Cleaning Crayon Out of a Dryer

Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

What do you do for the dryer itself which has the crayon melted inside somewhere, ready to destroy another load of laundry? Ben
Answers:
--	06/01/2004
leave dryer to cool down, place ice cube or bag of frozen peas over crayon leave it to harden again then scrape off or run machine a few times with an old cloth in it till all the crayon marks stop appearing.
By carol (Guest Post)
--	06/02/2004
Use an old rag sprayed with WD 40 and wipe it off.
By Mnchyld95
--	06/03/2004
I had this happen years ago - on my best washable work clothes - devastating! I tried many many things to no avail. Then I happened to try turpentine - cheap, worked like a charm in dryer AND on the clothes! Just carefully clean it out of everything when you are done. It was a lifesaver for me. Try it and let us know.
By Carolyn (Guest Post)
--	02/08/2005
I too washed a load of my sons clothes and threw them in the dryer not knowing there was black and red crayons in one of his pockets. I had both colours dried on all his clothes and my new dryer was now a nice black and red swear colour. I used oxyclean and soaked them all in hot water for several hours (did it twice) and 95% of the mess came out of the clothes. Pretty good considering I was going to toss them all. As for the dryer, I used some oxyclean and hot water and the eraser and the majority of it came out. Lesson learned: check all pockets next time! Mckenzie
By Thrifty_Fun
--	02/12/2005
Tried the Wd-40, running the dryer with a cloth, and oxiclean. Too much work! I then used toothpaste (plain Colgate) on an old rag and I was done in 5 minutes! Wish I had known of that first. Would have saved a lot of frustration!
By laura (Guest Post)
--	04/13/2005
I tried all suggestions except for the turpintine. I found applying Carbona Stain Devils Ink and Crayon remover applied directly on a dry rag worked the best. Then wipe inside of dryer clean with a wet rag before using. The Colgate toothpaste also worked but not as well.
By Mrs. Clean
--	05/22/2005
I'm just happy to see that I'm not the only one that this has happened to. For me, the color was blue and now the inside of my brand new dryer, less than 4 months old is now a very pretty shade of light blue. It's not in one little spot where ice can freeze it and it be scraped, that would be sooo nice. Nope not mine, it's (b)EVERYWHERE(/b).
By Sandra N. (Guest Post)
--	06/20/2005
Plain white colgate is the shiznit! Way easier than WD40. Wipes up easy and leaves your clothes smelling minty fresh!
By samajm (Guest Post)
--	07/05/2005
White toothpaste is awesome! Hidden in my load of wash was a bright blue crayon that colored not only the clothes but changed the dryer drum on my new dryer to a not so flattering shade of blue with little chucks everywhere. First I warmed up the dryer to soften the crayon and used a stiff nail brush (tooth brushes are too soft), a cup of very hot water and scrubbed with the toothpaste and wiped with a hot damp rag. Mopped up every bit of surface with a clean hot rag to remove all the tooth paste residue (cause it can become sticky!) and I sacrificed a cheap white kitchen towel (damp) for a few test runs incase I missed any spots! The holes to the lint trap is hard to clean and may have some tid bits of crayon. Once again my dryer looks white and new thanks to the tooth paste and doesn't sound quite as dangerous as some of the (b)flammable(/b) suggestions made.(b)(/b)(b)(/b)(b)(/b)
By Michelle (Guest Post)
--	10/23/2005
Simple and easy: Preheat the Dryer for 5 mn. Spray WD-40 deliberately, Scrub with Mr Clean "Magic erasers" (YOu should never be without. The crayon will dissapear like Magic!
By David (Guest Post)
--	01/11/2006
This very thing happened to me today. My first thought was to check online. Then I remembered what has saved me from crayon in the past... Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. It came right off, a bit of scrubbing with the thicker bits. Took about 3 minutes to remove the crayon damage. These things are worth keeping around if you have little ones. They get pen, pencil & crayon off of walls too. :)
By mrscmw5
--	02/18/2006
My brilliant husband used a 3M scrubbing pad and scrubbed vigorously for 10 minutes and removed all purple crayon (thanks to my creative 4 year old son) as well as blue stain from laundry detergent. He washed with hot soapy water, dryed with old towels and saved us $400 (cost of new dryer). All done without using harsh, toxic chemicals.
By Hallie S (Guest Post)
--	03/03/2006
We tried the other suggestions: WD-40, Goo gone, colgate toothpaste and the Magic Eraser. However, none were as effective or as fast as Bon Ami household cleaner. Just sprinkle a bit onto the drum and rub with a wet rag. Then vacuum out the crumbs and rinse with a clean wet rag.
By M & M (Guest Post)
--	03/13/2006
I had this happen a few years ago, and now it has happened again. At least, I think it's crayon, but I can't really be sure as I can't find any piece of it. Now my dryer is streaked. Last time, my husband used gasoline, which I wasn't crazy about. Since he's not home, I definitely won't be trying that. I'll have to try the Colgate. Also, to get it out of the clothes last time, I used baking soda. I have to try it again since now I have a load that included my favorite jeans with black spots all over them. That worked on probably 90-95% of the clothes. Certain fabrics just won't release the crayon.
By Christine (Guest Post)

