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Remove ink in your dryer

To remove ink stains from your clothes dryer, place 2 cups of bleach in a bucket, then fill the bucket halfway with water. Take some old towels and soak up the liquid in the bucket. You don`t want the towels to be dripping wet, just very damp.

Place them directly into the dryer to remove the ink and run an entire cycle. Repeat if necessary. When you feel you have removed the ink sufficiently, place an old dry towel in the dryer to make sure that you removed all of the ink.

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It Works Comments By: Darryl I tried this tip and work real well   Great Tip! Comments By: Dave I used this tip to remove blue ink from a dryer on 02-24-05. It was very easy and worked great. The longer you run the wet bleach towel in the dryer the cleaner it gets. All of the ink was removed in about 45 minutes of run time.   Dryer Ink Stains Comments By: L. J. Watkins We had a mess in the dryer from a pen, tried this method and worked pretty well, not perfect but certainly better than it was!!Thank you!!!   didn't work for me Comments By: Jen I ended up using diluted bleach and Comet to get the ink stains out. Was much quicker!!   It works! Comments By: anon I got my permanent marker stains out that had gotten in there as I didnt know my son had a marker in his hoodie...this happened a few days ago so the ink stains were pretty set. This is a miracle worker. Thanks to whomever gave this tip out as my dryer is only a year old and my mother in law is coming to visit!! ahh U ALL KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS. :) Thanks again!   Great Tip! Comments By: Dayna This method worked wonders in my dryer. Not 100% but almost. Had tried Magic Eraser, hairspray, rubbing alcohol, and WD-40 -- nothing was working. A few of the darkest stained areas remain but are much lighter.   Thank You Comments By: Anon I had black gel ink all over my dryer and this worked well. It at least lightend the stains and the ink doesn't come off from my other clothes!   Excellent Comments By: Zig It worked very well! We ran it through twice but even after the first run - it removed almost all of the ink stains! EXCELLENT!   WOW!!! Comments By: Heather S. My dryer was covered with ink, I used this but I used my dish towels that needed to be bleached anyways and after only 10 minutes the ink was all gone! This saved my husband from a good yelling!   pretty awesome Comments By: marno I was a little leary - but I tried it and PRESTO! it worked pretty well - did a couple of cycles and now I have just a couple of tiny spots left - beats scrubbing by hand - best to open the windows though cause the house smelled like a sauna   Wow Comments By: Deb I tried scrubbing with alcohol first and almost passed out from the fumes! Used this towel trick and every mark is gone after only about 30 min. Definitely a winner!   WHat a mess! Comments By: Jane Looked this up on the internet after an hour of scrubbing with head in dryer. I was going nowhere, fast. Tried this method and it works. Will run through second time just for slight marks left. Thanks so much!!!!   It worked good Comments By: Marilyn A broken ink pen in my new dryer made me sick. I tried alot of cleaners and tips I found on the internet. A Mr. Clean eraser with non acetone fingernail polish worked the best and took the worst of the ink out. Then I had a light blue tinge all over the inside of my dryer. I didn't think this bleach water on towels would work but I tried it and wow my dryer is white again. Thanks for the tip.   Removing ink stains Comments By: bob This one works... my son left a bunch of pens in his pocket, they were all put through the dryer and made quite a mess. Through in a couple of towels with bleach on them, and it removed most all stains... thanks to who ever thought of this!   Ink be gone!!!!!!!!!!! Comments By: Stephanie Winters This tip worked great! I had tried almost everything else imaginable, alcohol, WD-40, baking soda, ect. I was ready to give up and just head to the laudromat to dry my clothes or put off doing the laundry again. Try this tip when in doubt about ink, it REALLY works!! Thanks!!!!!!!!!1   Giddy Up!! Comments By: Ang This was great! We had a pen explode everywhere in the dryer. We tried rubbing alcohol, nail polish remover, and soft scrub. None of them worked nearly as well as this. THANK YOU!!!   THANK YOU! Comments By: Debbi My dryer is 2 weeks old and I flipped out! This works great. It didn't get it all but I used some "odorless" oven cleaner and it helped remove some of the more stubborn spots. Just make sure you have good ventilation.   Yes, it works! Comments By: Joseph Goo Gone, 4 dollars. Nail Polish Remover, 3 Dollars. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, 2.50. Bleach, water, some old towels to make my dryer become clean once more, PRICELESS. This works, I repeated it a few times, for about an hour and it is now completley clean. All the previous methods, nothing worked. Until I found this, well it works, see for yourself. And if it doesn't, I'm sorry.   