Cinnamon toothpaste & an eraser sponge...

It is the 1st of August here. A new month! The kids are not sick anymore and our dryer *knock on wood* seems to be working normally again.

In trying to find a solution cleaning crayon our of our dryer. My mom (who managed to evade ever having this issue), gave me a link to a site - http://www.thriftyfun.com. There, it had a loooong list of message postings from others that had the same problem as me. It was nice to know I wasn't alone!

I read through the posts, seeing all the various suggestions that either worked or didn't work for these individuals. Seeing as how we have a gas dryer, I wasn't keen on cleaning the entire thing with bleach (containing ammonia, beside I didn't have any in the house either), Goo Gone, Comet (which I didn't have in the house either), or even WD-40. I don't recommend using them in a gas dryer anyway. Then I came across a post way down the list, from a lady who said that toothpaste worked for her. Then another post said a Mr. Clean eraser sponge worked for her.

I tried a the eraser sponge by itself, the same night I noticed the disaster. It didn't do anything significant to help my cause. So yesterday morning I took the eraser sponge, a pitcher of water, and a tube of Crest cinnamon toothpaste. It had some whitening properties, and since I use it on my teeth, I figured it would be my best and safest option to use on our porcelain lined. Together the dampened eraser sponge and the cinnamon toothpaste did a wonderful job at cleaning off all the crayon residue left behind. I had to do a bit of scrubbing, but less than I expected. Plus the toothpaste, smelled strong in the confines of the dryer, did not suffocate me (though I had windows open) and smelled quite nice.

Later in the evening, I dried a load of not-fully-spun-out on the highest heat setting. So help clean up any toothpaste residue, and to see if there were any other areas where crayon had gotten to that I just didn't see or could not get off (like the drum's dividers that help agitate the clothes or linens while drying. None of the towels came out with crayon on them. They came out smelling quite nice. ;) The dryer didn't show any new crayon streaks either.

My next test will be running a load if dispensable whites through. If they come out crayon-free, then I think we're in the clear. We are well in our way at any rate. What a relief it is!

I'll keep the drying racks, to use for my more delicate laundry. So they'll come in handy anyway. My laundry life resumes normalcy. :)