Safe to put clothes in stained dryer?
June 21, 2011 9:49 AM Subscribe
My housemate left a pen in the dryer and there are blue streaks all over the dryer barrel. I tried rubbing them with a damp towel (water only), didn't come off. If I put my clothes in the dryer now will they come out stained?
Later loads of clothes may indeed be stained, since they're going in wet (it happened to me once).
Ink comes off with rubbing alcohol--I'd try that to remove it from the barrel.
posted by johnofjack at 9:53 AM on June 21, 2011 [9 favorites]
Ink comes off with rubbing alcohol--I'd try that to remove it from the barrel.
posted by johnofjack at 9:53 AM on June 21, 2011 [9 favorites]
Hairspray is extremely flammable and won't just evaporate away. Please do not clean your dryer with hairspray.
posted by phunniemee at 9:56 AM on June 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by phunniemee at 9:56 AM on June 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
Nail polish remover (acetone) should work fine and it evaporates quickly.
posted by buckaroo_benzai at 10:00 AM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by buckaroo_benzai at 10:00 AM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
There's a stain remover called Amodex (generally available in grocery stores, in my experience) that I've used to good effect on all kinds of marker stains, including permanent-marker ones. If alcohol doesn't work, you could try rubbing the drier interior with that-- the advantage is that it's clothing-friendly and not highly flammable, so you wouldn't have to worry about residue possibly left behind.
posted by Bardolph at 10:00 AM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Bardolph at 10:00 AM on June 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
This happens in my house more than I would like to admit. My dryer is streaked in blue; my whites are still white.
posted by wg at 10:02 AM on June 21, 2011
posted by wg at 10:02 AM on June 21, 2011
Agree with wg - in our house, the blue stays on the barrel.
posted by dpx.mfx at 10:06 AM on June 21, 2011
posted by dpx.mfx at 10:06 AM on June 21, 2011
Buy a cheap, large, white towel or two, wet it, and put it in the dryer.
posted by haykinson at 10:08 AM on June 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
- Worst case, you've ruined a cheap towel that you now can use as a cleaning rag, and you've still got a problem to solve.
- Medium case you've ruined the towel but the ink is gone.
- Best case you've got yourself a nice towel as well as a clean dryer.
posted by haykinson at 10:08 AM on June 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
Yeah, if it were me I'd probably just run a load with some stuff I didn't much care about or with some dark/black clothes and see what happened. I've run pens through the dryer (and washer!) more times than I'd care to admit and while it does sometimes cause a mess in the load with the stowaway pen, it's never been a problem for future loads. YMMV.
posted by Scientist at 10:08 AM on June 21, 2011
posted by Scientist at 10:08 AM on June 21, 2011
Rubbing alcohol will get rid of the ink stains. i don't know if you have a gas dryer, and I've never tried to clean one of those, but with an electric dryer you run it, empty, for a few minutes to just warn the drum (delicate cycle), then wipe the stains with the rubbing alcohol on a rag. Use a rag because you will want to toss it afterward as it will now be stained with ink!
posted by misha at 10:30 AM on June 21, 2011
posted by misha at 10:30 AM on June 21, 2011
Hairspray works to remove ink because it's alcohol-based. It's good for emergencies, but spraying it in your dryer seems like a bad idea. Alcohol is probably your best bet, and it should already be in your medicine cabinet.
posted by annsunny at 11:30 AM on June 21, 2011
posted by annsunny at 11:30 AM on June 21, 2011
Have you considering asking the manufacturer? Check the brand, go online, find their customer service number.
posted by juniperesque at 11:57 AM on June 21, 2011
posted by juniperesque at 11:57 AM on June 21, 2011
Ink comes off with rubbing alcohol
Methyl alcohol (methanol) works waaay better than isopropyl. Dissolves ballpoint ink on contact.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 1:24 PM on June 21, 2011
Methyl alcohol (methanol) works waaay better than isopropyl. Dissolves ballpoint ink on contact.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 1:24 PM on June 21, 2011
I washed & dried my favorite gel pen a few years ago (along with a bluetooth headset!) - and while there are still a few faint marks on the barrel of the dryer, I don't think it ever stained any of my clothes.
posted by epersonae at 1:56 PM on June 21, 2011
posted by epersonae at 1:56 PM on June 21, 2011
Rubbing alcohol, by the way, won't work for gel pen stains.
posted by misha at 2:08 PM on June 21, 2011
posted by misha at 2:08 PM on June 21, 2011
On 2nd thought: it didn't stain any of my clothes after the first run through. (Oh, poor khaki pants that were in the dryer with the pen....)
posted by epersonae at 2:21 PM on June 21, 2011
posted by epersonae at 2:21 PM on June 21, 2011
This happened to me. I was staying with my parents in college over Winter break and did some laundry. I pulled my clothes out of the dryer and panicked when I saw the blue. It was 11 at night, and I knew my mother would freak (because she claims I always break or ruin everything--WHY?!).
I drove to Walmart--which probably looks the same in any city across the United States. Midnight at Walmart is a God forsaken place where the dregs of society congregate to do their shopping and seemingly wonder around with zombie blank stares. I purchased some cleaning solvent called Oops (which I still refer to as 'Oops I Crapped My Pants,' like from Saturday Night Live ).
I got home around 1 AM, grabbed an old rag, and tried rubbing away the blue pen marks with the Oops I Crapped My Pants. Rub as I might, it seemed to do nothing except ruin the protective coating on the dryer (I suppose it's probably some sort of protective layer on the drum to keep water from being absorbed). I only experimented in one spot (right in the middle--quite obvious, actually).
So there you go. Learn from me. Two hours and a midnight trip to Walmart wasted. My mom still yelled at me, but it had no affect on any later loads of clothes. Once the pen exploded, the clothes already in there basically soak up the excess ink and buff the dryer drum. It'll be fine.
posted by rybreadmed at 10:16 PM on June 25, 2011
I drove to Walmart--which probably looks the same in any city across the United States. Midnight at Walmart is a God forsaken place where the dregs of society congregate to do their shopping and seemingly wonder around with zombie blank stares. I purchased some cleaning solvent called Oops (which I still refer to as 'Oops I Crapped My Pants,' like from Saturday Night Live ).
I got home around 1 AM, grabbed an old rag, and tried rubbing away the blue pen marks with the Oops I Crapped My Pants. Rub as I might, it seemed to do nothing except ruin the protective coating on the dryer (I suppose it's probably some sort of protective layer on the drum to keep water from being absorbed). I only experimented in one spot (right in the middle--quite obvious, actually).
So there you go. Learn from me. Two hours and a midnight trip to Walmart wasted. My mom still yelled at me, but it had no affect on any later loads of clothes. Once the pen exploded, the clothes already in there basically soak up the excess ink and buff the dryer drum. It'll be fine.
posted by rybreadmed at 10:16 PM on June 25, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by TheBones at 9:52 AM on June 21, 2011