How to Get Crayon Out of Clothes

If you've found a crayon scribble on your clothes, your first reaction might be to toss it in the laundry. However, since crayon is mainly wax it won't wash out on its own. Fortunately, you can remove the stain by scraping off and lifting the excess wax. Then, wash the fabric in hot water with detergent and baking soda. This should get crayon out of most clothes, but you can treat stubborn stains with WD-40 and liquid dish soap.

[Edit]Steps

[Edit]Removing the Crayon Wax

1. Freeze the crayon stain until the wax hardens. If you're trying to remove a small stain, put an ice cube into a small sealable bag. Place the ice cube in the bag directly onto the crayon stain and hold it there until the crayon wax feels hard. This should take about 5 minutes for a small stain.^[1]
   
   
   
   • If there are several stains, put the clothing into a bag and place the bag in the freezer. Chill the fabric until the wax stains harden.
2. Scrape off the excess crayon with a dull knife. Remove the ice cube or take the clothing out of the freezer once the wax is hard. Hold the fabric in place with 1 hand and use a knife to carefully scrape the wax off of the fabric. Scrape as much of the wax off as you can.^[2]
   
   
   • If the wax starts to soften before you scrape it off, put the clothes back in the freezer for a few minutes so the wax can harden again.
   • Scrape the knife away from your body to prevent cutting yourself.
3. Heat an iron to "warm." To loosen the wax that's in the fabric's fibers, plug in an iron and heat it on the "warm" setting for at least 5 minutes. Double-check that the iron isn't on the steam setting because steam is too hot.^[3]
   
4. Lay the stained fabric on an ironing board and place a paper towel over it. Place the fabric on the ironing board so the stain is visible and lay a clean paper towel directly over the stain. The wax will transfer to the paper towels.^[4]
   
   
   • If there's a lot of wax on the fabric, you'll need extra paper towels so you can replace them as they pick up the wax.
5. Iron the paper towel-covered fabric to lift the wax. Place the warm iron right on the paper towel that's covering the crayon stain. Hold it there for about 5 seconds without moving the iron around. Then, lift the iron away and carefully pull up the paper towel to see if the heat loosened the wax. If there's wax on the paper towel, lay down a new paper towel and put the iron on it again.^[5]
   
   
   • Continue to heat the stain until no more wax is transferred to the paper towel.
   • Replace the paper towels as soon as you see wax on them. If you keep using a paper towel that has wax on it, you may spread wax to other parts of the fabric.

[Edit]Washing Crayon Stains out of Clothes

1. Rub a pre-wash stain remover on the fabric. Choose a gel or liquid pre-wash stain remover and spread enough of it to cover the remaining crayon stain on the clothes. Follow the manufacturer's directions about how long to leave the stain remover on the clothes. Then, wash the stains from the clothes.^[6]
   
   
   • Some manufacturers recommend that you blot the stain remover and let it dry before you wash the clothes.
2. Place the stained clothing into your washing machine. If you accidentally washed a load with crayons in the machine, remove the crayons and leave the stained clothes in the machine. Don't dry them, which would cause the stains to set.^[7]
   
   
   
3. Put laundry detergent into the machine along with 1 cup (225 g) of baking soda. There's no need to use a different type of laundry detergent when you wash the load. Just use your standard detergent. Then, sprinkle 1 cup (225 g) of baking soda over the clothes in the machine.^[8]
   
   
   • Baking soda is abrasive, so it will physically break up the crayon stains. This makes it easier to wash the stains away.
4. Wash the clothes on your machine's hot setting. Adjust the water temperature on your washing machine so it launders the clothes with the hottest water. The heat from the water will loosen the crayon wax that's in the fibers of the clothing. Then, the detergent and baking soda should remove them as the machine agitates the clothes.^[9]
   
   
   
   • Avoid using this method on delicate clothing or clothing that should only be washed in cool water. Take these to the dry-cleaner instead.
5. Check the clothing for crayon stains after the cycle ends. Once the machine stops, take out several pieces of clothing and inspect them for crayon stains. If you still see stains, use chlorine bleach or treat the clothes with a laundry stain remover, then wash them again in hot water.^[10]
   
   • You can use powdered, liquid, or gel stain removers.
6. Dry the clean clothes once the stains are gone. If you look at the clothing and don't see any crayon stains, it's safe to put them into the dryer. Dry the clothes using whichever setting you prefer.^[11]
   
   • It's important to only dry the clothes once the stains are completely gone or you'll risk setting the stains.

