How to Clean Crayon Off of a Painted Wall

Crayon wax and colors leave their mark.

Crayon creates a combination stain consisting of crayon wax and pigment, so when your little artist has used your painted wall as a canvas, you end up with wax and dye stains on your wall. Removing crayon stains requires that you tend to both the wax portion of the crayon and the pigment portion. Proper technique and supplies allow you to clean your walls without damaging or removing the paint.

Things You'll Need

• Credit card
• Cleaning cloths
• 1 tbsp. mayonnaise
• Dry cleaning solvent
• All-purpose cleaner

Instructions

1. Scrape thick applications of crayon wax off your painted walls using the edge of a credit card. Wipe the credit card edge with a clean cloth and continue to scrape up as much crayon residue as possible.

2. 

   The same mayonnaise used for cooking and eating helps remove crayon from your walls.

   Drop 1 tbsp. mayonnaise onto a clean cloth. Gently rub the mayonnaise into the remaining crayon stains on your painted walls and allow the mayonnaise to remain for a few minutes. Buff off the crayon stains and mayonnaise with a clean, damp cloth.

3. Pour a quarter-sized amount of dry cleaning solvent on a clean cloth. Wipe off any stubborn traces of crayon with the solvent.

4. 

   All-purpose cleaner removes grease and crayon.

   Wash the surface of your painted wall by squirting it with an all-purpose cleaning spray and wiping the wall to remove your crayon stain removers.

Tips & Warnings

• When you have young children, paint walls with a semi-gloss paint. Semi-gloss paint is much easier to clean than flat paint.

• If a shiny residue remains after you remove the crayon from your wall, buff the site with an old dryer sheet to remove the crayon wax.

References

• "Good Housekeeping": Heloise Hints -- How to Get Rid of Stains and Odors: Crayon on Walls
• Apartment Therapy: More Miraculous Uses for Mayonnaise -- Remove Crayon Marks From Furniture, Floors and Walls
• Mrs. Clean USA: How to Clean Painted Walls