Do you have young children?  If so, chances are that crayons are a staple in your home.  But, crayons can also stain clothing, whether your child gets a mark on their shirt, or worse, leaves a stray crayon in their pocket that makes its way into an entire load of laundry.  Crayons are tricky stains to remove, but it can be done by following these pretty simple steps below.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Removing Crayon Stains

Crayon stains are notoriously difficult because of how pigmented they are, paired with their combination of oil and wax that are all too good at absorbing into the fibers of your fabrics.  To remove crayon stains, here’s the protocol that will give you the best results.

1. First, scrape off excess crayon, if there is any, using a dull knife. Keep in mind that this entire method works on both fresh and pretty old crayon stains.
2. Apply Grab Green Liquid Dish Soap directly to the stain, and then use a toothbrush to work the soap into the stain using circular motions. Do this continually, without any water, before letting the soap sit on the stain for about 10 minutes.
3. After 10 minutes, rinse the soap out using very hot water. The hot water will help lift the crayon’s oils out of the material. 
4. If the crayon stain removes, it’s time to take more action:
5. First, place an ice cube onto the stain. This will harden the wax of the crayon. 
6. Now, place the garment onto an ironing board and put a piece of wax paper over the stain.
7. Next, take a towel and place that on top of the wax paper.
8. Turn on your iron.
9. When it’s hot, sit it on top of the towel and let it sit for a moment before checking the wax paper. The wax of the crayon should be lifting out of the clothing and sticking to the wax paper.  You may need to do this several times for the crayon to lift away entirely.
10. If some traces of the stain remain, then you should reapply dish soap and follow the same method above of letting it sit before rinsing it in hot water.
11. Once the stain has lifted away, you can launder the clothing item according to its care label, using a normal detergent like Grab Green’s 3 in 1 Laundry Detergent Pods or 3 in 1 Laundry Detergent Powder.

Crayon Stains are Annoying, But More Often Than Not, They Can Be Removed

Crayon stains can be a huge pain, and if you have kids who love using crayons, they can be hard to avoid.  The good news is that with some effort, you have a good chance of getting rid of a crayon stain.  Make sure that you follow this method above, and try to avoid sticking clothing in the dryer if the stain is visible, as that can set the stain permanently.  Also, always follow the care instructions on your clothing’s label to make sure that the above method is appropriate for the material of your garment, to avoid causing any damage.