4 Tips to Remove Crayon from Walls

If you have small children, the chances are good that they will likely determine that a wall or two in your house desperately needs their artistic talents. And while no one enjoys spending a Saturday removing crayon from the walls—it happens.

The good news: Most homeowners have the necessary products around the house to remove the crayon.

These include:

• Baking soda
• Toothpaste
• Magic eraser
• Rubbing alcohol

When it’s time to start cleaning, take a deep breath, remember this is not the end of the world, and use the tips below for each of these cleaning methods.

But first, two quick notes …

1. Teaching Opportunity

Depending on the age of your child and the situation, Junior may need the opportunity to experience the consequences of coloring on the walls. Hand them non-toxic cleaning tools and show them how to clean up the mess they have created. In all likelihood, they probably won’t get all the crayon markings off to your satisfaction, but in the interest of creating positive feelings within them about chores; we recommend praising their efforts. You can clean the rest with some serious elbow grease and restore your wall to its former glory.

1. And, a word of Caution!

Before you start with your chosen method for removing the crayon, test the cleaning agent on a small non-visible area of your wall to see what it does to the surface, color, and sheen. If the area still looks as it should when you finish testing, then proceed.

How to Remove Crayon from Painted Walls

Baking Soda

Start with a clean sponge or rag. Get the sponge wet and put baking soda on it. Next, rub the baking soda on the crayon marks. This should effectively remove the crayon from your painted walls. Once the mark is gone, wipe away the residual baking soda using a clean, damp cloth or your rinsed and wrung-out sponge. This method also works on scuff marks. Who doesn’t have one of those on their wall somewhere?

Toothpaste

Another recommended method for removing crayon is toothpaste and a toothbrush. Please note, for this to work you need to use actual paste not the gel. Paste has tiny abrasives that polish your teeth. This slightly gritty texture is what helps to remove the unwanted markings from the surface you’re scrubbing.

Magic Eraser

They call it magic for a reason. If you haven’t yet experienced how amazing these things are, start by getting the sponge wet and then ring out excess water. It doesn’t need to be dripping. With your damp Magic Eraser, start rubbing the mark on the wall and watch it disappear. No chemicals or soap required.

Rubbing Alcohol

We have seen some demonstrations that show rubbing alcohol works wonders on permanent marker. However, we also know that rubbing alcohol may have adverse effects on certain kinds of paint. Acrylic will come off. Like we said before, test a small non-visible area before you start scrubbing.

Bad News

Sometimes, even after your best efforts to remove the crayon marks from the wall, some surfaces will simply have to be repainted to restore them to their former state before your child started working on their masterpiece.

On the bright side, now you can try that new color you were looking at the other day. Book a free estimate with the professionals at Five Star Painting or by calling (888) 261-3633.

More Good News

Someday you’ll be able to laugh about this!