Ten Ways to Easily Get Rid of Crayon Marks on Walls

Any parent knows that children are not always perfect angels. Every once in a while, even the best behaved kid will find a way to act out, and scribbling on the wall with crayons or some other writing implement is a particularly common such outlet. Fortunately, if this happens to you, you do not necessarily face the prospect of covering the damaged wall with a new coat of paint. These tips can help you remove even the toughest crayon marks, leaving your wall looking as good as new. Just remember to test whichever one you pick on an invisible corner to ensure that it does not damage or discolor your paint.

Before you go to the trouble of cleaning crayon marks off a wall, try erasing the marks first. An ordinary pencil eraser will remove crayon markings in a surprising number of cases.

The Magic Eraser cleaning product from Mr. Clean is designed to make the toughest household cleaning jobs easy. It might not be quite sufficient for the toughest wall drawings, but it will work in many cases.

One of the easiest means of removing crayon drawings from your wall is to coat the marks with a thin layer of ordinary mayonnaise. Let the mayo sit for a few moments to soak in, then wipe it off. The crayon should come off with along with the mayo with hardly any effort.

That can of ordinary WD-40 that you keep on hand to lubricate squeaky doors can double as a remarkably effective and non-damaging cleaning solution for crayon and marker drawings on the wall. Just spray the drawings with the WD-40, then wipe them off with a moist rag.

Many find that a spray bottle of ordinary glass cleaner works surprisingly well for cleaning crayon marks on a wall. Just spray the marks down, let them sit for a few moments, the wipe the wall clean.

Mineral oil is a fairly low-impact cleaning option, which can be useful if you have particularly delicate walls. Much like with mayonnaise, allow the mineral oil to sit on the crayon markings for a few minutes, then wipe the oil and crayon off together. You can use baby oil or eucalyptus oil the exact same way to remove crayon marks as well.

Baking soda can often remove stubborn crayon marks on a wall, and you do not even need to make a cleaning solution from the baking soda. Simply dump a little baking soda onto a plate, moisten a cloth, dip the cloth in the baking soda, then wipe off the crayon.

Goo Gone is designed to remove a variety of different types of stubborn stuck-on gunk from a variety of different surfaces. Just to name a few options, it will work on oil, sticker residue, lipstick, mascara, chewing gum and, of course, crayon. It is available in a spray-on bottle; after coating the marked wall surface, let the solution sit for a minute or two, then wipe the marks off. If you notice any oily residue on the wall after the marks are gone, ordinary dish soap and water will take care of the problem.

For particularly stubborn wall artwork, a tube of toothpaste is often an effective option. Squeeze a layer of toothpaste over the markings, then scrub them off with a cloth or brush. Make sure you choose a non-gel toothpaste for the job; you need the kind that contains an abrasive ingredient (preferably in a whitening toothpaste) to work away the crayon.

For particularly thick, heavy crayon marks, you will have to bring out the big guns – or just ordinary steel wool. Steel wool will do a great job of removing even the heavy crayon marks, but if you scrub too hard you could damage your wall’s paint or wallpaper. To avoid this damage, just lightly skim the crayon marks with the steel wool, making sure that all your strokes run in the same direction rather than back and forth or in a circular motion, as you gradually remove the crayon from the wall.

Some well-meaning individuals recommend using an iron or a hair dryer to heat up crayon markings on a wall, saying that this will melt the wax in the crayon and allow you to wipe it off. While this may be true in some cases, the problem is that the heating process will often cause the crayon to soak deeper into the wall rather than simply sitting on its surface. You may be able to wipe the wax off, but the color could still be visible on the wall afterwards – and your only option at that point will be repainting.

You should also be aware of the ingredients of any household product you use to try to remove crayon markings. Some may include components that can be harmful to the wall, so again, test every cleaning method on an invisible part of your wall before you try it on the drawings.

Crayola: “How to Remove Regular Crayons From Painted Walls”

Reader’s Digest: “How to Get Crayon off the Wall: 7 Speedy Solutions”

This Old House: “10 Uses for Mayonnaise”