How to remove crayon from clothes, dried or melted

How to remove crayon from clothes

1. 1

   Scrape off the crayon

   Lift off any crayon sitting on the surface with a dull knife or spoon. Scrape gently so you don't grind wax deeper into the weave.

   Why: Removing the bulk of the wax leaves less to dissolve and less pigment to spread.

2. 2

   Work in dish soap

   Rub liquid dish soap into the mark from both sides, let it sit for a few minutes, then rub the fabric against itself under warm running water.

   Why: Dish soap surrounds the waxy binder so it can rinse away, and warm water softens the wax enough to let go of the fibers. This is the crayon maker's own fabric method.

3. 3

   Wash hot with oxygen bleach

   Wash on a heavy-soil setting in the hottest water the care label allows, with your usual detergent and oxygen bleach.

   Why: Hot water keeps loosening the wax so detergent can carry it off, and oxygen bleach breaks down the color pigment.

4. 4

   Air-dry and check

   Hang the garment to dry and look for any waxy shine or color in daylight. Repeat the dish soap and wash if you see any.

   Why: A dryer would re-melt leftover wax and spread it wider.

5. 5

   Treat leftover color

   If a colored shadow remains, wash with chlorine bleach on whites whose label allows it, or soak colors in an enzyme product or oxygen bleach in the hottest safe water, then wash again.

   Why: Once the wax is gone, what's left is pigment, which needs an oxidizing bleach or a longer soak.

Why crayon is a wax stain with color in it

A crayon is a stick of paraffin wax mixed with pigment. That makes a crayon mark a wax stain and a color stain at the same time. The wax is oil-soluble and melts with heat; the pigment rides along with it.

That's why the order matters. First you remove the wax, with dish soap and hot water or by melting it into paper towels. Then you deal with any pigment left behind using bleach. If you heat it without anything to absorb the wax, it melts deeper into the fabric.

A crayon went through the dryer with a whole load

When a crayon melts in the dryer, it smears wax and color across everything in the drum. Don't run the load through the dryer again. The American Cleaning Institute and Texas A&M both give the same whole-load fix: wash everything in hot water with a laundry soap and 1 cup of baking soda. If color remains, wash again with chlorine bleach where it's safe or soak in an enzyme product or oxygen bleach, then wash.

Clean the dryer before the next load. Let the drum cool, wipe off what you can with paper towels, and clean the remaining residue as the crayon maker directs (it suggests a melamine-foam eraser). Then tumble a few clean, dry rags to pick up anything left.

By situation

Dried crayon marks from coloring

These are just dry wax on the surface and usually come out with a scrape, dish soap and a hot wash. Treat them before washing, though: a hot wash without pretreatment can melt the wax deeper.

Crayon that was ironed or heat-set

Use the paper-towel method the American Cleaning Institute gives for candle wax: put the stain between layers of paper towels and press with a warm iron, moving to clean towel as the wax transfers. Then treat with dish soap and wash hot. Keep the iron moving, and skip this on heat-sensitive synthetics.

White clothes

After the wax is out, chlorine bleach (if the care label allows) removes leftover pigment. Oxygen bleach is the gentler alternative.

Colored clothes

Use oxygen bleach or an enzyme soak instead of chlorine bleach, and test on an inside seam first.

Silk, wool and dry-clean-only clothes

Scrape gently and take the item to a cleaner, telling them it's crayon. Don't use an iron on delicate or heat-sensitive fabric.

What not to do

• Don't put a crayon-stained item or load in the dryer before checking it. Heat re-melts the wax and spreads the color further.
• Don't dry another load until the drum is clean. Wax left in the drum transfers to the next load.
• Don't wash a crayon mark without pretreating it. Hot water alone can melt the wax into the fibers before detergent has a chance to lift it.

Other methods that work

Bar soap

The American Cleaning Institute's method for a few spots: dampen the stain and rub it with bar soap, then wash in hot water.

Caution: Rinse the soap out well.

Iron and paper towels

Melting the wax into paper towels with a warm iron pulls it out of the fabric, the same way as for candle wax. Useful for thick or heat-set crayon.

Caution: Pigment can spread if you reuse a stained towel. Move to clean paper often, and check the iron setting for the fabric.

Petroleum-based lubricant spray

A popular tip, since petroleum solvents dissolve wax. It's traditional, with weak evidence: no extension stain guide recommends it.

Caution: It adds an oil stain that needs dish soap and a hot wash, and it's flammable.

Stain still there?

A greasy or shiny patch is left

That's wax still in the fibers. Rub in dish soap again and wash in the hottest safe water, or press it between paper towels with a warm iron first.

Wax is gone but a colored mark remains

That's pigment. Soak in oxygen bleach or an enzyme product in hot water, or wash whites with chlorine bleach if the label allows.

Safety

• If you use a solvent or lubricant spray, ventilate and let it evaporate before washing; never put solvent-damp clothes in the dryer.

Never mix cleaning products; see chemicals you must never combine.

Questions

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