How to Remove Melted Crayon from Washed & Dried Clothes

The Logic Verdict

My Take: Linda Cobb (the Queen of Clean) tackles dryer-melted crayons by keeping everything in the laundry room: scrape the wax, flood the marks with grease-cutting dish soap, massage with a toothbrush, then soak the items before laundering on the hottest safe wash with an oxygen bleach booster. She finishes by wiping the dryer drum with paper towels and a melamine sponge so fresh loads stay clean. The process is tedious, but it salvages cottons, blends, and even towels without solvents.

The Science

When a forgotten crayon hits the dryer, the paraffin wax liquefies and pushes pigment deep into the yarns while heat sets the stain. Blue dish soap such as Dawn Ultra is loaded with surfactants and solvents that re-liquefy grease so it can rinse away. A 30-minute warm soak gives the soap time to migrate through the fibers before you agitate anything. Washing on the hottest temperature the care label allows keeps the wax soft while an all-fabric oxygen bleach (sodium percarbonate) oxidizes the dye molecules that made the crayon bright in the first place. Air-drying at the end is critical—you can’t see remaining stains when fabric is hot.

Step-by-Step Removal

1. Quarantine the load. Pull every stained item from the dryer and keep them flat on a counter so the softened wax doesn’t transfer to clean clothes.
2. Scrape the globs. Use a dull plastic scraper or butter knife to lift any obvious chunks, working over a trash can so you’re not grinding wax deeper.
3. Flood with dish soap. Squeeze a ribbon of blue dish soap on both sides of each mark and use a soft toothbrush to work it into the weave. You want the fabric saturated but not shredded.
4. Let it soak. Fill a sink or bucket with warm water plus another tablespoon of dish soap, submerge the stained panels, and leave them for at least 30 minutes so the surfactants can dissolve the wax binder.
5. Rinse and rub. Under a stream of warm water, rub the fabric against itself (no hard brushing) to push out loosened pigment. Refresh the dish soap if the water turns cloudy quickly.
6. Wash on the hottest safe cycle. Rewash the entire load with your regular detergent plus an all-fabric oxygen bleach, using the hottest water listed on the garment labels. This breaks up leftover dye specks and any oily halo.
7. Air-dry only. Hang or rack the pieces until completely dry so you can confirm the stains are gone. If any color remains, repeat the pre-treat and wash before a single minute of dryer time.
8. Clean the dryer drum. Wipe every crayon streak inside the drum with dry paper towels, follow with a melamine sponge dampened in warm soapy water, then run a load of damp rags for 10 minutes to make sure no residue transfers.

What NOT To Do

• Don’t toss the load back in the dryer “just to finish drying”—heat will reset any remaining wax and make it nearly impossible to remove.
• Skip chlorine bleach on colored loads; it won’t dissolve wax and can leave yellowed patches.
• Avoid harsh solvents (acetone, paint thinner, WD-40) unless the fabric care label explicitly okays them—they can redeposit oily rings and add flammability.
• Never scrape with a razor blade or anything sharp enough to nick the weave; broken fibers hold onto pigment forever.

Resources

• Dawn Ultra Dish Soap (Amazon)
• OxiClean White Revive (Amazon)
• Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Sheets (Amazon)
• Queen of Clean Tips