The Kitchen Essential That Easily Gets Crayon & Ink Stains Out Of Laundry

When it comes to washing clothes, there are some stains that are tougher to get out of laundry than others. With crayons being oil-based and ink being a dye, it can be especially hard to remove these stains, especially if they happen in the wash itself. Accidentally leaving a crayon or pen in a pocket is surprisingly common and can lead to unexpected and frustrating stains that you want gone. Luckily, there's a simple solution in your kitchen to get rid of tough stains like these. All you have to do is grab some baking soda and make it part of your laundry routine.

For a full load of laundry impacted by pen ink or crayon stains, try adding 1 cup of baking soda with your wash. The combination of laundry detergent and baking soda will work together to target tougher stains. However, you'll want to add the baking soda directly into the washer drum, as it can cause clogs if put into the dispenser for your detergent. You can put the powder in first before the laundry, or you can add it after all of the laundry is in the drum. Once it's been added to your load of laundry, the baking soda will help to break down the oils of the crayon, while also acting as a more gentle abrasive to scrub any ink stains on the clothes. However, if adding a cup of baking soda to your wash doesn't work, you may need to try spot treating the stains instead.

If you're trying to get stubborn stains out of individual pieces of laundry, baking soda is the solution. Instead of throwing an entire load of laundry in the washer with a cup of baking soda, you can treat the stain with a paste made with one part water and two parts baking soda. You will want to check to make sure that the paste won't pull the color out of your clothing, so doing a test in a small, inconspicuous spot will let you know if the mix is safe to use in this case. Depending on how large the stain is, mix together 2 tablespoons of baking soda with 1 tablespoon of water until you get a paste that is thick and can easily spread across the fabric.

After you have put together the baking soda paste, gently rub it over the stain with a toothbrush or some other smaller brush. You'll want to let the paste sit on the stain for around 10 to 15 minutes so that it can work to break down the oils of the crayon and the dyes from the pen ink. If the material holds color well, you can leave the paste on longer if needed; you'll just want to make sure that the paste stays damp. Once the paste has had time to pull the stain, you can rinse it off and wash the item again.