Thursday, April 30, 2009

A few laundry tips...

When washing a load of clothes, be sure to check all the pockets. Especially if you have toddlers. You never know when there may be a pack of CRAYONS in one of the pockets. Yes, CRAYONS. And, I didn't catch them before I threw the load in the dryer. You want to know what happens when you wash and dry a pack of crayons?! Weeping, and wailing and gnashing of teeth, that's what happens. The inside of the dryer was coated with waxy, crayon-y goodness. Behold the photographic evidence. Click on them for a closer look. I dare ya.


The clothing that was washed and dried with the crayons didn't fare too well, either. Check out these streaky jeans. At least it wasn't the whites...


I searched online to figure out what my best options were for cleaning out the dryer and tried a few different methods. What ended up working the best was Barkeeper's Friend for the large, wide surfaces and a generic Magic Eraser for the nooks and crannies. I used a damp cloth diaper, and dumped some BF on it and rubbed it around to make a little paste. Along with some elbow grease, it worked pretty nicely. See for yourself.


I even took apart the little lint catcher thingy and vacuumed it out. Now this puppy is almost cleaner than it was when it was born! Again, before:

after:


Whew! Look at that shine!

I still haven't tackled the load of jeans that got assaulted, but after reading up on it my plan of attack is: spray-n-wash, wash on the 'sanitary cycle' with normal laundry soap & Ultra Clorox 2 for Colors (which I thought for the longest time was laundry soap, until a heated discussion with my mother-in-law proved otherwise. A story for another day perhaps. Or not..).

I'll let you know how that pans out. So, to make a short story long, word to the wise--when doing laundry ALWAYS check ALL the pockets!! Take my word for it. I promise.

3 comments:

  1. That is the mostest sparkliest dryerest I've ever seen! Good job Mrs. Clean you erased it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm glad you were able to save the dryer. Hopefully the clothes aren't permanently ruined. I always get paper and tissues in my laundry!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Crayon tip for clothes: have you tried the iron transfer method? You use a paper towel and place it between the clothing and the iron. The crayon melts, and lifts away. I'm not sure what setting it has to be on. Can't remember. Maybe google?

    ReplyDelete

Comments make me smile. :D