Rubber, Crayon, or Ink in the Dryer… No Problem

What is worse than opening the dryer and seeing some scuff marks all over the inside of the dryer? Then you realize it is pen or crayon that was in a piece of clothing. I have lived this horror personally, only with rubber from a piece of carpeting. My dryer could not have been more than a month old when I had cleaned an area rug and tossed it into the dryer not realizing there were actually small pieces of black rubber in the underlining. My dryer looked like a drag race took place and I was horrified that I had just ruined by brand new $1,000 dryer.

Crayon, ink, and rubber in the dryer will make your heart skip a beat, but it is not nearly as horrifying as it looks in that moment. I won’t see it can be cleaned every time, but in most instances, the cleanup, albeit it tedious and time-consuming, is relatively easy.

Here are some quick steps to follow to remove rubber, crayon, or ink that is in the dryer barrel.

1. Run the empty dryer on the hottest setting available for 15 minutes. This will help to loosen the material stuck on the barrel.
2. Unplug the dryer to prevent any electrical issues.
3. While the inside of the dryer is still hot, use a cleaning cloth to remove as much of the material as possible. It is unlikely that you will be able to remove it all, but this will make the tedious cleaning aspect of this a bit easier.
4. Fill a small bowl with a few drops of detergent and warm water. Dab the towel into the liquid and apply it to the stain. Continue to do this to remove as much of the material as possible, wiping the area dry right away so you get all of the material off the inside of the dryer.
5. As the dryer cools, make sure you have dried everything, then repeat step one and two to reheat the barrel.
6. For anything that is left at this point, try using a Magic Eraser. Now, this is where the tedious and time-consuming aspect of the cleaning comes in. However, I have found this to be very effective at removing these types of stains completely.
7. If you still have stains after the magic eraser, try making a paste from powdered laundry detergent and water. Spread it over the stained area, allow it to sit for a few minutes, then buff it out.

If after all that, you still have a stain, you will need to call an appliance repair technician to clean it for you, just make them aware of what you had done to that point to remove the stain.