Unbelieveable!!! Comments By: Anon I could not beleive it, it really worked!!! I tried everything imaginable and then found this site. You saved my nephew from having to purchase a new dryer for me, and many trips to the laundromat. Thank you so much!!! He thanks you too!!   IT really does work Comments By: Michelle I tried this after my son left a pen in his clothes and it got dried. There was blue ink all over the inside of my dryer. I tried the bleach with the towels and now the ink is gone. WOW this really does work. Thanks again for the awesome tip.   IT REALLY WORKS! Comments By: Mom of 8! Ellen My son had left a pen in his pants.They dryer was covered and he had tried to scrub it himself. I tried the bleach and it worked first time. Yea it is not our dryer!   Nail Polish Remover Works! Comments By: Vanessa H./Atlanta, GA I used nail polish remover WITH ACETONE to remove big splotches of ink from my dryer. I did not turn it on!! Just got down on my knees with an old rag and poured the nail polish remover on the rag! Old fashioned elbow grease worked wonders!! The stains are now gone!   IT WORKS!! Comments By: KAREN BLEACH SOAKED TOWELS AND THE DRYER ON HIGH DOES REMOVE INK FROM YOUR DRYER CANISTER! 90% IS GONE AFTER ONE TRY! THANKS!!   Of Course It's Nobody's Fault!!! Comments By: jiwil My 16 yr. old son threw a fit saying that his brother's jersey ruined all his khaki school uniform pants..Boys will be boys...upon examing the issue it was HIS pants that had an pen left in the pocket that exploded all over the dryer..Luckily only that one pair of pants were ruined....Did the Bleached Towels Trick,,,,with a little hesitation,,,,& after the 1st run most ink was gone...2nd even better...in the process of the 3rd...NOTHING else worked....THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!   Ink removal Comments By: Dave's Girl Thank you!! I was so worried the ink stains would never come out of my new dryer...but this solution worked!   THIS SAVED MY LIFE Comments By: MONICA 2-20-08 MY ELDEST SON GOT UP THIS MORNING TO GO TO SHCOOL AND PUT IN THIS LEVI PANTS THAT HAD BEEN A LITTLE WET FROM THE DAY BEFORE BECAUSE OF BEING OUT IN THE SNOW. WHEN HE WENT TO GET THEM OUT OF THE DRYER, HE CAME RUNNING TO ME IN TEARS. HE WAS SO SORRY FOR RUINING MY DRYER AND "PLEASE DON'T TELL DAD" I WAS HORRIFIED TO SEE HOW MUCH DAMAGE A LITTLE PEN COULD DO. I TRIED EVERYTHING LIKE ALL THE OTHER PEOPLE AND EVEN CALLED A LAUNDRY HELP LINE WITH NO GOOD INFO. GOT ON THE WEB AND FOUND THIS SITE AND READ ALL THE TESTIMONIALS AND ALL I CAN SAY IS "THANK YOU SO MUCH" I TRIED THIS THE FIRST ROUND AND IT REMOVED A LOT OF THE STAINS AND NOW TRYING IT FOR A SECOND ROUND. IF IT WERE NOT FOR THIS INFO ON THE WEB AND THE MANY PEOPLE TELLING THEIR TESTIMONIES I WOULD PROBABLY HAVE TO GO OUT AND BUY A NEW DRYER. I WAS WILLING TO LIVE WITH THE STAINS, BUT WHO WANTS STAINS IN THE DRYER SET IN WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW IF IT IS GOING TO COME OFF ON THE REST OF THE CLOTHING. TRY THIS, IT REALLY WORKS AND SAVES A LOT OF HEARTACHE.   "WORK SO GOOD!!!" Comments By: Dee I was drying a load of clothes and I noticed that someone in my family left a black papermate pen in their pocket! I thought of using clorox in the dryer but not the way you suggested thank you so much!It didn't remove all my stains but it looks very well after the fact. I will be telling all my friends about this method! My dryer is quite new and I thought it was ruined!!   thanks Comments By: jackeyson WOW i am amazed. I too tried the polish remover, lighter fluid, w-d. You know the story, i used an old white t-shirt and i am amazed. Sending in through for another round. thanks to whatever genius came up with this. THANK you, thank you thank you   hell yes! Comments By: sillybass@yahoo.com Worked like a charm with one cycle!   Ink in Dryer-Bleach on Towels- Great Tip!!! Comments By: Anon What a horrible feeling to open your dryer and see that pen leak all over! I was very depressed, and not looking forward to sitting there scrubbing with acetone, alcohol or any other number of spot treatments. First cycle of bleached towels and 80% improvement. Second cycle got a bit more, now on third cycle. Overall much improved and probably will only have to spot clean a few areas. Great suggestion!   