Scribbles on walls

[Annari1]

Hi all, just want to pick your brains. I have a very artistic 2 year old who has left her masterpieces in pen/pencil/crayon on my walls. How can I remove the marks without removing the paint as well? All suggestions welcome.
Thanks in advance.

[Linn]

Hi all, just want to pick your brains. I have a very artistic 2 year old who has left her masterpieces in pen/pencil/crayon on my walls. How can I remove the marks without removing the paint as well? All suggestions welcome.
Thanks in advance.

This may be a silly answer but it might be easier and less hassle just to paint over it. i have mini artists in my house to and thats what we did. They might make us a fortune in years to come lol.

[Cherry]

Hi all, just want to pick your brains. I have a very artistic 2 year old who has left her masterpieces in pen/pencil/crayon on my walls. How can I remove the marks without removing the paint as well? All suggestions welcome.
Thanks in advance.

Have you tried, obviously, a little jif cream.. it works for me. Spray hairspay over her favourite places and next time it will come off more easily, or just give her her own wall... this is really cool wallpaper. I have it for mine and she loves it. http://www.mothercare.com/Mothercare-Frames-wallpaper/dp/B000JIAFM6

[Stuarty]

If you are willling to give her her own piece of wall, you could always paint it with Blackboard paint, and you have a reusable chalk board that she can rub off and start again, they sell in in DIY shops like Atlantic and Woodies

[collierjo]

Hi there,

Get an old toothbrush and some white toothpaste (not the gel stuff) and rub it in. It is the best thing to remove crayon from walls. Then wash it off with luke warm water. It has the added benefit of leaving the room minty fresh! Jif or Cif is abrasive and over time can damage the paint on the walls.

[narki]

You could also try some vegetable oil or baby oil, because crayons are oil based, the vegetable oil will mix well and thin it out out till it can be just wiped off and also the oil should not have any effect on water based paint.
Oil is also great for removing gloss paint from your hand and is much milder on the skin than white spirit.

[mammasboys]

I remember reading once that fresh white bread is very good for removing marks off walls. Works like a gentle eraser. Worth a go anyway!
When my little one showed an interest, I invested in that paint that you can give a bit of a scrub!

[bluecurlygirl]

If you have any handy I find them great

[Annari1]

Thank you all so much for all the suggestions. I will try them and see how I get on. Thanks a million. Annari

[zuess]

Hi WD40 gets crayon off walls you could try it, but it depends what paint its on

[betsy10112000]

hi
i have my own artist to and i found a simple pencil rubber gets mosts marks off the paint work without marking the wall.(this includes pen and crayon)make sure its a white rubber though, if you use a coloured rubber you will mark the wall with the dye in the rubber.
hope you have sparkling walls soon. :)

[summersun]

Hi Annari,

I have the same problem as well and found an amazing sponge that does work 1000% guaranteed, only problem is whether you can still get them now..... Once or twice a year LIDL bring out a range of cleaning cemicals and amongst the range is a pink and white sponge called Aqua Pur Dirt eraser sponge it is in a pack of two and only costs about two eurro but it does work my artists got permanent pen (lots of ) on my oak kitchen table and nothing would budge this NOTHING. A friend recomended this sponge and i ridiculed this stupid chemical free sponge BUT I ATE MY WORDS with no elbow grease or effort of any kind the permanent pen disappeared and left no trace at all, it has also removed ink and marker pans on walls and the stairs and spindles,. These sponges were in lidl's a few months ago so i am not sure when they will be in again but if you pm me your address i will send you one of my treasured sponges..... keep an eye out in lidls leaflets or if i see them coming up in the future i will pm you
Good Luck Summersun





Hi all, just want to pick your brains. I have a very artistic 2 year old who has left her masterpieces in pen/pencil/crayon on my walls. How can I remove the marks without removing the paint as well? All suggestions welcome.
Thanks in advance.

[misetusa]

Believe it or not this phase will pass - and you will MISS it!! I like the suggestions about assinging a piece of wall to the little artist - you can take photos of it at various stages and see how the art is progressing!

