Home : Laundry and Stains : Appliances : Dryer Ink Stains

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.

Visitors comments

It Works Comments By: Darryl on 2005-01-30 I tried this tip and work real well   Great Tip! Comments By: Dave on 2005-02-25 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 on 2005-05-15 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 on 2005-06-06 I ended up using diluted bleach and Comet to get the ink stains out. Was much quicker!!   It works! Comments By: anon on 2005-06-07 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 on 2005-11-15 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 on 2005-11-30 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 on 2006-01-24 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. on 2006-01-27 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 on 2006-02-21 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 on 2006-03-27 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 on 2006-04-30 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 on 2006-05-08 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 on 2006-06-18 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 on 2006-09-07 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 on 2006-10-25 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 on 2006-11-21 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 on 2006-12-11 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 on 2006-12-29 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 on 2007-01-11 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 on 2007-02-20 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 on 2007-06-08 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 on 2007-09-10 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 on 2007-11-29 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 on 2007-12-21 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 on 2008-02-20 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 on 2008-06-28 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 on 2008-07-03 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: [email protected] on 2008-07-08 Worked like a charm with one cycle!   Ink in Dryer-Bleach on Towels- Great Tip!!! Comments By: Anon on 2008-07-19 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 on 2008-07-23 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 on 2008-07-27 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 on 2008-07-31 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 on 2008-08-01 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 on 2008-08-26 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 on 2008-09-10 Use Off Skintastic YES Off Skintastic ...........IT FLAT OUT WORKS....   didn't work Comments By: rochelle on 2008-09-16 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 on 2008-09-18 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 on 2008-09-21 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 on 2008-09-29 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 on 2008-10-05 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 on 2008-10-06 This trick did not work for me   Thank You! Comments By: Anon on 2008-10-18 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 on 2008-10-19 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 on 2008-10-19 I couldn't believe how great this worked! My dryer has probably never been cleaner!   Three strikes you're out! Comments By: Inked off on 2008-11-21 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 on 2008-12-28 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 on 2008-12-31 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 on 2009-01-28 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 on 2009-01-18 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 on 2009-02-27 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 on 2009-03-11 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 on 2009-03-22 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 on 2009-04-14 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 on 2009-04-22 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 on 2009-04-25 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 on 2009-05-08 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 on 2009-05-22 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 on 2009-05-29 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 on 2009-06-03 I was amazed it worked all the stains are gone   Week Old Stains - GONE! Comments By: ElleB on 2009-06-14 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 on 2009-06-17 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 on 2009-06-24 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 on 2009-07-15 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 on 2009-07-21 Tried several tips I had read about and finger nail polish worked the best for me.   