DADDY MAKE BOO BOO Comments By: WINCHEL ROHDE WELL EVEN A DAD CAN MAKE A MISTAKE AND YOUR SOLUTION REALLY WORKED   Worked great and I didn't need to kill my son .... LOL Comments By: Gladys My son left a pen in his workshirt and ruined the clothes he had in the dryer and left ink marks all over the inside of the dryer. He scrubbed the inner door with bleach and that came off, but I wasn't too sure about the inside drum. I went online and found this website and I want to thank the original person who posted as well as all the others who posted afterwards with their experiences. We are moving out of our apartment this week and when my son did this the other day I thought for sure the machine was going to be ruined and I was going to have to pay for it. Thank you so very much!!!   it really worked Comments By: sarah this trick really does the trick. i was sooooo mad when my hubby left an ink pen in his pocket and it was all over the dryer!!! the best part of this is that the bleach took out the ink stains and that the old splotchy green towels i used with the bleach are now a nice clean bright sunny yellow color   Bleach/damp towels Comments By: Sharen OK, I have to tell my story now...my youngest son, (23) washed some clothes and after running them through the dryer, discovered purple ink marks covering the entire dryer inside. The dryer is his brothers, so he was concerned. He came to me, asking me if I knew what would get it out. I figured it was not coming out with anything. Thus began my search, which I read many, opinions. But, then I came across this suggestion and I'm here to say, it works. I ran the bleached towels through several times and it almost got it all off. What it didn't get, I used fingernail polish remover and that took care of the rest. There are a few, very light colored marks, but it practically looks new, very white! Warning though, be sure and wipe the bleach out and if you use the nail polish remover, be careful how much of all this you breath. Just like many before, me, thank you to the one that orginated this suggestion, it's a lifesaver!   Amazing Comments By: carol I never believed when I read that things like this worked. I always thought someone just made the letters up, well now I am a believer. The bleach and towels really do work.   Best Way So Far Comments By: LAD Use Off Skintastic YES Off Skintastic ...........IT FLAT OUT WORKS....   didn't work Comments By: rochelle stains are still all over my dryer! now they won't come off after running dryer. permanent   Works great and is so easy! Comments By: Laura I tried rubbing alcohol, nail polish remover,and bleach before finding this site. I soaked 3 of the t-shirts that already had some ink on them in the solution and ran them through the dryer on hot. All the ink came out within 30 min. Thank you so much!!!   It works - fact Comments By: Anon First of all it is the person does the washing who has the responsibility to check that there is nothing in the garments' pockets therefore shame on those blaming their sons, daughters, husbands and wives. This method actually works, except for a few steaks that came off with nail polish remover it worked 100%.   Whew!! This worked Great!! Comments By: Sonja First time I did it I filled half the utility sink in the laundry room and then put the dryer on 60 minutes with high heat. Didn't work at all!!! So, then I figured that I had done something wrong...So, I didn't put as much water in the 2nd time, and then put the dryer on low heat. WORKED LIKE MAGIC even after about 10-20 minutes!! I'm so pleased that the dryer looks good as new!! I was starting to stress out!! The stains had been there for about 2 days, and they still came out!! YEA!!! 9-29-08   Easy, Obvious, Not Mentioned by Most Comments By: Anon This worked well for me after, like many others, after trying everything else mentioned on other websites. I was drying some white towels to see if the ink (which at that point seemed un-removable) would come off on clothes. I impatiently put some towels from an unfinished, un-rinsed load in the dryer. I was checking to see if there was any particular worry about putting something still full of bleach in the dryer, when I came upon this tip. I went to the dryer to find it clean and white again.   DIDN Comments By: anon This trick did not work for me   Thank You! Comments By: Anon I am a physician and, of course left a pen in my scrubs. I was horrified to see ink all over the drum of my dryer. I tried Off and a few cleansers I had here at home. Nothing seemed to work. After coming across this website, I followed the instructions and the stains are disappearing as I type this message.   I was so happy it worked!!!! Comments By: ann My dryer was but 2 years old and didn't know how to take the pen ink out of the dryer. I tried hairspray, nail polish remover and magic eraser, a cleaner my neighbor said might work, but the best thing that worked was the 2 cups of bleach in a half bucket of water, dampen the towels with it and run through the dryer. I couldn't believe it. Thanks for the tip.   Works great Comments By: SuMo I couldn't believe how great this worked! My dryer has probably never been cleaner!   Three strikes you're out! Comments By: Inked off I'm currently using the bleach/water towel method and am very hopeful from the previous reviews. The "first" time my daughter left a pen in her scrubs it ruined a load of my (and hubby's) whites. This morning she found the load of whites were hers. I was almost affixiated last time using perfume (Sarah Jessica's Lovely) but it worked great. Expensive fix, however.   