Several months ago (okay, over half a year ago!) I posted about The Great Ink Pen Debacle. If that's not enough to make you turn tail and run, nothing is, but I decided it would be a good idea to share what worked for me in getting most of the ink from my clothes dryer.I originally did not plan to use bleach. It didn't seem like a great idea for me to have my head tucked in the dryer with a chemical that had warnings about using it in a well-ventilated area. But Gayle from The Grocery Cart Challenge was gracious enough to give me a link with various methods of cleaning out the ink, one of which used bleach. It also sounded like the easiest, least hands-on, and most effective method.
I had three old white bath towels and one almost full bottle of the new liquid bleach that looks like fabric softener. I used about half of the bottle and got all of the towels damp where they weren't dripping, tossed them in the dryer, and turned it on for about 30 minutes. I checked them when the dryer buzzed and it was making a difference! So I used the rest of the bottle, resaturated them and tumbled them until they were dry. The good news — I didn't have to stick my head in the dryer and use bleach while doing so. And most of the ink came off, too.
The bad news is that I can't show you a picture of it. See, the builder put in a gas hook-up instead of an electric one when they built our house. So for now the victim of The Great Ink Pen Debacle, Part 2, is residing here:
At least it's clean for the next people.To see more great WFMW ideas, visit Rocks In My Dryer.
Good tip. Hope I never need it, but knowledge is power.
ReplyDelete:)
~Reese
I feel your pain..totally! Had a pen explode in my washer just the other day. Check out what all I did to get the clothes and the washer and dryer clean!
ReplyDeletehttp://notesfromthewall.blogspot.com/2009/01/laundry-fiasco-in-shades-of-blue.html
That ink disaster happened to me too. It ruined several good items of clothing.
ReplyDeleteI have a question though.
If you're using bleach to clean it....how does the bleach come out of the dryer? Like....isn't it on the tub walls? And when you put in a load of say...wet colored clothes wouldn't it dilute the bleach off onto the clothes?
I'm really curious! Let me know...thanks.
Wanda - I washed those same towels in my washer after I was all done and then just put them through the dryer again before I did any other loads. Then I washed and dried a couple of the kids old beach towels just to make sure before I did our good clothes, and it had done the trick.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reminding me of the pain I experienced during the GIPD Parts I & II. The GIPD I/II haunt me to this day, and undoubtedly it will continue. Oh poor Hubby!! :)
ReplyDeleteAt least the back has no ink on it!
What a smart tip! I'm going to remember that one! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you - Thank you - Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteMy husband had a pen in his pocket and my dryer took the explosion! I didn't ever think I could get it clean again, and my dryer is only about 2 years old---I like everything to stay tidy and neat so this blew it! I am going to try this this weekend, thank you so much for this tip!
Blessings,
Linda from Kindlelight Blessings