AMEN!!! Comments By: ndcampbell on 2009-09-04 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 on 2009-09-07 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 on 2009-10-29 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 on 2009-10-31 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!   Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!! Comments By: Angie on 2009-12-31 01/01/10!!! 1:20 a.m. and I just took a load of clothes out of the dryer to go directly in my suitcase to leave for Vegas in the morning...SURPRISE........INK on everything....I tried the white towel in the sink with water and bleach and it worked beautifully............been in there about 5 minutes and stains are almost all gone...and there were like 80 streaks of ink all inside the drum....mine seems to be working faster than some above...the only thing I did before coming to the computer to find a home remedy is that I wet a papertowell and put Dawn dishwashing liquid on it-it came off the plastic part around the lent tray real easy but when I tried wiping it off the dryer drum it didn't remove it so I ended up here and am so glad that someone was kind enough to share this.............Happy New Year!   Another Satisfied User of Tip Comments By: Ruth in Rochester on 2010-01-02 It was very difficult NOT to try this one. I have never seen such positive comments on anything. I did my dryer only one time with 2 towels and it is virtually stain free. I had started down the Comet and Magic Eraser route and it wasn't even touching it. Thanks !   I ::heart:: the internet! Comments By: Dani on 2010-01-03 Thank you so much for saving my sanity. I tried a dry erase marker and nail polish remover, all of which was working, but was taking forever. I currently have three large bleach/water soaked towels in the dryer on high. They have been in for 15 minutes. I peeked in and.... IT IS WORKING!!! ::sigh of relief::   Remove ink stains from dryer Comments By: Joseph on 2010-02-13 Does it work? Yes. Yes. Yes. I did some laundry to help the wifey out and forgot to check the kids' pants for pens. Well, didn't catch it until after the dryer cycle ended. Looking online for a way to clean it. Did this for two cycles (total of 80 min) and majority of the ink stains were gone. Just a little elbow grease from this point on with nail polish remover and wifey never knew it happen; or at least that's what I thought. Unfortunately, the pants with the ink stains told on me. 13FEB10.   YES WORKS LIKE MAGIC! Comments By: Anon on 2010-02-21 Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!! I was having a little success with fingernail polish remover, but seemed to also be smearing it when the paper towel had too much ink on it. I literally scrubbed for an hour and was ready to just SCREAM! I stumbled upon this solution and thought there was NO WAY it would work. I had already wiped some of the ink spots with straight bleach which did nothing. So many people claimed it worked for them that I figured I had nothing to lose by trying it. Maybe it is the combination of water, bleach, and heat that made the difference, I do not know - and I really do not care. My dryer is now ink free - that is all I care about! woohoo!! Thank you SO MUCH! I only wish I had read this before I scrubbed :)   Wasn't Perfect~ Comments By: Pat Vineyard on 2010-02-23 It definately didn't take all the blue ink stain out after running throught twice, but it is definately better than it was. If this ever happened again I would use this tip for sure.   DON'T COMBINE BLEACH AND COMET! Comments By: Kat in Knoxville on 2010-02-23 To the lady who used Comet and bleach:: I'm amazed you're still with us! Combining Comet and bleach will release chlorine gas which can kill you in a hurry. Glad you're still around to tell us about it. As for this tip: OUTSTANDING. I agree with the person who reminded us to open the windows! Thank you!   College:Freshman Year. Oops. Comments By: College Kid on 2010-03-31 With mom not here to do the laundry, sometimes I make mistakes. The exploding pen in the dryer is one of many. I tried the towels and bleach and it really works. WARNING: Please have proper ventilation and make sure to clean what bleach residue you may have. Good tip-thanks   Awesome!!! Comments By: Demolition Man on 2010-04-01 Worked great without any scrubbing at all. No sign of the felt tip marker ink anywhere. Remember to open a few windows and let the bleach do its work. Great tip.   Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you Comments By: Tabz on 2010-04-14 I always check the pockets of our uniforms and for some reason i got lazy and got ink the washer and dryer. The washer was an easy fix and I had got the pen and thought that was it until I put the clothes in the dryer. Ink! everywhere! I thought I would just die! But I went on the internet and there it was I am runnin my cycle now (hold on) YES! working like charm. Thank you again!   This works! Comments By: Karry on 2010-05-02 You have to use at least 3 large towels and 1 or 2 small ones to get in the corners. The first time I saw a big difference, just a few more times and it should all be gone. I saw this site and I also went to the GE site since I have a GE dryer and they recommended the same way! Thank you!   Un-Frigging Believable Comments By: Dutchman on 2010-05-02 It really worked. Put me down on the side of those who now believe!!!!!!   Didn't work Comments By: Bobster on 2010-05-08 Some ink came off, but most globs didn't. I used nail polish remover and it finally worked, but not without a lot of messy blue blobs everywhere first. Use rubber gloves and get plenty of air around you, though. I think it might be the type of ink in the pen. This stuff really dried on hard.   This tip saved my husbands life! Comments By: Mama Patty on 2010-05-15 Yeah, I CHeck the Laundry before I throw it in the washer, I have been sick for a week and I am onbedrest trying to get to 31 weeks before I go into labor again. I didnt have a pair of undies to my name nor a t-shirt clean for hubby, so he says I can do a couple loads of laundry. Ive been married 23 years and this was my husbands first attempt at the laundry. He let a pen slip through and I have no idea where it came from...I heard a "oh my God you are going to kill me" scream from the laundry room...I got up and ran in there..To a blackend inside of the dryer. I was P'oed, He was about to go crawl under a rock.I quickly got on the internet and saw this tip first. I had my husband soak all of the white towels, that were blackend too, in the clorox and water..he put them in and I just went to check..30 minutes and my husband gets to live another proverbial day however, He will never live it down, this I promise you!   Great help! Comments By: Bob on 2010-05-29 After scrubbing a little with laundry detergent with not much success, I found this site. This is much easier and works a lot better! To the people that suggest using good old-fashioned elbow grease instead of doing this, I suggest a good old-fashioned wash tub, washboard, and clothesline. Why do anything by half measures, after all? :)   Bad idea! Comments By: Sue on 2010-06-21 I tried this idea along with rubbing alchol, hair spray, and tub cleaner w/ bleach. All recomended by my mother that worked at a laundry matt. None of these worked until I tried good old nail polish remover. You might not be able to breath while using it, but I could just see the ink bleed off the insides of my dryer! It does not come off 100% but a close 95%, and I can trust my clothes will not be ruined. -never again will I let my sister-in-law use my dryer again!   What a Relief! Comments By: Jeanne A. on 2010-06-27 It worked! I am so thrilled. Was pretty PO'd at my 31 yr old son, who washed his kids clothes in my dryer. It's only been going about 30 min. and most is gone. I didnb't have enough bleach to do the full 2 cups and it still worked. Thank you for the tip!   85% difference!!! Comments By: Ashley on 2010-06-29 I was completely doubtful about trying this, but it removed about 85% of the blue ink in my dryer! I repeated the steps about 3 times. I will try to remove the rest of the ink with something else, not sure what I'll use. Thanks to whoever posted this tip! 6-29-10   Can't believe it! Comments By: tmski on 2010-07-07 Left a pen in my work pants that exploded in my new dryer. My wife was ready to kill me...15 minutes into first cycle the dryer looks brand new. I get to live another day!!! Thanks for the tip.   Removed blue ball-point pen ink splattered in dryer Comments By: Happy Camper on 2010-07-29 I used about 1/2 gallon water, about 2 cups household bleach, in a bucket, swirl. Put a bunch of old white (i.e. now grayed! LOL) socks in this. Squeeze out the excess so the socks are just damp. Put them in the DRYER ON LOW. Turn it on for like 45 minutes. Hurrah! P.s. isn't it interesting how in some comments, it's "I'm happy it worked... 