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Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

I opened the dryer to find an entire load was washed with guess what, crayons in a pocket! So far, I have not had any luck getting the crayons off the clothes or the dryer drum. Lots of things work to get the blue and yellow off the dryer drum, but not the red. I've tried WD-40, toothpaste, a citrus solvent, Soft Scrub, a degreaser and nothing works. On the clothes, I've rewashed the clothes twice with detergent and Oxy-Clean in hot water and now I'm trying it again with baking soda and vinegar. Can anyone help?

Marla from Rocklin, CA

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RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

For cleaning black crayon marks that covered the entire inside of our dryer we found the combination of Colgate toothpaste (white paste type) AND Oxy spray cleaner for bathrooms (yes we stumbled on the combo) finally worked. We rubbed the toothpaste all over the inside, waited about 10 minutes, then sprayed the Oxy cleaner on top of that. We waited about another 30 minutes, With lots of rubbing the marks finally started to come out. We wiped the whole dryer clean with cool water. It took a long time and lots of elbow grease but it worked! (08/05/2006)

By Pat

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

I don't understand how I've gotten this far without having this problem before (5 kids, all teens). Anyway, ceramic/glass cooktop cleaner works like a charm on the dryer. Same idea as the slightly abrasive toothpaste. (08/15/2006)

By Zack

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

This weekend I opened up my brand new dryer and found it covered with green crayon. I thought I would have to get a new one. The repair man cleaned the blades for free. I went to the Internet and found one website that suggest WD-40. It did not work. Then I found this site. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser work wonders. Thank you. (08/25/2006)

By Danna

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

I tried 100% acetone for cleaning crayon out of dryer. WORKS better than WD-40 and Mr Clean magic eraser. Just make sure you are in a well ventalated area, the smell is awful. (09/02/2006)

By fun1973

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

I'll toss in my two cents. Running the dryer a little to warm the crayon seemed to help a bit. The Colgate worked great once I switched from a toothbrush to a scrubby sponge. It still required a lot of elbow grease, though. (09/11/2006)

By NoJoy

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

You shouldn't use GooGone or Gasoline or anything flammable! The dryer itself has a warning to NEVER dry anything with anything flammable as an explosion might occur. GooGone has a warning to never use near heat. (10/19/2006)

By Monica

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

I used Colgate Luminous toothpaste and it took the black crayon residue right off that the magic eraser couldnt get off. Dryer is just like it didnt happen. I washed the pants that had the black crayon on it in HOT water and it took 100% of the crayon out of the jeans and maybe 50% of it out of my favorite work out pants but its ok they are only my gym pants right. I am just so happy it didnt happen to the light, white, or bright loads. Good luck everyone toothpaste who knew! (10/23/2006)

By Shannon

Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

I just learned that my 18 mo old daughter puts crayons in the legs of her pjs. I had a purple dryer! I used Comet, hot water, and a scrubber sponge. I was afraid I'd end up scrubing for hours. But everything came off in about 10 minutes with very little effort! It looks like new! Hope it works as well for you! (11/04/2006)

By Beth

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

My daughter asked me to 'throw her shirt' into the dryer, she works part time at a restaurant, and I didn't notice the blue crayon in her pocket. Needless to say... big mess in the dryer. Tried the toothpaste with a teflon scubber, and it worked great. (11/25/2006)

By Dennis

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

When my daughter left a blue crayon in her pocket, I spoke to someone who told me to use WD-40 before washing the clothes a second time. Spray the WD-40 on the clothes and work it in with a little detergent using a toothbrush. Then you may have to wash the clothes a couple of times to get the WD-40 out. (11/25/2006)

By Mel

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

I could not believe that I googled "clean crayon out of dryer" and this page came up as the first hit. I thought I was done (clothes and dryer). I read through the posts and tried what I had. Magic Eraser and Toothpaste had NO impact at all. Thanks to the person who said ceramic cooktop clenser. I had Bar Keeper's Friend clenser. It worked perfectly!! Thanks. (11/29/2006)

By Tracey

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

As a career Firefighter, I certainly hope none of you have truly put WD-40, Goo Gone, or Goof Off in your dryers. If I were a dryer salesman, then yeah go ahead. Anyway, I used Ace Hardware Floor Stripper on my crayon incident (green, and by the way, and it was in MY pocket) wiped of in less than 5 minutes...And I DID try WD-40, Goo Gone, Goof Off, toothpaste, stove strubber stuff, eraser pads. Yeah I know, do as I say, not as I do, why do you think FFs get burned at home! (12/28/2006)

