Monday, February 2, 2009

Crayon in the Dryer

I don't know whose fault it was - either one of us could have been to blame - but when I pulled a load of jeans out of the dryer yesterday, I found them streaked with yellow. We decided it was either a grease pencil from work that Paul left in his jeans, or a half a crayon I remember picking up while cleaning (but don't remember putting in my pocket, even though it wouldn't surprise me).
Since I was a week behind on laundry, it was every pair of my jeans, half of Nathan's jeans, and about four pairs of Paul's jeans.
Of course.
This is what I get for being lazy and not wanting to take them out in the wind to hang them on the line, putting them in the dryer.
What to do??? Because I don't have a hundred bucks to go replace my jeans! (I'm fine wearing them at home, but wasn't keen on wearing yellow-streaked jeans out in public.)
I Google-d how to get crayon out, and found a bunch of recipes involving Borax, Oxiclean, Vinegar, Tide Ultra-strength, Rubbing Alcohol, and the like..... I decided to use what I have on hand and see how we came out. (I'm cheap.)
And it worked! I just pulled them out of the dryer, and there is nary a smudge even.
Here's what I did:
  • 2 cups white vinegar
  • 1 cup (measuring cup, not the provided scoop) Oxiclean (or equivalent, ours is the off brand, but I can't remember the name)
  • hot water (remember our water heater is set on the not-quite-but-almost-boiling setting)
On the Hot/Cold setting, I filled the washer partway with water before adding the vinegar and Oxiclean (no soap this round). I loaded the jeans in and left the lid open for it to finish filling. It agitated, then just set there because it won't spin with the lid open. I left them to soak for a few hours.
When I went in to close the lid, I freaked out a little, because the water was a dark blue. While the washer drained, and then did the cold rinse, I was picturing me wearing acid wash 80s style jeans..... Not pretty.
Next I set it on the Warm/Warm setting and added about four times the amount of laundry soap I normally do. Don't know if that was strictly necessary, but it made me feel like it would be more effective.
I looked at them before I dried them, and didn't see any yellow, but was hoping it wasn't just hiding due to the wet fabric. But after drying them, I still see no trace!
I'm hoping this isn't a recipe I'll need again in the near future, but I thought it might be of use to another Mommy.

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