Before becoming a parent, I would have seen the title to this post and yawned…
Now that I am a parent, I consider it life-saving information.
Several months ago, Prairie Baby (I really need to start calling her something else since we’ll have another baby in the house in a few months!) discovered the joy of crayons.
And not only are they joyful on paper, but also on walls, doors, molding, furniture…. You get the idea.
So, what else is a blogger to do other than post a frantic question to their Facebook wall?
I ended up with a wealth of responses (because ya’ll are simply awesome) ranging from vinegar to those Magic Eraser thingies to Softscrub and everything in between.
After some trial and error, I knew that vinegar wouldn’t work. And my hot soapy water wasn’t cutting it either. I don’t like most Softscrubs because of the bleach, and I’ve heard mixed reviews about the safety of the Magic Erasers.
So, there I was.
I was ready to break out the paint and just cover up the scribbles, when my handy friend and neighbor, Jana, suggested using lemon essential oil.
Yeah. Ok. Worth a try, right?
It worked like magic.
I’m talking within seconds of lightly rubbing the marks with a drop or two of lemon oil on my finger, they were gone.
No elbow grease, no sweat, no chemicals. Wahoo!
Here are just a couple tips to keep in mind:
- I’m not sure this will work so great on flat paint. I used it on a satin paint as well as semi-gloss with great success. But, flat paint smudges so badly, I’m not sure anything would help that. (Thankfully, not very many people use flat paint in their homes)
- If you have a really big area to “erase” you might slightly dilute the lemon oil with something like olive oil so you don’t end up using a whole bottle. Or even a small amount of water would work.
- You can use a rag or your finger to rub the oil into the marks.
- Make sure you are using a high-quality grade of essential oils. The cheapie ones at the health food store aren’t great.
- This works on other stains, too. I’ve even started spot-treating some of my tough laundry stains with lemon essential oil.
Laura says
A tip I learned from a friend: heat the crayon marking up with a hair dryer on high heat (or I guess you could use a heat gun, but carefully so you don’t damage the walls) until it starts to run. Wipe with a towel or sponge, repeat until it’s all gone.
Bans says
Great tip! Saved my bacon!
Mrs Coupons says
I never allowed my kids to run around the house with crayons. Coloring time was at the table. This way I never had problems like this to deal with. But this was years ago back in the 80’s before parents let their kids parent themselves. (Not saying YOU do), Just an observation with some of my own friends and family.
Jill says
Yeah, I didn’t intend for her to run around with the crayons, but it happens.
chris says
That doesn’t seem like a very nice thing to say. Kids in all time periods did things they shouldn’t have and they always will. We should all remember to be kind to one another.
Col says
Wow! Was there a point to your comment? Other than to passive aggressively suggest that your generation parented “better?” Shaking my head…
Lori Kauffman says
Brilliant! Isn’t it wonderful to have such smart friends? Now I’m wondering if it would work on the leftover orange homemade play dough that’s on the wall in my sons’ room. Yeah, that was about 10 years ago. Or more. Ok, alot more.
~~Lori
Jill says
LOL Lori- it just might work on that, too!
Melissa K. Norris says
Another easy fix is to use toothpaste. Just put it on dry and rub, it polishes the crayon off w/out damaging the paint/wood.. I had crayons go from the paper to my oak antique dining room table. The toothpaste worked like a charm. It also worked on Sharpie!!
Jill says
Good to know! SO happy she hasn’t found a Sharpie yet!
Melissa K. Norris says
Yes, the Sharpie was by older son. It actually bled through the paper onto the table. I, of course, had a fit and remembered the toothpaste working on crayon and decided to try it. I couldn’t believe it even took up dried Sharpie. It’s also the last time he was allowed to use the Sharpie. lol
Amanda Z says
Thanks for this great tip! I’m interesting to know what you’ve read about Magic Erasers. My husband LOVES them, but he’s also open to hearing about things that are dangerous for our health. Do you have good, well-researched info – that’s what he’ll need to hear.
Thanks!
Desiree says
If you don’t have access to lemon essential oil, GooGone is a cheap alternative which harnesses the power of citrus oil. Works the same way, It also removes sticky adhesive marks from labels, lipstick or anything else ‘gooey.’
Its not 100% natural like the lemon oil, but it’s not really dangerous either. Just don’t drink the stuff.
Christina Heisler says
Magic Erasers are made of melamine foam, which is commonly used as pipe insulation or sound proofing material for studios. It is essentially an extremely fine sandpaper that can get into tiny grooves. The danger of magic erasers is that because it’s such a fine sandpaper, it can cause “burns” on your skin if you rub it too hard. The name of the actual material that makes up the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is called formaldehyde-melamine-sodium bisulfite. This type of sodium has been mistaken for formaldehyde. I was hesitant to use them too.
Jill says
Thanks for the info Christina. I had heard the formaldehyde thing and that was enough to make me stay away. Plus, some sources said to keep them away from children, and I wasn’t sure why. (Now I’m betting it’s b/c of the skin burn deal).
So, not incredibly “dangerous” or anything, but I figure if I don’t have to use one, I won’t.
Practical Parsimony says
Formaldehyde freaks me out! So, how does the formaldehyde in Magic Erasers harm a person? Exactly how?
Jill says
I’m not sure about that. Like I said, there are mixed reviews on this topic. But regardless, it’s enough to make me think twice about buying one. Although, I don’t think it’s necessarily super-toxic in this application.
christy says
i never knew this until recently, but oil is great for cleaning up oil. who would have thought? well, i suppose a scientist…but anyway, that makes sense that the lemon oil cleans up the crayon since crayons are made of a waxy substance. i bet that olive oil would work pretty well. i found this out because i got some oil-based primer on my hands and nothing worked. so i did some internet searching and found that olive oil works, and lo and behold it did!
oh, and this definitely wouldn’t work for flat paint. i had something with flat paint, and when i cleaned the spot, it left a mark. so especially cleaning with something like oil would ruin the paint job. that’s why i always use satin or one of the glosses on anything i paint.
Diana says
Anything oil based works really well. I have 6 kids and I have used mayo and coconut oil in seperate instances with great success
Kelly says
We usually use “Goo-gone”, but I like the idea of lemon oil much better! Another really useful thing to have on hand (for the flat paint, etc.) is Bon Ami powder (I have never tried their other cleaners). We use it to remove all kinds of stains and it won’t scratch the Corian countertop, the stainless steel sink, pot, and tea kettle, etc. It is non-abrasive and nontoxic, and pretty darn inexpensive! You can buy it online by checking where they sell it: http://www.bonami.com/ God bless
Brandi says
It takes a little elbow grease, but one thing I’ve tried, I don’t see it mentioned on here, is baking soda. Mix it with a little water into a paste and scrub the marks a little. It smells a bit like toothpaste though. I really like the idea of the lemon oil. Thank you for this.
Jill Winger says
Good idea about the baking soda!
Handmaidenofthegardengod says
I used Eucalyptus oil…worked just fine!
Su says
Best online tip I’ve ever found. I used Lemon Grass oil; the crayon came right off and the room smells wonderful! Thank you.
Jill Winger says
Yay!
Denise Rogers says
“Our” crayon stains (on a table very similar to yours..) has been there for several months after trying this and that. This morning I attempted to remove them yet again and came across your site.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! Unbelievably simple with my lemon e.o. from Plant Therapy (highly recommend this company, fantastic customer service, too) rubbed onto stain with finger, wiped with damp paper towel and completely gone. Passing this one onto my young mother friends!