1) "so my husband didn't blow up" or 2) "So my wife didn't blow up" Unfortunately I'm in the latter camp. I'm the chill one in the house... the one who says, 'we can work this out.' Well, at least another conflict saved.   Blue Ball Point Pen Comments By: Gay on 2010-08-02 We had ink stains on the inside of the dryer. Tried the bleach towel method without any success. Also tried Javex, Ammonia, Lestoil, Mr. Clean Eraser. None would remove the stain. At least it wasn't coming out on our clothes! Then we tried Painter's Pal by GOO GONE. It was almost like wipe it on, wipe it off. Just clean the drum with soapy water to finish up.   This didnt work for me at all, but this is what DID Comments By: Jana on 2010-08-16 I tried everything!!!! I tried graffiti remover, acne wash, hair spray, clorox, oven cleaner, soap, water, fingernail polish remover, EVERYTHING... Well, I was in my bathroom looking for other cleaner and saw my toothpaste. I though, hmmm it is worth a shot LOL. OMG IT WORKED!!! It didnt take an hour, it didnt take anytime at all. It just scrubbed off the first or 2nd wipe. I was AMAZED... THIS IS A MUST TRY!!! I SWEAR IT WORKS   EXCELLENT! Comments By: Randy on 2010-08-18 This has got to be one of the best solutions to cleaning a dryer drum! It really works. Thank you so much!!!!!   I would not have believed it! Comments By: Corey on 2010-09-05 After I found this on the web and told my wife, unable to merely follow these instructions she used twice the bleach and twice the towels, and didn't even let it go for 45 minutes. Everything now gleams white as if it were brand new. Don't even hesitate to use this method.   Worked great! Comments By: Ed on 2010-09-06 My wife did exactly what the instructions said and the ink was gone. However, there was a residue of on the drum, so she ran it through with wet towels and then wiped it down.   worked just fine Comments By: misty F on 2010-09-07 i guess i didnt see the pen that my husband left in his shorts and when i took out my clothes out of the dryer there was ink every where. i fell upon this site and right away i tried this and it worked really good. but there was still a huge blob on the back of the dryer so i went to buy nail polish remover and it came off in one wipe. looks brand new. so thanks for every body and their wonderful ideas   Very, Very Skepitcal Comments By: SSJDER on 2010-09-13 My 12 year old son left a pen in his pants (this is not the first time). Obviously it exploded in the dryer. ALL OVER THE PLACE. I made him try goo gone while I look online. Found this site and thought YEAH RIGHT! Well the Goo Gone did NOTHING but smear it around. Had him do this trick and I just check the dryer. After ONLY 20 minutes almost (85-90%) is GONE. I am very suprised! Thank you sooo much for this wonderful tip, my dryer is only 9 months old.   THIS WORKS!! Comments By: Anon on 2010-09-25 This totally works! I left a pen in my pants pocket and didn't realize it. When I dried the load, the ink was all over the drum! Tried this with 3 handtowels and it worked! You cannot tell there was ever an ink pen in there! I dried a load of whites immediately afterwards and they have no ink spots or bleach smell! It does make your laundry area smell like bleach but I will take the smell over the ink stains anyday! Great tip.   oh my gosh Comments By: PUPAROO on 2010-10-12 ok so after all the scubbing and products I was still very upset since it was my in-laws new dryer I was at wits end and believe it or not this actually worked I set the dryer on warm and let it run for like ten min and wow you can not even tell there was a mess and let me tell you it was bad THANK YOU SO MUCH   dryer ink stains Comments By: Dre on 2010-11-03 IT WAS A MIRACLE...MY DRYER LOOKS GOOD AS NEW!!   So far it's working! Comments By: JV on 2010-11-02 Let's hope it continues to work. I just threw the towels in the dryer, and it's been drying for about a minute. I just opened the dryer to check on it, and I'm already seeing some stains gone...OMG, I hope this really works!!! Now if I could find something that would work on my load of clothes that were "ruined" by my husband's ink pen that was in the dryer. (And yes, he was the one who was doing laundry, and he did not check to make sure the dryer didn't have anything in it first.)   Damnnnn Comments By: Xavier on 2010-11-05 Most of the ink stains came out but i ran out of bleach. Who ever this was that gave this tip saved my ass and thats just putting it lightly.Try this it really works.   