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How to Get Melted Crayon Out of Clothes

How to Get Melted Crayon Out of Clothes
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How to Get Crayon Out of Clothes

In all my years of parenting (closing in on seven, which I realize still leaves me at Amateur Level), I have only had one “crayon in the dryer” episode. It happened last weekend, and it was ugly.

Crayon in Dryer

Oh course, I had no idea there was a bright red crayon in the dryer with my white laundry. So when I opened the dryer and started pulling out one red-splattered towel after another, the first emotion I felt was SHOCK. What had climbed into my dryer, died a painful death, and spread its remains all over my clothing?! 

Because honestly, it looked like a crime scene. So, the second emotion I felt was RELIEF, because I quickly realized nothing had died. In fact, for a brief moment, I though Claire had snuck a tube of red lipstick in with the laundry(why do I even have red lipstick?! Don’t I know I will never, ever wear it?!). 

LaundryIt didn’t take long to find the empty red crayon wrapper though. At that point, I figured all was pretty much lost and I could kiss my pretty white towels goodbye.

BUT ALL IS NOT LOST!

How to Get Crayon Out of Clothes

Because The Internet, you guys.

Here’s the thing, though. The internet is full of suggestions for everything. And most of the methods I found for getting melted crayons out of clothing involved Borax or Other Things I Don’t Own.

Also? I was pretty confident this wasn’t going to work anyway, so…it didn’t really matter what method I went with, I’d still be turning these towels and socks and t-shirts into rags. So with that positive outlook, I chose the easiest method I could find, substituted the ingredients I didn’t have for things I did have, and gave it a go. 

You guys. IT WORKED.

White SocksMost of the crayon was out after the first wash. The pictures you see are after three washes, which is what it took to get almost everything clean. Only a couple of items ended up being relegated to play clothes because for whatever reason, the crayon just wouldn’t come off.

But most of the load? Good as new. And I am talking white laundry and red crayons, y’all.

Laundry

how to get crayon out of clothesHere’s what I did:

Soak everything in hot water for 15 minutes.

Add detergent, several tablespoons of Blue Dawn, and about half a cup of vinegar. I don’t think it matters what kind of vinegar, but I just used the cheap one I had under the kitchen sink.

Make sure all of the laundry is submerged (I used a wooden spoon to push it all down and make sure it ALL got wet).

Let the load finish.

And if necessary…rinse, repeat.

Crayon LaundryA note about using Blue Dawn in your washing machine: this stuff is *super* concentrated, and if you have soft water, it will turn into a gazillion suds. So go easy on this if you’re not sure how your washing machine is going to treat it.

And one more note…I have a regular washing machine (not a low-water, energy efficient machine). I’m not sure if that matters or not, but you’ll definitely want to make sure there’s enough water to cover all of the laundry while it’s soaking.

Wash again (and again) if necessary, but I think you’ll find that most of your laundry is back to (mostly) normal.

And if the crayon doesn’t come out? Well. At least you’ll remember to check for crayons next time you throw a load in the dryer. 😉

Find me on Facebook for healthy recipes, free printables, super simple kid-friendly crafts, and things to do in Dallas. I’d love to have you join me over there.

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A rusty orange and a purple crayon got into the load today…I though the stains were just my sons sweater being owned by a 6 year old. But as I pulled out one piece of clothing after another boooooy was I mistaken. I had just had the marker in the pocket talk with him not even a month ago so I thought I was dreaming 😭😭 The crayon was EVERYWHERE!!! We have a front loader washer, so I soaked the clothes in the tub before putting them up. After the first wash they looked ALOT better but they will definitely need another wash. I’m going to say another prayer..cross all my fingers and toes and put them back up for round 2!!! Wish me luck ladies!! Thank you❤❤❤

Girl…you just saved me. A blue crayon was left in the pocket of one of my kid’s articles of clothing (although both claim they don’t use crayons, haha) and just about ruined an entire load. A hot soak, vinegar/detergent/dawn and a load later we were good to go! Thank you!

This is probably a silly question, but when you do the wash/rinse after soaking is that done with hot water as well?! I’m so paranoid about shrinking clothes!

Just curious how you got the crayon off the drier? We are running a crayon load through the washer as we speak. I soaked them in the sink first because my washing machine is a front loader.

Mr. Clean Magic Marker worked wonders on getting it off of the dryer (after scraping off as much as possible). It did not clean the stain off of the dryer, but cleaned off anything that could come off – so no more got on any future clothes.

Yes yes yes! You saved me! Thank you! ♥️

After soaking , if I were to wash the clothes in the hot water with the vinegar and dish soap, wouldn’t the colors run? We got orange crayon on white and colored clothing.

It WORKED!!!!!!! Thank you!!!!

Thank you for this! Hoping it works! It’s the second week my young artist has hidden crayons in his school pockets-Whole load of White polos and light khakis have a abstract multicolor splatter 😱 🤦🏽‍♀️

Would this work for colored clothes as well?

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!! This saved an entire load of my kids clothes that had 4 crayons in it! I am so thankful!

Thank you!! Soaking the clothes right now as I type this. Pulled a load out of the dryer and everything was streaked with red. Crayon in a pocket. Ugh! Quick google search led me to you. Thank you for sharing! Praying it works!

It worked for some but not all, unfortunately. Even after three cycles :’( May depend on the fabric? Anyway, thank you for sharing again! It partly worked!

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