The other day More Mojo was crawling his 16 month old self up the stairs. I was dutifully behind him making sure that he didn’t reverse course. When we got to the top I grabbed him and headed down when I saw 3 YO Mojo had taken out his crayons and was coloring the hardwood floors. Nooooo, I yelled in my best slow motion voice, while running down the stairs carrying a crawler.
Anybody that has children can relate to that. A child that uses their creative powers with the correct tools, but on the incorrect surface is all too common.
To remove crayons from wood floors or walls is actually simple. Just get some warm water on a wash cloth, pour some baking soda on the cloth and then wipe the surface clean. Just a couple of moments after 3YO Mojo practiced his Picasso on the floor it was a clean slate again.
He’s also done this on walls. If they write on walls use a coarser cloth, like a shop cloth, get the water hotter and then apply the baking soda. Those surfaces are a bit more difficult to clean up, but it works.
Aside from crayons on the wall, what closet cleaning gems do you know?
We typically clean up our 3YO’s tagging with the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Target’s Up & Up brand has a cheaper version that comes in a box of 4 (our household needs more than one at any given time).
We’ve also turned to fresh paint, purchsed artwork to cover-up, and good old fashioned turning a blind eye and ignoring the graffiti until a re-paint is in order.
Fun stuff isn’t it?
Jason
The Cheeky Daddy
Great tip! As the owner of cleaning company in Atlanta. We come in contact with many child artist who love to showcase they’re talent on the walls and floors. We found that vinegar or baby oil does a great job removing crayon marks from wood surfaces.
Didn’t work for me at all.
Alternate plan. Try a little peanut butter. Peanut butter on the wall with crayon works very well. I’d try it on the floor to see if that does the trick.