Wow ! Magic Here Remove Ink From Dryer Comments By: Playmakerdm on 2010-11-07 Hello Guys I work In Automotive I tryed The Wet Towel with Bleach Some Came Off The Dryer After A few Times But Ink Stll There Then I Tryed Nail Polish Remover With Lots Of Elbow No Luck So I went To My Auto Mech Genuis Mind And Tryed Spray Can Called Carb&Choke Cleaner by Pyroil Valvoline with A Kitchen Paper Towel WOW ! The Ink Came Right Off Like Magic and The Paint Enamel dryer Finished Stayed There. Make Sure You Spray the Towel Not The Dryer Inner Tub you will get runs and you will work Harder ... Note Put A Wet Bleach Towel After you Finish To Take The Spray Can Carb Smell Away ok Enjoy .. Playmakerdm   I'll be damned, it worked! Comments By: Becky on 2010-12-05 I was skeptical... This was the only site that said to use bleach; elsewhere others said goo-gone, hairspray, vegetable shortening or nail polish remover. I was afraid of flaspoints and this seemed to be the last resort before giving up and living with it. I justified it, I use bleach on the towels anyways... So it can't be that bad... Right? 30 minutes into the drying cycle and I've peaked in. Yup, I'd guess 75-80% is already gone. I'm shocked. Honestly, thought it might have been an internet fable, alas it's not. I'm thrilled.   Wonderful-Life Saver!!!!! Comments By: Shelia on 2010-11-20 As many have stated this is a wonderful tip. I accidentally left a 20/20 black marker in my pocket. My dryer is running now. I just checked and 75-80% of the marker stains are already coming off. Thanks,dryer is only 5 months old.   We are relieved.... Comments By: Maryann on 2010-11-24 After finding 2 pens and the inside of the dryer covered in ink- I thought we would have to buy a new dryer. We used the bleach and towel trick and it worked. THANK YOU   not so well Comments By: toni on 2010-11-24 used nail poilsh remover lightened it but the bleach did clean the dryer walls still have stains   Saved our Christmas Comments By: Ray on 2010-12-24 Used alcohol. Phoned our appliance store. Taked to our daughter. Went to Google for "remove ink from clothes dryer". Thanks Tipking and all those who answered! WONDERFUL! 12-24-2010   No Comments By: Anon on 2010-12-20 it did not work for me the back of my dryer is still a mess and its very noticable and the towel was dry within 5 min i dont recomend this to anyone   I'm not sure what I did wrong... Comments By: Anon on 2011-01-13 But after three hours of this method, it was not working. All I ended up doing was ruining some towels. I'm not sure why this worked for so many people and not me. I followed everyone's suggestions... anywho, I'm still trying to get the ink of the dryer drum. I have tried magic eraser sponges, hairspray, rubbing alcohol, all sorts of household cleaners.. I even tried the toothpaste (which actually worked better than most other attempts), but the ink is still all over the drum. I don't think that if I dry a load of clothes in there that it will come off onto them, as I seem to have removed the "surface" ink, however, the stains look as if they are "baked" in and I will just have to live with it for a while.   It Works! Comments By: anon on 2011-01-21 My son left a couple of highlight markers in his pocket. Ink was all over the dryer. Neither nail polish remover or paint thinner worked. Tried this and the majority of the stains were gone in less than ten minutes!   What A GREAT Tip!!!! Comments By: Anon on 2011-02-03 Thanks for the tip it worked well and my dryer is like new. For the few ink spots that where left I used a magic eraser pad and fingernail polish. Cleaned up like it was new. Will recommend this to my family!!!!   Absolutely!! Comments By: Anon on 2011-02-10 Just had this happen, blue ink dotted my dryer like it was a tie-dyed t-shirt. This absolutely worked!!! Thank you so much!!   Was skeptical but wow. Comments By: Jon on 2011-02-18 I read this tip yesterday morning after I had thoroughly messed up my roommate's dryer. I didn't want him to know about it. I tried this and it was gone by the afternoon, and my towels are really white too! Thank you so much, this really saved me.   Thanks! Comments By: Anon on 2011-03-15 My son doesn't know it yet, but you saved his life! (I'm not surprised how many comments here are about a son doing this...) Mine will live to see another day!   