Laundry Tip: Getting Melted Crayon out of Clothes
It is important for kids to learn practical life skills. I believe teaching these skills this is one of my main responsibilities as a mother. So, I have been teaching my 7 year-old how to do his own laundry. First I taught him how to sort. Then I taught him to check pockets. Next, I taught him how to add the soap and fill the machine with water.
Thinking he had mastered all these steps, I asked him to get the hamper out of his room and put in a load of laundry. As he was dragging the hamper across the floor, I reminded him to check the pockets. So imagine my surprise/horror when I pulled the clothes out of the dryer, only to find them all spattered with an array of waxy colors. I counted 13 crayons, lucky, right?
After I yelled at calmly admonished my son for failing to check the pockets, I set to work looking for solutions to remove the crayon. Most of the suggestions recommended using WD-40. This seemed greasy and smelly, so I continued searching until I found this blog post on Pinterest. Sometimes I think I find better/more relevant info on Pinterest when compared to Google. Anyway, I used her "recipe" except I was unable to find the mule team Borax at the store. So I added an extra 1/2 cup of Oxiclean. And guess what?
The crayon came out of the clothes! I was utterly shocked and amazed!! Every single item in the wash was covered in crayon and they all came out clean. These pictures are not the greatest, but it gives you an idea. Here is my revised recipe:
- 2 max amounts (line 3) of concentrated Tide (I used All Free& Clear)
- 1 1/2 cups Oxiclean
- 1 cup Shout liquid
- 1 cup white vinegar
Select longest wash cycle and hot water. Fill washer, add ingredients, allow to dissolve. Add soiled clothing. Let soak in hot water and solution for one hour. Start the cycle. Check each article before transferring to dryer. If not clean wash again. Everything in my entire load came clean!
To clean the dryer, run it for about 5 or 10 minutes, then wipe it down with a clean wet towel and Lysol. The heat melts the crayon making it easy to remove. Just make sure to run a load of rags before you run good clothes so that you're sure you got all the crayon.
Oh, and when I pushed the clothes down into the water, my wedding ring came out shinier than ever!
We will be diligently checking all pockets from now on!
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