Help! I Have Ink Stains in My Dryer

Updated on September 25, 2008
A.B. asks from Olathe, KS
22 answers

OK, brilliant mamas, I need help. My husband left an ink pen in a jacket and did a load of laundry. (Yes, he's the kind of wonderful husband that does laundry!) Anyway, the pen exploded in the dryer. Luckily it was a load of dark clothes. There are a couple that have ink marks on them. I'm going to try hairspray and stain remover on them. My problem is the dryer. We've tried rubbing it with rubbing alcohol, hairspray, goo be gone, and we got the majority off. But there is still a purple residue that won't come off no matter how hard we scrub. Is there something else that would take this stain out? I don't care if my dryer is permanently speckled purple, but I don't want it to get on my clothes. I thought if scrubbing wouldn't take the stain off, then hopefully it won't bleed on the clothes. I have clothes in the washer that need to be dried ASAP...what do you think I should do?

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J.K.

answers from Kansas City on

Try a Mr. Clean magic eraser. I haven't tried it on something like ink stains, but I have used in on red kool aid stains on my kitchen countertops and it took that right off. Just add a little water to the sponge before you use it. Good luck!!

1 mom found this helpful
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P.M.

answers from St. Louis on

Easy...use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and it will remove it quite easily. LOL! I only know this because I had the same thing happen just days after I got a new dryer. I had tried everything and saw the magic eraser and I couldn't believe
how easy it was to remove the ink! If only I had used it first!

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M.M.

answers from Kansas City on

I would try toothpaste!! I've tried on stains on my hardwood floor, and it works great for that.

1 mom found this helpful
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D.T.

answers from Kansas City on

Try Lemon Oil, it should get it right out. You can get the inexpensive kind in the cleaner isle at the grocery store near the furniture polish.
If that doesn't work, I sell essential oils and can order you a bottle of oil.
Good luck!
PS. Lemon oil also gets ink off leather recliners!

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B.C.

answers from Joplin on

A., I accidently did the same thing to my Mothers dryer, after using all the same things you have already tried ( and for me the hairspray took most of it off ) I actually ended up using a big pink pearl pencil eraser to get some of it off ( I have no idea why this worked ) there were some faint purple streaks left but none of it has ever come off on another load of clothes since then. I also happened to get most of the ink out of the inside of the dryer while the inside of the dryer was still warm ( not sure if that made a difference or not )
Lots of luck to you = )
B.

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A.D.

answers from Springfield on

try the mr. clean magic erasers they take off everything!

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C.G.

answers from St. Louis on

Maybe try drying a load of towels first. If any ink gets on those, it won't matter as much. Then you'll know whether to worry anymore or not!

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E.S.

answers from Kansas City on

Shaklee scour-off will probably do it. We clean ovens with the foam and sometimes add basic-h2. Also nature bright cleans stains from clothes, cups etc. Call ###-###-#### and we can talk. Shaklee not only is a non-chemical cleaner that works, but is safe for children and mothers. They can not be found in stores, but can be ordered from internet. If in the k.c. Area, i have some on hand and all are guaranteed to work or your money back. Liz Sutton

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C.B.

answers from St. Louis on

try desolve-it i think its wonderful

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C.C.

answers from St. Louis on

When all else fails, you might try 'Goof Off'. It's very caustic smelling and you shouldn't use it on painted surfaces. But it's like a miracle product. You just put a little on an old rag and wipe with it. It took permanent marker off of a dry erase marker with one swipe. I just dipped my rag covered fingertip in it and swiped it. I've gotten ink off tabletops with it. After using it, I'd wipe over the spot with soapy / damp rag or something because it's flammable. Also, I'd wait until the odor has dissipated to use the dryer. You can find it in the cleaning section of the hardware store. I'm a custodian and we use it for all types of cleanups where we can't clean stuff off.. gum in carpet, etc.

