White Cotton
Tuesday, November 30th, 2010How do I get beeswax of a white cotton flannel housecoat?
It doesn't crack off, it's gummier than paraffin. (And don't tell me what an idiot I was to be working with melted beeswax in a white cotton flannel housecoat. I became aware of that instantly when it splashed!)
Never thought I'd have to define beeswax! It's a natural material made by bees which they form into honeycombs. It is, in effect, the natural container for honey. It is made into candles, which is how I got it on my housecoat. I was trying to clean some old candle holders that had pools of beeswax on them by placing them in boiling water. I dropped one, and splashed the melted beeswax on me. That I should have been wearing an apron is obvious, I suppose.
By the way, ironing it with brown paper only works partly; I also ironed the rest into the fabric of the housecoat. I will use Borax in my wash, but I'm still looking for how to get the remainder of it out.
"Removal of Wax"
http://www.finishing.com/100/79.shtml
"It sounds like you'd prefer to emulsify the wax in hot water. Beeswax can form an emulsifier system with Borax, and the beeswax/borax solution may partition into hot water without any scrubbing action. Other detergents/Surfactants may be required to augment this action. Several baths may be required to affect 100% removal. It may help to use a solvent as well.
An off-the-shelf approach would be to try strong industrial de-greasing preparations.
Another approach that has been used is to immerse the parts in very hot light mineral oil before cleaning. The mineral oil will diffuse into the beeswax, and the mineral oil/beeswax mixture will have a lower melt point and clean off surfaces more easily than the straight beeswax will.
Something to remember is that beeswax and beeswax/oil mixtures float on top of water. Simply immersing your parts in boiling water and siphoning off the beeswax that floats to the surface will eventually remove all but a thin film of wax."