10 + steps How to remove crayon from wood

How to remove crayon from wood? If your kids are big fans of displaying artistry wherever they can get it, including wood furniture and wood floors, you must be wondering how to remove crayon off wood surfaces, sealed and bare wood.

Just take a wet sponge and wipe the surface with crayon stain using warm water.

If the crayon marks do not rub off the wood so easily, we have several ways for you.

How To remove Crayon From Wood Items

• Dishwashing detergent
• Dry baking soda
• White toothpaste
• Window cleaner
• Mayonnaise
• Petroleum jelly
• White vinegar

Avoid using nail polish remover or rubbing alcohol on finished wood, as these kinds of substances might ruin the protective coating.

Perform a small patch test on an inconspicuous area if you have doubts about any of the ways you want to use. You can read more about these methods here https://startwoodworkingnow.com/how-to-remove-crayon-from-wood/.

Let’s break down the presented methods.

Dish Detergent and Soft Cloth

Using dish detergent is a very easy and quick solution for those who is interested on how to remove crayon from wood. The soap acts quite gently on the wood without causing an undesirable chemical reaction. It removes crayon grease effectively.

How to remove crayon from wood Step-by-step:

White Toothpaste

Toothpaste can get rid of crayon marks from almost any surface, and is a great cleaning option for greasy stains and traces of children’s creativity.

Step-by-step guide on how to remove crayon marks from wood:

1. Apply a layer of paste over the pigmented area.
2. Use a soft sponge to spread the paste all over the stain.
3. Use a damp cloth to remove the remaining paste to avoid damaging the color of the wood.

Baking Soda

Water and baking soda will also be a great solution for cleaning wood. Baking soda is an abrasive that can remove many types of dirt.

How to remove crayon from wood with baking soda:

1. Dilute a tablespoon of baking soda with warm water to make a paste.
2. Using a clean sponge, apply a small amount of baking soda paste to the stain.
3. Clean the wood from the crayons with this sponge.
4. You can use a toothbrush.
5. Once the crayon has been peeled off, stop cleaning to avoid damaging the wood.
6. Remove excess soda with damp cloth and with dry cloth remove moisture.

Mayonnaise

How to remove crayon from wood with mayonnaise? This could be a surprising entry for readers, but some of you may know that mayonnaise contains oil components that are highly capable of breaking the oil in crayon wax and regular crayons.

1. Cover the crayon marks with a thin layer of mayonnaise.
2. Remove mayonnaise and crayon marks with microfiber cloth.
3. Feel free to clean the wood surface with soapy water and dry it.

The same effect may be achieved by using elbow grease.

Petroleum jelly

How to remove crayon from wood with petroleum jelly? The lubricant will help remove wax crayon marks from treated wood floors and furniture.

How to remove crayon from wood with petroleum jelly:

1. Type petroleum jelly on a cleaning cloth, which you use for cleaning the wood.
2. Rub until you remove the crayon.
3. Petroleum jelly will attract crayon grease and cleanse the problem area.
4. Clean the wood with a clean sponge.

How to remove crayon from wood with white vinegar

Vinegar has a perfect composition of how to remove crayon from wood.

But it is highly possible that it will destroy finished wood surface. Use on unfinished wood, otherwise perform quick patch test to avoid damage.

How to remove crayon from wood with vinegar:

1. Take a piece of damp cloth and put a few drops of vinegar on it.
2. Gently rub the crayon stains.
3. Wipe off the excess with the cleaning cloth.
4. Let the wood air out.

Window cleaner

Window cleaner is an extremely effective, simple and affordable product that you probably already have in your cleaning supplies.

Remember to test the product on the desired surface just in case to avoid ruining the coating of your wooden furniture.

How to remove crayon from wood with window cleaning agents:

1. Take a spray bottle of the cleaner and cover the crayon stains generously.
2. Leave it for a couple of minutes.
3. Remove the cleaner with a damp cloth.
4. Rub the crayon stains for a few moments.
5. Repeat if the stain persists.
6. When clean, wipe with dry cloth.
7. Leave the wood surface to rest for some time before using it.

Lemon Oil and Olive Oil

Both types of oil are able to remove crayon wax from wood, they will lubricate the surface, which is necessary in order for the crayon to come off more easily.

