Even when you do your laundry-sorting with all carefulness, anything can sneak into your dryer and cause a mess. Cleaning your dryer is more about maintenance than cleaning, and we’ll explain a practical way to do so.
Of course, the first step is to make sure you unplug your dryer—even if it’s a gas dryer. Then, define what type of problem you have: is it a crayon? Is it dye from a piece of cloth?
Here’s a series of steps you can follow to clean your dryer:
Crayon
1. Go ahead and check the interior drum for any stuck-on crayon, spin the drum just to be sure.
2. Scrape off any chunks of crayon with a plastic (expired) credit card or spatula.
3. Get a WD-40. Remember that a direct application of WD-40 is definitely banned (it can create a fire!). Instead, spray a small amount of it on a cleaning rag.
4. Rub any areas containing crayon marks, it won’t be hard work and the results will be great.
5. Take a different rag and wet it with soapy water. Wash with it the interior of the drum, paying special attention to the area that you just wiped with the WD-40.
6. Take a third rag and wet it with clean water. Rinse the interior of the drum, take a cloth, and dry it. (These steps will be repeated in all cases)
Ink
1. Instead of WD-40, apply an all-purpose cleaner onto a cleaning rag. Remember: direct applications are banned!
2. Rub the ink stain with your rag until it disappears.
3. If the stains are stubborn, dampen another cleaning rag with rubbing alcohol, and scrub the stain. Then, take a rag wet with soapy water and wash the interior of the drum.
4. Rinse and dry with two separate rags, as detailed above.
Candy or Gum
1. Probably you’ll have to use a blow dryer to soften the candy or gum to a point where it can be removed. Hold the blow dryer about 6 inches from the candy or gum and use the hot air setting.
2. Scrape the item off the side of the drum with a spatula.
3. Spray a small amount of all-purpose cleaner onto a cleaning rag. Do as in the process above: rub, rinse, and dry.
Dye
1. Take a dryer sheet, dampen it, and run it along the inside of the dryer drum. Use as many sheets as necessary to wipe down the entire drum.
2. Take your three “final process rags”: one with soapy water to clean, one to rinse and the last one to dry.
3. After the cleaning process—and before running a fresh load of laundry— run a test load of old towels or rags to make sure the stain is gone.
Remember that, apart from cleaning your dryer’s drum, it’s absolutely necessary to keep your dryer lint screen and vent free of excess lint and debris.
Want to enlighten us with some extra tips? Let us a comment below!