By Tim

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

I tried the magic eraser first, did not work. switched to white ultra brite toothpaste from the dollar store and it worked great! I followed up with some oxiclean to clean off the toothpaste. (01/27/2007)

By trisha

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

Everyone please don't use any chemicals that are flammable or explosive in a dryer. Even if you wash the drum out, there could still be residue. I don't want anyone getting hurt or dying because of a crayon. I did use the toothpaste on a sponge and IT WORKS! The mint fumes did burn my eyes a little though. (02/11/2007)

By paulkellar

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

This just happened to me i'm still trying to get it out of the clothes, my dryer was orange, I found the Mr. Clean magic eraser worked wonders on the dryer too bad it didn't work on the clothes, just follow the directions on the box and wipe it out you really don't even have to apply pressure (02/22/2007)

By Kris

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

On the dryer we used canola oil on the crayon smears to thin them out and then cleaned it all off with Fantastik original spray cleaner. It's cleaner now than before. (02/28/2007)

By Anne

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

I open up my brand new "white" dryer to find purple crayon on all my light colored clothes & all over the inside of my dryer. I used Bar Keepers Friend on it with a damp cloth and it came out the dyer insantly. I hope that I can it comes out of the clothes now. "I am so glad that I am not the only one this has ever happened to." (03/10/2007)

By Tara

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

My 6 yr. old son left a red crayon in his pants and they were dried. My dryer was dark red. I tried everything listed and the magic eraser worked pretty good, but Momet with bleach worked the greatest along with some scrubbing. My dryer is now red crayon FREE! (04/10/2007)

By Stephanie

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

Misery loves company and we just joined the party today. We were able to catch the culprit because 1/2 the crayon was still in the pocket. Thanks for all the advice this is what we did: Simple Green (undiluted) with the Mr Clean eraser took the black crayon right out of our white dryer with very little elbow grease. Note our drum has a textured surface. The door with the smooth finish was very easy to clean. We also ran a load of work cloths through before any good went back in. And my white work shirts will be hung dry for a long time. For the cloths we used Simple Green (undiluted) with a toothbrush to scrub it out. And while tedious we put on a movie and brushed the rest of the day away - Hoodwinked is a very funny movie if you have not seen it. (04/15/2007)

By Tom

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

I just used Barkeepers Friend and a scrubby sponge. It was pretty quick and easy. I wiped it clean with a wet towel and put a test white tee shirt through the dryer. (05/06/2007)

By TB

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Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

I dried an orange crayon in the dryer and ruined some clothes. any ideas on how to get the stains out? Hannah from Burlington, WV

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RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

Soak clothes in washing machine with 3-4 scoops of oxyclean powder for about 1-2 hours. Then wash as usual and repeat if necessary. It took we two times soaking and washing the clothes and every single red crayon mark came out. Good luck! (06/26/2007)

By Jen

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

Thank you to the person who recommended Canola Oil. It thinned out the crayon really quickly and made it easy to wipe it off. I followed up with Oxyclean foam, which took the red stains out. The whole process only took 15-20 minutes. What a relief! (07/09/2007)

By R Wantz

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

My 2 year old had a blue crayon in his pocket... which left crayon streaked all over the inside of my dryer... Heat the dryer for a few minutes, spray the dryer with WD-40 and scrub with the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.... Then just wipe with a damp cloth... It works great. (07/31/2007)

By Lindsey S

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Cleaning Crayon Out of Dryer

How do I get the crayon marks out of my dryer drum?

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Cleaning Crayon Out of a Dryer

A whole bunch of crayons melted in my HE Dryer. I tried the soft scrubber Magic Eraser, and it's not working. Also, it melted on my son's jackets. My HE Dryer is just a week old and it looks like a rainbow swirl. If I'm not mistaken, around 8 colors were melted inside. Can anyone help me without using WD-40 or anything flammable? Thanks!

Rhona from Round Lake Park, IL

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Answers: Cleaning Crayon Out of a Dryer

(format_html) I have 4 kids of my own and 2 visiting! Even after checking all pockets (routine) 3 blue crayons made it into my brand new dryer! I read these postings and I found the way!

Use generic Orange Clean, lightly mist the drum then use a Brillo pad. Provides enough grit but does not scratch. Use a warm wet cloth to wipe as you go, start from back to front. Then toss in a wet towel with a little bleach on it.

Started with WD-40, then oops! Fumes and flammability issues were not worth it.