How to remove crayon from wood with lemon oil and olive oil:

1. Drip a little lemon essential oil onto a soft cloth.
2. Wipe the crayon marks on a soft cloth for a few seconds.
3. Most likely, there are still traces of crayon on the wood.
4. Soak a lemon oil rag with olive oil.
5. The oil will remove the remaining crayon from the wood.

How to remove crayon from wood with Mr. Clean Magic Eraser

This product is suitable for difficult stains. These erasers are very fine grit sandpaper.

1. Wipe crayon stained wood with Mr. Clean magic eraser.
2. Don’t rub too hard and stop as soon as the crayon has come off, otherwise the finish may be damaged.
3. If the wood is not processed, you can even take a simple sandpaper.

How to remove crayon from wood with Blow-dryer

Heating up the stubborn cases of crayon stains would be extremely useful, removing melted crayon is much easier.

Heat thick residues of crayon.

Spritz the melted crayon with all-purpose cleaner.

Risky Options To Consider

If the stain is not removed by any means, you may go for some strong options such as lacquer thinner or mineral spirits.

Be extremely careful, as these may ruin the coating and toughen the wood grain.

Make sure that you know what type of finish you are dealing with and how it reacts to measures we mentioned above.

Sealed wood surfaces may have used penetrating finishes such as linseed oil or surface finishes.

This is the last resort kind of solution, and you better have experience in woodworking before using these methods.

How to remove crayon from wood: Useful Tips

1. Find out in advance what kind of coating is on your wooden product in order to be ready to restore it in case of unforeseen situations.
2. Use gloves if you want to know how to remove crayon from wood with chemical cleaners.
3. A regular hair dryer can soften the crayons so that their further removal is easy.
4. Strong abrasives and sandpaper can create friction that will harden the stain on the wood even more.
5. The rest of the crayons can be scraped off with plastic cards without sharp edges.
6. If you have used chemicals for cleaning wood, the wood may need to be re-waxed to restore the protective coating and extend the life of the wood.

What Removes Crayon?

If you have fabric furniture or clothes stained with crayon, there are some solutions as well.

The best way to remove wax stains is with fabric stain removers. You can use any stain remover according to the following algorithm:

• Mix with water in a ratio of 1:10 (more water).
• Launder furniture until paraffin traces are completely removed. It is more convenient to use a kitchen sponge here.
• Dry with a hair dryer.

Some brands have special stain removers for colored pencils and crayons. You can find it at your local household stores.

Even wallpapers are not a problem.

Cover the stained area with a thin layer of rubber glue. Wait until dry (usually takes no more than 5 minutes). Then, remove the glue along with the wax.

Wallpaper made of paper will tear from such an impact, but nothing will happen to durable non-woven ones.

Crayon and candle wax can be removed from a wood or any other spotted surfaces with ice. Place a few ice cubes in a plastic bag.

Cover the stained area with crayon melted beforehand. When the wax becomes hard and brittle, take a plastic card or using your hands carefully scrape the wax/crayon piece off the surface.

Once the surface is free of crayon marks, you can restore it to its original beauty by using a special product. Anti-Crayon Kits are available in stores, effectively solving this problem. These come with all instructions on using them and are easily obtainable from hardware stores that stock paint or cleaning materials.

What NOT To Do

There are several prohibitions that should be followed when cleaning:

• do not scratch smooth surfaces (this is not a matter of aesthetics, wax crayons have the risk of clogging fresh scratches, and then it is much more difficult to remove);
• do not over-moisten wood, especially unsealed one;
• do not wash crayon wax-stained clothes with other clothes;
• do not use bleach (even without chlorine), it will only damage the surface, and will not affect the traces of the crayon.

FAQ

Final Thoughts on how to remove crayon from wood

Children need freedom of expression, and few adults want to limit their creative impulses. With our methods, you don’t have to panic every time your child picks up crayons, you can easily clean unwanted stains from your favorite wood furniture later.

The crayon can stick to wood very strongly, almost like candle wax. Therefore, arm yourself with the knowledge that will help you remove stubborn stains from your favorite wooden objects.

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We provided you with necessary information, so the task of removing crayon would be very easy for you!

Share your experience and ask any questions on this topic in the comment section down below.