to repeat several times, being careful not to scorch the carpet.

“Now, to your second question. Latex paint can often be scraped up with a putty knife. Carefully ease the knife under the edge of the paint stain, moving in the same direction as the wood grain, and push the paint up and away.

Paint that has set into the wood or that will not scrape up can be loosened by dabbing on acetone (nail polish remover) with a soft cloth, allowing that to sit for a minute, then rubbing to remove the stain.

“When all else fails, steel wool or sandpaper and a liberal dose of elbow grease can get out deep-set stains.

“A quick note: If you are dealing with a stain on laminate, rather than hardwood, do not scrape or sand the stain, and do not use acetone or other solvents.

“Check with the laminate manufacturer for advice on getting the stain up.