The Red Crayon

Last Sunday my little sweetie wore this outfit to church. My mom knit the sweater for Aaron, and being the good little grandson that he is, he wore it with pride. He received lots of compliments from our friends, and he stayed plenty warm in Sunday School. What a happy day. What I didn't know, but soon found out, was what he put in his pocket at church.

I've washed lots of things in my years of mothering. Chapstick leaves greasy spots on clothing. Everyone knows how kleenex shreds itself into millions of pieces. Rocks tumble around and make lots of noise in the dryer. Chocolate candy bars melt. But never in my life had I washed and dried a red crayon. In a load of whites.

I opened the dryer and it looked like a small animal had exploded inside of it. Angry red blotches covered t-shirts, underwear, socks, and the khaki pants that once held the offending crayon. Centered on top of the mound of clothing was a perfectly preserved (empty) Crayola wrapper. It sat there like an offering to me, immediately answering my question of, "What happened in my dryer?!"

Some people might have turned everything into rags and bought new clothing. We're on a single income here, so that's not really an option for me. Plus, some of those "rags" were actually new a few weeks ago. I was NOT going to give up! But I was pretty upset. Poor Aaron. Before googling it, I threw everything back in the wash with bleach. Yeah, that didn't do any good. I know that now. So I left the mess in the laundry room and went to bed.

The next day I found lots of suggestions on the internet. It seemed like for every concoction that worked, someone else would report it wasted their time and money. Which of the many "recipes" should I try? I decided to pick and choose from these suggestions and create my own. I didn't want to spend any money, but I was willing to put a little time into it. My next step was to call my mother-in-law. She brought over one ingredient I needed, and also some more advice. Here's what I did:

• Looked for the big blobs of wax on clothing. They were easy to find. With my iron set to medium heat, I ironed the spots with one paper bag over the clothing and one underneath the clothing. This melts the wax and the paper absorbs it. It really didn't take long. And this is coming from me, the girl who never irons.
• Filled washing machine with hot water. My 4 "magic" ingredients were Era detergent, Shout, Oxiclean, and white vinegar. I didn't measure them, I just guessed. 
• Added the clothing and let it soak for 2 hours.
• Turned the washer back on after 2 hours and let it do it's thing.

I was amazed! No more crayon!!! A few light pink spots here and there, but NOTHING like before! The load of laundry was saved! My kids and my husband witnessed my delight and thought I was a crazy woman! Aaron was off the hook--and I learned a lesson too. Check his pockets. :)