Children love playing with crayons. So, if you have kids, there’s a probability that they could smear the crayon on your clothes while asking you to help them out with their assignment. Thankfully, there are different ways you can get crayons out of clothes. Read through to find out!
How to Remove Soft Crayon from Clothes
If the crayon is one with a soft color, following these steps will help you get rid of the stain.
1. Freeze the clothes
Clumps of soft crayons stuck on your clothes need to be removed before the stain can be removed, but if you try to scrape the crayon off while it is still soft, you risk spreading it to other areas of the fabric. So, put the clothes in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
2. Scrape off the excess crayon
Use a sharp paint chisel or paring knife to scrape off the hardened crayon from the clothes. Then, rub the sharp side of the utensil in between the fabric and the crayon. Ensure you only move the blade in one direction, and wipe the crayon off the blade with a clean paper towel between each pass. Note that a crayon stain may remain underneath, but the solid crayon should be completely scraped off.
Then, transfer the clothes to an ironing board and place them in-between paper towels, placing them around the location of the stain. Use a white paper towel to eliminate the risk of accidentally transferring color from the paper towels onto the fabric.
3. Press the clothes with a warm iron
Gently press the iron onto the top layer of the paper towel for 5 to 10 seconds. Lift the iron straight up to remove it. The heat should cause the crayon stain to lift from the clothes to the paper towels. Make sure not to drag the iron across the fabric’s surface, as doing so may spread the stain instead of lifting it. Use a low heat setting on your iron to reduce the risk of damaging your clothes.
Endeavor to replace the paper towels frequently. After every one or two presses, swap the dirty paper towels for clean ones. Otherwise, the crayon stain may transfer back to the clothes.
4. Pre-treat the stain with a pre-wash stain remover
Remove the paper towels and apply a stain remover to the remaining stains. Blot the clothes with the stain remover and let dry. Here, the ironing technique should have caused the crayon stains to fade, but some stains will likely remain. However, these stains can be removed with normal stain removal practices.
5. Wash the clothes
Run the stained clothing through a hot water cycle. Use standard detergent and bleach if bleach is safe for the clothes. If you cannot use standard bleach, try an oxygen bleach instead.
If the stains have faded after the first wash, put the clothes through a second wash using the same type of detergent and bleach.
How to Remove Unwashed Crayon Stains
Here are the steps to follow to remove unwashed crayon stains even after washing.
1. Place the stain on layers of paper towels
Stack half a dozen to a dozen paper towels into a single pile. Lay the affected clothing on the paper towels, with the stain directly over the towels. Use white paper towels instead of colored patterned ones. Otherwise, you run a slight risk of accidentally transferring color from the paper towels onto the fabric.
2. Spray the back of the stain with WD-40
Soak the stained area of the fabric with WD-40 from the back of the fabric. Let the WD-40 sit on the fabric for five minutes before pressing forward. To prevent the WD-40 from getting on anything else, do this on a work surface, like a tool table, unfinished basement floor, or garage floor. The reason the WD-40 works is that it is a solvent. This means that it can break apart tough stains.
3. Spray the other side of the clothes with WD-40
Flip the garment over so the stain is exposed and spray the area again, this time working from the front. You do not need to let the WD-40 soak into the stain this second time. You can press forwardly immediately after application. Make sure that the stained portion is still positioned over the paper towels.
4. Rinse
Rinse the WD-40 and crayon out of the fabric thoroughly using cool, running water. Rinse the stain from the back first to force the excess crayon away along with the WD-40. Then, rinse the front of the stain to remove excess WD-40 from that area.
5. Work liquid dish detergent into the stain
Apply a dot of dish soap directly over the stain. Use your fingers or a clean rag to rub the soap into the crayon. Position the stained fabric back over the paper towels for a few minutes so that the paper towels can continue absorbing some of the stains. Rinse once more in cool water before continuing past this step.
6. Treat with pre-wash stain remover (optional)
At this point, most of the stain should be gone. If this is not the case, blot the stain with a pre-wash stain stick or stain remover. Let the stain remover dry before continuing.
7. Wash and rinse your clothes
Run the garment through a hot wash cycle with chlorine bleach. If your garments should not be washed with standard bleach, use oxygen bleach instead. Use the hottest water safe for your fabric. Rinse the clothes in warm water.
How to Remove a Large Amount of Unwashed Crayon Stains
Below are the easy steps to follow:
1. Combine stain-busting ingredients in a washer filled with hot water
Fill your washing machine with a full tub of hot water. Then, add one cup of borax, two capfuls of detergent, one cup of distilled white vinegar, one cup of hydrogen peroxide, and one cup of stain remover. Allow the ingredients to mix well for a few minutes without disturbing the solution or adding more water.
2. Place the crayon-stained clothes in the liquid
Dunk the clothes into the super-solution. Mix the clothes around in the solution by hand for a few minutes. Make sure to wear rubber gloves to protect your hands if you have sensitive skin. Swirl the clothes around in the solution in a circular motion. Ensure the clothes are completely soaked, not just the stained portions.
3. Allow soaking
Allow the undisturbed clothes to sit in the solution for at least one hour. If you have the time, allow the clothes to soak overnight so that the cleaning chemicals can penetrate the fibers more effectively.
4. Run the clothes through a rinse cycle
After the clothes have had time to soak, run the washer through a warm rinse cycle to rinse the cleaning solution out of the tub. Do not remove your clothes from the washing machine yet.
5. Wash the clothes
Wash the clothes as you would wash on a regular cycle. Use warm to hot water and detergent. If your clothes can tolerate it, consider using chlorine bleach or oxygen bleach, as well. Note that it may take two or three wash cycles before the crayon stains completely fade out of the fabric.
How to Remove Set Crayon Stains
Are you looking to remove laundered and set crayon stains? Here are the steps to follow:
1. Put the stained clothes back in the washing machine
You’ll need to rewash the clothes if you pull your clothes out of the dryer and realize that a stray crayon got caught in the mix and stained the whole load. First, ensure that there are no crayons in the washing machine first. Scrub any crayon stains out of the washing machine or dryer before attempting to launder the clothes again.
2. Run another wash cycle using hot water, detergent, and baking soda
Fill the tub with hot water and add a capful of premium detergent and 1 cup (250 ml) of baking soda. Put the clothes through a standard wash cycle. Check the clothing after pulling it out of the washing machine. If no stains remain, you can dry them. If some of the colors remain trapped in the fabric, do not dry the clothes yet.
3. Run another wash cycle using bleach or oxygen bleach
This step is necessary if the stains have not completely washed out. The bleach will help remedy the situation. However, ensure that the bleach is safe to use on the fabric before proceeding. If the clothes aren’t resistant to bleach damage, you could use an enzyme laundry product instead. After adding the product, allow the clothes to sit for at least 30 minutes before running the wash cycle again.