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H.H.

answers from Kansas City on

my hubby ink stained 2 brand new dryers within a few months of owning them. We never did get the stains out but also want to let you know that I just washed towels or jeans the few loads after and the ink didn't get on any of those loads and just dealt with the stained ink in the dryer. I was worried about ink getting on other loads too so if the ink doesn't get on a load of towels and I dried them on the hottest setting it isn't going anywhere. We now have another dryer and hubby and I are wondering how long it will be before this one gets ruined with ink. So far so good and is almost a year old now but the kids are also doing laundry but I have encouraged them to always check pockets so maybe we can keep this dryer ink free.
Just wanted to let you know that it didn't ruin any clothes other than the load the inkpen was in.

I wouldn't put anything oily or goof off in the dryer. I have used goof off to get the stains out of clothes and would have to rewash them 3-4 times to get rid of that smell so not sure the item was worth all that water it cost to get it clean lol. The magic eraser might work but never did try it and don't have the dryers now to try it.

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R.S.

answers from St. Louis on

I had a crayon go through the laundry and used toothpaste in the dryer. I put toothpaste on the spots and threw in old towels and turned it on for a while. Then I took the old towels and wiped off the toothpaste. It did work for me. I have no idea if it would work for ink but it is worth a try. Use the paste kind not the gel. Good luck. I still have crayon on some nice clothes I haven't gotten out yet. Still working on it.

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S.D.

answers from Topeka on

Have you tried the MAGIC Eraser by MR.Clean

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T.F.

answers from St. Louis on

Luckily purple is my favorite color because I never got all the spots out. :)
I never ruined any more clothes though. Get as much out as possible and run a load of rags through to check it....
but you should be fine!
T.

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K.T.

answers from St. Louis on

Try Scour Off it is all natural so you don't have to worry about dangerous fumes and is customer satisfaction guaranteed. It works wonders. Check it out http://www.shaklee.net/K.-thomas/product/00430
Good Luck!!

D.H.

answers from Kansas City on

This happened to us when my daughter snuck crayons home from a restaurant in her coat pocket. I decided to wash coats and ended up with crayon on 3 coats and 3 jackets...AND purple, blue, yellow and red all over the inside of the dryer. After cleaning as much of it as I could, my mom suggested to wash several loads of towels (thankfully ours are dark) and dry them on high heat. That helped. We now have a purplish hew in our dryer, which doesn't effect any of our clothes. This was two years ago and the hew is still there. Now is the time to laugh and say to your hubby, I love you. Good luck and God Bless.

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C.F.

answers from Joplin on

I have had this problem before, with ink and crayon. Yuck.
Try an old towel to see if it leaves any stains. If it does not, then you just get to live with a purple stained dryer. I am very courious to know if anyone else knows how to get that out. I could use the help myself.
I do not have any problems staining my clothes, once the dryer is wiped out.
C.

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C.S.

answers from St. Louis on

A.,

I have a tie-died dryer from a box of crayons (my husband is a wonderful helper, also). I actually had a repair man come out to look at it because I was so afraid of ruining my cloths. He took the whole thing part to clean it but basically told me I did a great job of cleaning it and that it was fine to use. Try running a load of rags and see what happens. Chances are, you'll have a cool tie-dye dryer like me that still works great. In the mean time, hang your load that is in the washer so that it doesn't get that icky smell and then fluff in the dryer with a fabric sheet after you test it out with the rags.
Good luck!

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K.L.

answers from St. Louis on

We have those stains in our dryer. Once we scrubbed off what we could, no clothes have ever been stained from it. But, to be sure, just dampen some old clothes or towels that you can afford to have stained and run a test load to make sure it won't affect the good clothing. Once you see it won't hurt anything, you will be able to put in the good clothes without needing a tranquilizer while they dry.

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M.

answers from Wichita on

As far as scrubbing surfaces, Mr. Clean Magic Erasers always worked for me. It whitens up everything. Give it a try.

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K.W.

answers from St. Louis on

I agree with Kathy L...I have had that happen twice. Once when my dryer was brand new (I was MAD) and once over the summer. The dryer bakes the ink so it will not transfer to anything else. We used all the things you mentioned and got what we could out...when it quits coming off with those cleaners, then it will not come off on clothes.

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A.R.

answers from Springfield on

I would say try a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, and then dry a couple of old towels to see if anything comes off on the towels.

You've already done all the things I would try !!!

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