This Works!! Comments By: Brent My dryer is running as I write this and I have been checking and it is working. I only searched two other sites and there were allot of remedies and then I read this one. I found that you do have to put 3-4 good size towels in there. So for those on here that said it "didn't" work for them - you have to run more then just a small wash cloth in there. Thanks for the tip!! Isn't the Internet amazing??   It Really Works Comments By: 'Anon I try using hair spray,salt/soap water, nail polish remover, alcohol,orange soap,etc. Then I finnaly found this online and tryed it and it really works!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   It worked like a charm Comments By: DianneVA After searching several web sites including this one, and there were some that said the bleach didn't work. My daugther forgot to take a pen out of her scrubs and it exploded in the dryer. I did the bleach and towels and it worked the first cycle. Now if I could find something that would be so easy to use on her load of clothes.   LIFESAVER Comments By: Mike 2000.00 dryer brand new and my son leaves a pen in his designer jeans and new clothes !!!!!!!! I did this and the dryer is better than neww!!!!!!!!!!!   YOU MUST OF BEEN DOING SOMETHING WRONG IF THIS DIDNT WORK Comments By: Jodi Stone I was devasted when a good friend of mine was staying at our place while she was working in the area. She had washed some cover-alls and did not know she had a pen in her pocket as she dosent usually carry them there, anyway at 6:00am she went to grab her cover-alls out of the dryer and discovered the mess in my new dryer she was just sick about it and I will have to call her and let her know that it is okay I was thinking how am I going to ask her for 1800.00 to replace my dryer as she is such a dear person but I went to the internet and I typed in how to get ink out of your clothes dryer and came across this site first I read some of the comments and thought yeah right well yeah right is correct I dont know how much bleach I used but I poured it in an ice cream pail with water threw in three dish towels and 15 minutes later there was two spots at the back of the dryer that was brown towels were dry so I have resoaked them and they are running again but if it dont come out I will still be happy as you cannot really notice them and seeing as we have the house up for sale I can feel comfortable in selling the appliances with the house. Thank-You everyone who gave their comments.   IT WORKS WICKED PISSAH!!! Comments By: Mike I never thought anything was going to get the ink out. It was all over the place. This idea did the trick! Thanks Tipking. You just made my favorites.   WOW!!!! Comments By: Reese This works great. I had a pen explode in the dryer it was everywhere. I was thinking that I was going to have to go back to the laundry mats. I searched the web for tips and seen this. Thank you sooo much, you've saved me money and time.   AMAZING - THE INK IS GONE!!! Comments By: M. Thompson A blue ink pen exploded all over the inside of my dryer last week. I was so upset because everything I tried to get the ink out did not work. I found this website and I was skeptical at first to try this because i had tried other ways of getting the ink out of my dryer (i.e. Goo Gone, Hairspray, nail polish remover) and none of them did worked. I tried the bleach with the water with some old towels and put them in the dryer, turned the dryer on, and walked away to let it do it's thing. and when I came back to check on it I was floored at how fast the ink was coming off. I didn't even have to use any of my own elbow grease! :) I am so glad that I won't have to buy a new dryer. Thanks for the tip!!!!   it worked for me Comments By: LMW My husband attempted to wash his uniform for work and left a black papermate pen in the pocket. We are a family of 5 and I heavily rely on my dryer...I thought it was ruined. After scrubbing with goof off for an hour (I'm sure damaging my lungs) I tried your technique.. IT WORKED!! even on the drum. Thank you thank you thank you!!   It does work Comments By: Cara I had ink stains all over inside my dryer. I tried the bleach tip and it took a few times running the towel through but it did help significantly dryer is almost completely ink free. Still a few spot but the a significantly faded. Thank you who ever figured this out.   My head was spinning Comments By: Joy My head was spinning with the dryer when I opened it up and saw all the ink in my brand new dryer! Tried your remedy and to my surprise, there is no more ink, truley AMAZING!   Thanks for this advice! Comments By: Melanie I nearly lost it when I found my husband left a pen in his clothes! (He's lucky it happened to only be his clothes in that load.) But this tip worked like a charm. I think I left the towels wetter than recommended, but it still worked. The dryer has a bleech oder, but the clothes coming out of it don't. I'll run a few loads of whites before I try any other clothes in there. Thank you again for saving my dryer!   