Laundry advice needed!

[buxxxom]

Arrrgh! Anyone know how to get red crayon out of an entire load of clothes? I discovered that a crayon had been in a load while it cycled through the washer and dryer. Now, a whole load of my kids clothes are splotched with red crayon, and the inside of my dryer is pink. I'm scared to do anything that might make it worse, like setting it in, but I'm wondering if I should just toss the clothes (new, BTS clothes ) and concentrate on the inside of the dryer to avoid transferring the crayon to subsequent loads. I'll google for help, but any here would be appreciated as well.

Thanks.

 

[Beauty_Beast]

Ouch ! As I recall I had the same problem quite a few years ago when my kids were much younger...( although not quite as dramatic as your problem)
However toothpaste solved the problem...Place in affected area's and leave overnight. ( it should absorb the colouring ) then scrape off before washing again.

 

[esorm66]

Now that the clothes went through the dryer, you might be a bit screwed as the crayon has probably hardened and set. Before you do anything though, you have to get any remaining crayon residue out of your washer. They always recommend running bleach through your washer with no clothes in it as a matter of cleaning it.

 

[buxxxom]

Thanks! Crayola's website has mentioned WD40 as a solvent, then washing them in hot water with bleach. Eye makeup remover has, strangely enough, been effective in removing most of the stains from the inside of the dryer!

Thanks for the replies, guys.

 

[Cathleen]

I think you can use an iron and paper bag to get the crayon out of the clothes - it's wax and I've removed candle wax on table clothes etc with good success.

Glad to know about the toothpaste too.

 

[cele2flowers]

Thanks for this thread! I've been trying to find a way to get crayon off of my couches. Apparently someone left my niece unattended in my house (while I was vacationing) at the age of 3 or 4 with crayons and she proceeded to use my couch and loveseat for a coloring book!!!

 

[simplegirl]

I know orange oil is good on wax-based and oil-based substances.

Also, if color is staying stained, a good, cheap, all around stain remover is good ol' plain boiling water. Stretch the garment with the stain over a container. Take boiling water and pour slowly from an elevated position, onto the stain (the container will catch the water pouring through the garment). BE CAREFUL YOU DON'T BURN YOURSELF WITH SPLASHING WATER. For most stains, even old ones, it'll knock them right out.

 

[Snowman5933]

My SO dug this up:

Introduction

It is very frustrating to open a dryer full of fresh laundry and discover that there's melted crayon soaked into several articles of clothing. The stains almost seem to mock you with the challenge of removing them. Don't despair. Armed with the right equipment and a little know how, those colorful streaks of wax will soon be history.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You'll Need

Bleach for colored clothing
Car part lubricant
Paper towels
Liquid dishwashing detergent
Laundry detergent

Steps

Step One
Examine all articles of clothing from the offending batch of laundry. You will want to remove the crayon from all pieces of clothing at one time. It's going to be tedious and time consuming, but it's definitely a process worth going through.

Step Two
Lay the stained area of clothing on several paper towels. Four or five paper towels should do the trick. Try not to have any layers of material under the stain or you may end up with more mess than you bargained for.

Step Three
Spray the stains with a car part lubricant. Let it sit for a few minutes. Flip the clothing over and spray on the opposite side. Let the fabric sit for a few minutes more.

Step Four
Pour a little liquid dishwashing detergent onto the stained area. Gently rub the detergent into the stain. The wax will work it's way onto the paper towels. Replace the towels as needed. Continue to work detergent into the stain until all of the crayon is removed.

Step Five
Wash the clothing with laundry detergent and color-safe bleach. Use a hot water cycle for 15 minutes or on the heavy load option. Rinse the clothing in warm water.

Step Six
Verify that the stain(s) have been completely removed. If there's still crayon residue on the clothing, repeat steps above.

Step Seven
Clean the drum of your dryer before drying any more clothing in it. If you fail to clean the drum, you'll likely end up with crayon marks on your clothing again. After cleaning the dryer, dry your garments as usual.

Tips & Warnings
Always check pockets before putting anything into the washer.
You may need to re-wash the clothing several times, after the stain is removed, to remove the smell of the car part lubricant.


**********Hope This Helps************

Snowman

 

[buxxxom]

Thanks, guys. Finally got the inside of the dryer cleaned, using eye makeup remover, of all things. Still working on the garments. Youngest kid picked up dirty clothes off the floor, and scooped up a crayon in the process. Oldest kid, who was trying to earn extra allowance, transferred clothes and crayon to washer and dryer. Lessons on room cleaning and laundry are definitely in order here.