fraggle

I always love to take my 6yr old to meets and shows, she loves it and I like sharing the time with her. When she gets bored with the cars, she just busts out the coloring books and sits in the hatch.

Today when we got back from an EARLY morning meet, I parked outside, figuring I'd clean the car and grab the stuff after a snack, but we both fell asleep on the couch! When I came back out, the crayons in the back were all melted.

How do I get this stuff off the carpet? Looks like it's going to be a pita, esp with the yellow one on the black.

ammonman

My seamstress wife says if it is wool carpet you are in luck. Place some newspaper or tissue paper over the wax and heat with an iron. The wax should soak into the paper a little. Let the wax cool a little (not hard but not liquid) and pull the paper up gently. Repeat as needed until the wax is all up. The color should come out with the wax. You can also try some stuff called "Goof Off" to remove the wax and residue if you have acrylic carpet. Oh, and trade the crayons for colored pencils.

Mike

Erik N

In my experience, nothing gets out a wax stain. I had a blue crayon melt in my Mercedes, I took the carpet out and tried everyting I could think of to get it out. Soap and boiling water. The iron/paper thing (I used gauze instead of paper). Acetone and scrub brush. Hot lacquer thinner. Nothing worked very well. Sorry!

jpNcos

vinegar or WD40

Nicole

Somebody once told me to put paper towels over the stains and carefully heat them up with an iron. This way the melted wax is supposed to be soaekd-up by the paper towels.

I have not tried this - be careful to not make things worse than they already are!

fraggle

Ok thanks folks! I can also reply to my own thread with success!

If this happens to you, you will need:

9 gallons of boiling water
Simple green

1) Pour the boiling water on the wax and stain until carpet is saturated.
2) Spritz with simple green until saturated
3) Pour on more boiling water
4) Repeat

Resist temptation to scrub!!!

The boiling water will lift out the wax, the simple green seems to help it stay in suspension until rinsed off.

Sorry no before shots but after you can't even tell where the crayons where! and they were green blue and yellow!!

Nicole

Good job!!! Thanks for sharing your solution.

Now, tell us in a few months, when the carpet starts disintegrating... just kidding!!!

RKD in OKC

Crayons are mostly vegetable oil. If that helps.

Shawn Stanford

FWIW: I love this problem. The fact that you've got crayon stains in your 928 shows that it's a part of your family, not a garage queen. You should be proud of your stewardship.

Porsche everyday!

fraggle

Absolutely. Most locals now know my car as the 928 with the little girl. My daughter is six and always wants to go to the car shows. Usually we end up with at last one other kid in the back coloring or whatnot. Doesn't bother me a bit.

When I saw the inital puddle of crayons I was pretty freaked out - but not at my daughter - I could have remembered to removed them but bah, I spaced it.

I'm glad it came clean, but one thing you learn and accept with cars is that there is no problem that more money cannot solve.

I'd rather have the crayon stains than leave my daughter home anyway. She got up with me at 6:15am for cars and coffee!

Dave928S

I smiled when I read your post as it reminded me of similar moments with my kids. Treasure every precious moment .. they grow up too fast. You sound like a great Dad with the right priorities

Trip..

A can of compressed air for cleaning keyboards. Turn the can upside down and spray the crayon until it becomes frozen solid, (about 45 seconds) then pop it off with a putty knife or similar. This works for candle wax on carpet in the house too.

fraggle

Good tip! You aren't always in a position where you can pour 8 gallons of boiling water on the stains. Hope these tips help out some other dads and moms someday. You can say you learned it on rennlist.

Thanks for the props, Dave! She'll be at SITM too, with a fraglet badge so everyone knows where to return her if she gets in trouble.

My car got "judged" today at the concours, probably because I parked in the "right line" and the judges couldn't decide whether to give me extra points for the kid seat, missing carpet and coloring books everywhere or to deduct. J was still in the hatch reading a book! It was epic! I just wanted to park with the in crowd.

fraggle

Whoop I forgot to give a thanks and a hat tip to Shawn, too!!

You never know which problems you're going to have to solve!

sharknoob

Gum remover may work. Like Trip said try to freeze it and smash it and vac it up