It works!!! Comments By: Amy on 2011-03-19 After my little girl threw up all over the couch, I washed and dried everything; including a couch pillow that shouldn't see the inside of a dryer. I tied dyed the entire load of laundry including the inside of the dryer. I tried WD-40 with no results. I then saw the bleach idea. It worked! I ran it through two cycles on high heat. Although you can still tell that in spots it's tye dyed, it's not getting on any of clothes going through the dryer!   Happy laundry again Comments By: DONNA IN OHIO on 2011-03-23 MY DRYER IS 6MONTHS OLD. AND I TAKE VERY GOOD CARE OF IT. UPSETTING MY DAUGHTER LEFT AN INK PEN IN HER LOAD OF CLOTHES SO I HAD BLUE INK EVERY WHERE.AND SHE DID NOT TELL ME ABOUT IT FOR 3 DAYS BUT TO MY SURPRISE I DID THE 2 CUP BLEACH RECIPE WITH OLD TOWELS AND IT REMOVE ALL INK :)   Miracle! Comments By: Mayela on 2011-04-03 I'm so excited this worked! I was sitting there scrubbing the inside and couldn't manage to get it off. I had forgotten that I had a pen in my pocket when I washed my pants. Hey,we make mistakes then we go crazy trying to find a solution. Well great problem solver because it worked. Thanks!!!!   BEST EVERRRRRR Comments By: Victor Rebollar on 2011-04-28 i was a dead manc with my mom until i used this thanks a lot to who ever made this up good thing it was whites alreadyy hade the bleach out sooooooooo everything was great   yes, tried everything Comments By: Jaimie on 2011-06-14 3 permanent markers all over the inside of my 1 week old dryer. worst day of my life. tried scrubbing with bleach to no avail. tried shortening, then rubbing alcohol, nothing. then acetone, which I think smudged it more. I was devastated. tried magic eraser. didn't work AT ALL. I tried this website after all this drama. I was afraid I screwed it all up. I came across this website. LIFESAVER. almost as good as new. I loaded a bucket with half bleach, half water... soaked 3 bath towels and 4 washcloths. I made sure they were very damp, but not dripping. the smell was awful. I ran it through once, almost got it all. ran it though again, the smell was still awful. I had to open all the windows! every cycle got better and better!!!! thank you thank you thank you I am forever grateful. I'm still distraught over the whole thing, but so much happier now. and my boyfriend who did this is no longer allowed to touch anything at all EVER. I'm going to try it once more when I get home. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.   Getting ink out of clothes dryer with bleach in towel. Comments By: Anon on 2011-06-15 GREAT. IT WORKED! ALL THE INK CAME OUT OF CLOTHES DRYER AFTER 2 CYCLES ON HIGH HEAT.IM WELL PLEASED WITH THE RESULTS. THANKS.   This is a life saver!!!! Comments By: Erynn on 2011-06-29 I brought home table cloths from a church event. Someone had rolled up a table cloth with a pen on it. YIKES...it was well cushioned inside the batch of table cloths; I didn't find it until too late. Unfortunately, for my dryer, it was everywhere! I first tried rubbing alcohol, the first tip I had found, it worked minimally at best. Also, the fumes from inside my dryer drum (from the rubbing alcohol), made it difficult to be efficient, leaving me light-headed. So ultimately I found this tip...it worked fantastic, I am now doing a second cycle, and all the ink is nearly gone! Hooray for this tip...Fantastic advice! We just got our dryer, 5 months ago, happy to have saved it. I will share this with any other unfortunate person that has this experience.   This made our day!!!! Comments By: Lee Ann on 2011-07-08 I was shocked to see the damage one ball point pen could do in the dryer! It is working everywhere, but the door is going to need some added attention. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!   Worked Great Comments By: Anon on 2011-07-09 I googled everything to see how to remove ink from my dryer and this tip worked great my dryer looks new again. thanks for the help   Missing details..... Comments By: Specific Instructions Guy on 2011-07-18 How big is the bucket to be? Or what ratio of bleach to water is desired? The idea is pointless without this vital info.   wow Comments By: colleen on 2011-07-24 after trying several different suggestions found on the internet, this one was the easiest, and it worked beautifully. thank-you!   Yes, it works! Comments By: happyinct on 2011-09-18 So glad I found this solution. Tried all the other methods and this worked without the labor. Did two rounds of the bleached towels, then used nail polish remover for the remaining few spots and for good luck did a third/final bleach towel round. All set! BRAVO and thank you so much!

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.