Romantic moments may be marred by having lighted candles too close to your bed. If you dodged the fire danger, but spilled wax on your grandmother’s quilt or pricy down comforter, take action right away. Consider what your bed covers are made of before taking final steps to get candle dye out. First address the wax with a few easy steps.

Place a few ice cubes in a baggie or towel and place this over the wax so that it hardens, allowing you to pick or scrape off as much as possible with a table knife. If it’s all gone, you’re done. However, there will probably be some wax residue soaked into the fabric of your quilt or comforter.

To work on that waxy spot, grab an iron and a brown paper bag. If you can’t find a bag, an old washcloth or rag will work. Before you turn on that iron, it’s important to know what type of fabric your bed clothes are made from. Look for a care label to see if you have a natural fabric, such as cotton, linen or silk, or a synthetic fabric, such as polyester, acetate or rayon. This will determine the setting for the iron. If your bedspread is cotton or linen, use a hot iron. But, if it’s silk, or one of the synthetics, use a warm iron. Place the paper bag over the waxy spot, and run the iron back and forth over the bag to absorb the wax. Pick up the paper (or cloth) and place a clean spot over the wax and repeat running the iron over the spot until all wax is absorbed.

By now you may have removed all the wax, but still have some remaining dye from the candle. If this is the case, Linda Cobb, author of Talking Dirty with the Queen of Clean, says to use 3 percent hydrogen peroxide applied with a spoon to erase the dye. Spoon on the peroxide and let it soak for about 15 minutes. Then, use plain water and dab at it to remove the color residue. Test this on an inconspicuous place first to be sure the dye doesn’t run. However, if you have an expensive quilt or comforter, consider taking it to a professional dry cleaner.