Melted Crayon in the Clothes Dryer!

Updated on July 28, 2008
D.M. asks from Mountain View, CA
15 answers

I opened the dryer to take out the clothes and found the entire load covered with swatches of orange. The inside of the washer looks fine, but the inside of the dryer is also covered with melted crayon. I was able to wipe it off most of the metal barrel, but it is not coming off the plastic parts, even when using "Goof-off" (a nasty turpentine-smelling product that is supposed to remove crayon and paint...)

Any ideas? I'm afraid to put another load in and have the crayon continue to come off onto the clothes. I'm also wondering if there is any hope of getting the crayon off the clothes. Will re-washing the clothes just make the issue in the dryer (and maybe even the washer) worse?

I'm really bummed since I always check the kids pockets, but I must have missed it. I'm also surprised that it's not coming off, since I only buy washable crayons and markers. But, we had gone to a restaurant that gives the kids crayons, so it is possible it was not a washable crayon.

If you've ever experienced this, please share what you tried and whether or not it worked.
Thanks!
-D.

1 mom found this helpful

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I.N.

answers from San Francisco on

Hi D.!
Well, I had melted crayon on the back seat of my car and a friend of mine suggested an papertowel and a hot iron! It got most of it out and with time it faded.
I also found that GooGone works great! I had a pair of white jeans after taking them out of the dryer, noticed I had sat on gum and never realized it was there. Hmmm, this was caked on gum.....I used the GooGone and let it sit for a couple of days and re-washed and dryed the pants, the gum was GONE!!

Good luck!
I.

1 mom found this helpful

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A.T.

answers from Stockton on

That JUST happened to me last week while frantically trying to pack & do laundry for a trip.
Here's what I did - first I scraped off the big chunks with my finger nails and wiped up the wax crumbs with a wet paper towel. Then I ran the dryer on it's hottest setting for 15 minutes and the wax melted to a syrup consistency ( cheap crayon from Appleby's) I wiped it as fast as I could with lysol wipes and I pulled out the lint trap - it was covered with wax and did the same. I had to run the dryer twice to keep the wax melted but it came out. Then I did a load of kitchen towels and cleaning rags to get any leftovers out of the washer & dryer. There are a few blue stains inside - but the wax is gone. It's a new dryer too, the crayon was in hubby's pocket. ???
Good Luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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S.M.

answers from Sacramento on

Good morning D.,

I have used Solumel to get permanent marker off surfaces and it works. It also gets crayon off of surfaces. It is a fantastic product because it has so many uses and is completely safe (it is not toxic).

S. M

1 mom found this helpful
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Y.P.

answers from San Francisco on

For the stains in the dryer itself, I would try a (no-clothes) load of a cup of Chlorox bleach and use the hottest water cycle. As for the clothes, I would try one of the Oxy laundry products.

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J.M.

answers from San Francisco on

Hi D.,

I haven't tried this personally, heard about it on tv. The cleaners heated up vinegar and used a spray bottle to spray it on carpet with candle wax melted into it. They then scraped a bit, sprayed a bit, scraped a bit, etc. I don't know if they diluted the vinegar first... The candle wax was completely removed. Since crayons are wax too, it might work.

Good luck!

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S.K.

answers from San Francisco on

Well, I'm sorry to tell you that as far as my experience has told me, you are up a creek as far as that crayon goes. My daughter and son are now wearing clothes splotched with red and my father in law's undershirts all have black crayon smudges (as you can tell, this has happened numerous times.) :P Unfortunately, restaurants probably dont' give washable crayons. One way to clean the dryer would be to run it on high a few times with some old towels or some old clothes that you are willing to throw away. Also you could just choose a dark colored towel you don't care about too much. The key is to melt any crayon bits from the dryer and rub them off on the rags/towels. Re-washing the clothes won't contaminate the dryer further, but you may want to wash them a few times before drying them to reduce the "visual impact" of the crayon smudges. I hope this helps.

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W.M.

answers from Sacramento on

D.,
I had this happen also, I was not successful at getting
the crayon out of the clothes, but it did not rub or melt
onto anymore of the clothes from the dryer even though I
could not get it all off. W.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

V.T.

answers from Redding on

I'd try the "magic eraser". I used it to get marker off a hardwood floor in a rental I used to manage. It takes a little elbow grease, but I've never seen anything like it!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

T.J.

answers from San Francisco on

Hi,

TJ here, I have read a couple of desperate moms with crayon in unwanted places have used WD-40. I have used it myself to remove the remaining sticky tag goo from luggage but not crayon. I think I would use it, first to get out the crayon, and then some kind of soap/water to wipe out the WD-40.
Hope this works/helps.
TJ:)

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J.M.

answers from Sacramento on

Try the next dryer load some cleaning towels that you don't care about. I had the same thing happen and the only thing that took the crayon off the metal barrel was time. It didn't get on anything else, but it took forever. They're gone now, but run one load through to make sure any loose residue is out and then time!!!!! Good luck!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

L.R.

answers from Stockton on

Same thing....RED crayon....Magic Eraser!
It took some serious scrubbing, but it was the only thing that worked....Good luck!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.H.

answers from Sacramento on

my husband doesn't always check the pockets of the kids clothes (but I am not complaining because he was doing laundry!) We used "Carbona Stain Devils" to get the crayon out of the clothes- I sometimes can find it at Walmart and always at JoAnn Fabrics. Carbona has a number of different formulas and there is one for crayons...I did carefully decide which clothes to use it on...because of the cost and effort (it took some time)- some stuff just got tossed...The Carbona worked on the dryer too...good luck!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.P.

answers from Sacramento on

OK this happened to me too and the clothes were my nieced school jeans about 5 pair and I COULD not afford to replace them! So what I did after trying numerous things.. I rubbed the spots with Goo B Gone and then used really hot water and Dawn dish washing soap. It took a while but I got ALL the color crayons spots off, then I washed the clothes twice with a good amount of soap and lots of fabric softner to get rid of the GOO Be Gone smell! IT REALLY WORKED!!!

OK what didn't work, was just scrubbing with stain remover and trying to iron them with wax paper or brown paper bag! DID Not work for me!! AGAIN GOOD LUCK AND LET ME KNOW HOW IT GOES!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.M.

answers from San Francisco on

try magic eraser (Target carries it) the generic version works really well on a ton of things. I use it for scratches and scuffs, but it's worth a shot on crayon.

C.C.

answers from Fresno on

Funny you should ask. My darling 3 year old did exactly this (on purpose, tiny demon that she is) a few months ago. It was a washable crayon, and while goof-off did not really work, I found that a green scrubby sponge and plain water did work (who knew!). And, if there are any chunks of crayon, just scrape them off with a butter knife. I washed the clothes again and the crayon came out.

If it wasn't a washable crayon... I'm not so sure you can save the clothes. You can try taking them to the laundromat; better than risking your own washer.

Good luck.

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