By Dan from Summerville, SC

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of a Dryer

I used comet (the powdered kind) to clean out my dryer. I sprinkled the comet and wiped it with a sponge, then I took a wet rag and wiped it up. Then I put a couple of wet towels in and it worked great! Now I'm getting ready to try something for the crayon stained clothes. (06/30/2008)

By Christi, mom of two

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of a Dryer

We discovered the crayon melted all over the dryer and a load of whites yesterday. We tried the baking soda with no luck, and then made a paste of water and Tide with Bleach powder laundry detergent. Presto! It's working like a charm and there is no concern about fumes, etc. It's even working with a soft rag so we don't scratch the drum. Best of luck! (07/17/2008)

By Katherine from Texas

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of a Dryer

Thanks for all the helpful info. Water and comet did the trick and saved our dryer. (07/27/2008)

By Rick In Tampa

(08/21/2008)

By Kezia_admin

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of a Dryer

Try heating just the crayon with a hair dryer and when it is pliable, scrape it out. (08/23/2008)

By Terri

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of a Dryer

I read most of the advice and I cringed every time I came across something flammable. I was about to try old dutch cleanser because that was what I had, then I remembered a degreaser that was recommended by a friend previously to remove stains from carpet. Anyway I tried it and voila, it wiped right off. It's called Awesome and it's just that (awesome).

I got it from the dollar store (Dollar General). I heated the dryer for a few minutes (I don't think I needed to), I sprayed a damp cloth with Awesome and wiped, then it came off, NO elbow grease needed. And it's non flammable. Thank you so much for this site. I had no idea what to do about my dryer covered in black and green crayon but thanks to the different ideas it gave me the right road to go down. (08/25/2008)

By vonna

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of a Dryer

Well, I am now part of this club. I've actually been a part of this club for a while. About a month ago my daughter left a blue crayon in her pocket. It was only on her shorts though when I got the stuff out of the dryer. However, my husband is in the Navy and went to wash his whites and when his uniform came out of the dryer it had blue spots all over it! So I just put some dark colored dry towels in the dryer and ran it several times before I put anything else in there. The crayon melted and came out on the towels but since they are dark colored you couldn't tell. Now, I just got clothes out of the dryer and yet again another crayon. This time brown. I wanted to do something quick rather than running the dryer over and over and over. So I sprayed some Easy Off oven cleaner in there and let it sit for about 20 minutes. I went back with a dry rag and it wiped right off. Then I put a wet towel with bleach on it into the dryer so that it could clean off the walls. Now it is good as new! (09/18/2008)

By Alisha

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of a Dryer

I couldn't believe it when I unloaded my year old HE dryer. A black crayon! It wasn't even wavy, it was just black/grey streaks everywhere. It almost looked like it had caught on fire. I am so grateful, toothpaste did the trick! The fumes are a little much when your heads in there but it's worth it. After about 25 minutes, most of it is gone. I just needed to take a little break and now I'm going back to it. Thanks so much. (10/03/2008)

By Kim

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of a Dryer

I hate to admit that I actually tried the WD40, but I did and I want to make it clear to everyone never to try it. In hindsight, the risks were too great and it didn't work. Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser worked with a bit of elbow grease. (10/03/2008)

By Martin

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of a Dryer

The dreaded blue crayon in the dryer. Crayola's web site says to use WD 40 but we have a gas dryer so that seemed a bit dangerous to me. I used Comet with bleach and in about 30 minutes, the blue streaks were gone. (10/19/2008)

By Jennifer

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of a Dryer

A blue crayon melted in my 3 day old HE dryer. The Mr. Clean eraser didn't work, but the Comet with bleach did it. I used Comet with a little water and just wiped it in the drum; like a paste. I let it sit there for about 1 minute and wiped it off. NO elbow grease! The stain was gone. (10/25/2008)

By Leontyne

RE: Cleaning Crayon Out of a Dryer

It's so nice to see I'm not the only one this has happened to. I just got my new dryer last week and one of my children left a crayon in there pocket. I had a whole load of clothes in there that I think are ruined. I'm trying to wash them now to see but it doesn't look like they can be saved. On top of that, the whole inside of my dryer has a blue tint to it now I'm working to get the crayon out. Thanks for the tips ladies. I'll have to try them. I tried clorox cleaner with bleach and that did not work. (11/03/2008)

By Tamika

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Cleaning Crayon from the Dryer Drum

To remove crayon from the dryer drum I used denatured alcohol on an old towel. While the fumes are indeed poisonous, and flammable they evaporate quickly.

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Cleaning Crayon or Ink from a Dryer Drum

I have experienced both and rubbing compound worked both times. The ink was quite a bit of work, but it came completely out.

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Crayons in the Dryer

We have dried a crayon in the dryer and are at our wits end trying to get it all out of the dryer. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Laundry is piling up. Momholla

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Crayons in the Dryer

My daughter left crayons in her coat pockets and it was run through the dryer. Needless to say, it made a horrible mess inside the dryer, but also in two new winter coats.