[Edit]Removing Stubborn Crayon Stains with WD-40 and Bleach

1. Lay the fabric over paper towels and spray WD-40 on the stain. Placing paper towels underneath the fabric will prevent the WD-40 from getting onto your work surface. If you don't have paper towels, lay the fabric on a piece of cardboard or flattened paper grocery bags.^[12]
   
   
2. Flip the fabric over and spray the back of the stain with WD-40. Turn the fabric over and avoid touching the WD-40 with your fingers. Lay the fabric back on the paper towels and spray the back of the spray.^[13]
   
   
   
   • Spraying the back of the fabric will help the WD-40 lift the crayon stain.
3. Let the WD-40 sit on the fabric for 10 minutes. This gives the solvent time to dissolve the wax stain so it's easier to wash out. If you're short on time, you could skip this step but the stain may not lift completely.^[14]
   
   • Wash your hands well with soapy water after spraying the WD-40.
4. Rub a drop of liquid dishwashing soap into the stain. Turn the fabric over so the front of the stain is visible. Squirt a drop of soap onto the stain and use your fingers to massage the soap until it suds on the fabric.^[15]
   
   
   • If you have sensitive skin, wear gloves to rub the dishwashing soap into the fabric.
5. Wash the clothes with fabric-safe chlorine bleach. Put the clothes into the washing machine and add fabric-safe chlorine bleach. If the care label on the clothes advises against chlorine bleach, use oxygen bleach instead. Then, turn the machine to the hottest water setting and run the machine.^[16]
   
   

[Edit]Video

[Edit]Tips

• If the crayon is on fabric that's dry-clean only, avoid trying to remove the crayon from the fabric. Take the clothing to a professional dry-cleaner instead.
• If you accidentally dried clothes along with crayons, clean out the dryer. Spray a rag with WD-40 and wipe the inside of the drum. Wipe the stains with a soapy cloth and wipe a damp cloth over them. Then, run a load of dry rags through the machine.^[17]

[Edit]Things You'll Need

[Edit]Removing the Crayon Wax

• Bags
• Knife
• Iron
• Ironing board
• Paper towels

[Edit]Washing Crayon Stains from Clothes

• Pre-wash stain remover
• Laundry detergent
• Baking soda
• Laundry stain remover, optional

[Edit]Removing Stubborn Crayon Stains

• WD-40
• Paper towels
• Liquid dishwashing soap
• Fabric-safe chlorine bleach or oxygen bleach

[Edit]Related wikiHows

• Clean Crayon out of a Dryer
• Remove Melted Crayon Stains from Laundry
• Remove Melted Crayon from Car Seats

[Edit]References

[Edit]Quick Summary

1. ↑ https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/cleaning/tips/a17888/stains-crayon-may07/
2. ↑ https://web.extension.illinois.edu/stain/staindetail.cfm?ID=112
3. ↑ https://web.extension.illinois.edu/stain/staindetail.cfm?ID=112
4. ↑ https://web.extension.illinois.edu/stain/staindetail.cfm?ID=112
5. ↑ https://www.stain-removal-101.com/crayon-stain-removal.html
6. ↑ https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/cleaning/tips/a17888/stains-crayon-may07/
7. ↑ https://www.stain-removal-101.com/crayon-stain-removal.html
8. ↑ https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/cleaning/tips/a17888/stains-crayon-may07/
9. ↑ https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/cleaning/tips/a17888/stains-crayon-may07/
10. ↑ https://www.stain-removal-101.com/crayon-stain-removal.html
11. ↑ https://www.stain-removal-101.com/crayon-stain-removal.html
12. ↑ https://www.whowhatwear.com/how-to-get-crayon-out-of-clothes
13. ↑ http://wardrobeadvice.com/how-to-remove-crayon-stains-from-clothes/
14. ↑ https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/cleaning/tips/a17888/stains-crayon-may07/
15. ↑ https://www.creators.com/read/everyday-cheapskate/10/16/for-every-problem-theres-wd-40
16. ↑ https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/cleaning/tips/a17888/stains-crayon-may07/
17. ↑ https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/cleaning/tips/a17888/stains-crayon-may07/