WOW Comments By: Steven L well i went to many sites, allot said NailPolish Remover would do it, but at last i stubled on this site and tip, follwed the directions, and put towels in after only 5 mins I stopped dryer to add one more large old white towel , and WOW after only 5 mins I noticed results , the in was allready coming off!!! It saved me from getting rid of significant other, well I may get rid of him anyway...lol   it works Comments By: patty I was amazed it worked all the stains are gone   Week Old Stains - GONE! Comments By: ElleB One retractable pen burst in my dryer, ruined my clothes and drained itself atop the white walls of my dryer. By the way i'm renting and I can't afford to loose my deposit! I had tried everything for a week. Finally i came upon this tip and I'm on the second run and there are not more stains. Don't wast time/money with the other methods, this is the cheapest and fastest method. Quick tip - try running the dryer empty to warm up the drum before tossing in the bleach towels. Also use handtowels to get the nooks and crannies!!   ***GREATEST IDEA EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!*** Comments By: Jess & Derik BEFORE YOU TRY ANYTHING ELSE TRY THIS!!! We almost passed out from the smell of alcohol until we decided to go down the street to get some bleach. After only 5 minutes it started to work! Great idea whoever came up with this!!!   This Really works Comments By: Sweets Oh my goodness.I had black permanent ink all inside my dryer.I know that the Lord lead me to search the internet and I came upon this tip.And it worked.Thank you so much for the tip and I would recommend anyone to use it.   I WAS a DOUBTER!!! Comments By: Jack McInnis, USA My daugther laundred a pair of my cargo pants, which had a ball point pen in one of the pockets. When they were removered from the drier (front load, white drum) I found ink stains throughout. The drier is only one year old and I was fit to be tied. The next day I tried all the ink removal methods found on other internet sites ie. hair spray, WD 40, Goo Gone, Oops, nail polish remover etc. to no avail. I even made a paste of baking soda and scrubbed ares for an hour with no results. I gave the internet one more try, finding this site and recommendation. I mixed two cups of bleach in two galoons of water, soaked up the solution with about four old towels and ran them through the drier for a cycle. My wife came home from work about thirty minutes through the cycle and I explaineded all of the unsucessful remedies I had tried and that I was trying this bleach solution recommendation. She said lets see if it's working. We went to the drier, opened it and to my astonshishment all the ink stains were gone. I was and am amazed. A DOUBTER no more. It really works. Thanks to whom ever, from accross the Big Pond.   Dryer Ink Stain Comments By: anon Tried several tips I had read about and finger nail polish worked the best for me.   AMEN!!! Comments By: ndcampbell Words cannot describe how glad that I am that I found this tip. You do need to put in 3-4 large towels. And don't skimp on the bleach! This worked SO WELL that after just 15 minutes my dryer looks brand new inside. I am so impressed. I had left a G7 gel ink pen in my pocket and ruined my wife's favorite shirt. Goes to show you that men shouldn't be doing laundry. ;)   wow! it really works Comments By: leeanne thought my dryer was ruined, came across this tip and it worked took 2 times, but yes it worked. thanks for the tip!   IT WORKS!!! Comments By: Michele Murphy I can't believe it ..I tried straight bleach, soft scrub and none of it worked. I tried the 2 cups of bleach/water and towel remedy and ink is almost gone. I am doing it a second time and hopefully remainder will be gone. Thank you   Unbelievable! It Worked! Comments By: Annie Jean I suffer with arthritis, and the thought of having to try to scrub blue ink stains out of my dryer immediately caused me agony. I thought my dryer was ruined and had no funds to purchase a new one. I decided to look on line, never expecting to actually find a tip that really worked. I followed the instructions, and after about fifteen minutes, I couldn't fight the tempation to peek inside. To my surprise, it was already working! After three cycles, my drier was white and sparkling clean with no effort from me! What a lifesaver! I used two cups of bleach to two gallons of water, soaked four big white towels with the solution (towels should be very damp but not dripping wet), ran the dryer on the low heat setting, and my dryer was like brand new, again!

There will be times when you've tried every tip you can get your hands on to repair damage to your dryer. No matter how many or what tips you try on your own to restore the original condition, it just won't seem to work! If you're the "handyman or handywoman" type it will be as easy as finding a good appliance parts store and getting what you need. But if the job is a little too big for you then you may need to call a appliance repairman.