[needmoresleep]

Crayon companies recommed using soapy water.
It didnt work for me, i had to use wd40!!!!! sprayed it on and then washed it off again.
(needed a good wash to get the wd40 off) but it didnt remove the paint.
(i was in reted accomodation by the way)

[Annari1]

Some more great ideas! Thanks everyone. I have tried the baby wipes but just like soapy water it is removing the paint. Repainting is not an option, I would have to continue on up the stairs and on to the landing, I HATE PAINTING!!!! Thanks a million Summersun for that suggestion, I do remember those sponges but have'nt been able to find them anywhere. I would feel bad about taking one of yours , seeing as they are so scarce. Thanks for the kind thought though.
Annari1

[mammasboys]

The same sort of sponges are in Aldi too, in a pink box if I recall. I saw them fairly recently. I found them great for things like propolis which my beekeeping hubby walked into the vinyl flooring! Good luck

[magiceight]

I used to just stick a big piece of paper over the wall at his favourite spot when mine was little. Old wallpaper with the white side facing out is good.

[bluecurlygirl]

Annari1 and Summersum - the sponges are scarce because (I stand to be corrected on this) but I believe they're off the market. They're lethal especially with kids. There are all kinds of chemicals in them that can cause your children to explode in very, very nasty blisters all over in minutes. I jest not. DON'T TOUCH THEM. Thanks and best of luck. Let us know what works best please.

[jeana]

I've noticed both an increase in kids who like to help Mummy clean and kids with all sorts of rashes and spots- Most products that work to remove stains also remove layers of skin. Does anyone have a recipe for a sort of Jif type product- I remember my mum metioning bread soda, baking soda stuff like that. I suppose with kids running around sometimes you have to accept scuffed walls and grubby handprints- lol.
Jeana

[Annari1]

That's a frightening thought, bluecurlygirl. I had never heard that before. Mind you, I did wonder why they seemed to be harder to find now. A few years ago they were hailed as the great new household cleaning item. I will have to do a little research and see what I can find out about that. On the scribbling front, I will just have to persevere with trying out all the different ideas before I have to resort to painting over it all. I've discovered her new drawing spot right behind the sitting room armchair where she could'nt be seen. She's not yet 2!! How am I supposed to keep up with a mind like that?

[Bawnie]

What about what she's using to draw with? Could you perhaps look into different types, washable Crayola's or so??? Just an idea, or do a reward programme with her.. She uses say the Wallpaper, she gets reward.. Not sure.. They are hard to pin down at that age!

Maybe make some home made playdough and sit her at the table.. Playdough, rough ingredients: Plain flour, salt(so it won't be eaten), some veg oil, mixed in water with some food colouring, lots of colours out there! Google might help you with proper recipe! Playdough will also tire her hands out, so she might change from colouring walls to playdough. Worth a try maybe? You'll need to sit with her though to show her how to use playdough. It's good fun. All the best.

[jeana]

Any tips on taking biro scribbles off a brown leather sofa- It's not rubbing off easily. I was asking all the kids who did it and the 15 month old was mumbling something incomprehensible so I reckon it was her-lol, I'm sure there's plenty more where that came from.
Jeana

[smokeyeyes]

Hi Jeana, try spraying any type of perfume/ aftershave, leave for a minute or so and use tissue to wipe off. This generally works on biro on any surfaces without harming the surface. I have used this to remove biros from leather handbags, fabrics etc.. and doesn't leave nasty smell. Hope it works for you.

[foxysam]

Hairspray takes off crayon. Not sure bout the pen etc though.

[kiara]

Hi Annari,

I have the same problem as well and found an amazing sponge that does work 1000% guaranteed, only problem is whether you can still get them now..... Once or twice a year LIDL bring out a range of cleaning cemicals and amongst the range is a pink and white sponge called Aqua Pur Dirt eraser sponge it is in a pack of two and only costs about two eurro but it does work my artists got permanent pen (lots of ) on my oak kitchen table and nothing would budge this NOTHING. A friend recomended this sponge and i ridiculed this stupid chemical free sponge BUT I ATE MY WORDS with no elbow grease or effort of any kind the permanent pen disappeared and left no trace at all, it has also removed ink and marker pans on walls and the stairs and spindles,. These sponges were in lidl's a few months ago so i am not sure when they will be in again but if you pm me your address i will send you one of my treasured sponges..... keep an eye out in lidls leaflets or if i see them coming up in the future i will pm you
Good Luck Summersun

this sponge is available in alot of garages! just rub it softly for longer instead of scrubbing to get it done fast because they can damage paint, they took biro off my wall so they are strong!

[bluecurlygirl]

I don't know if it'll take biro off but I do know that the baby wipes are great for leather furniture. They condition the leather while cleaning it and make it last longer!

[Elnr83]

I would def recommend BUYING the play-doh because it comes out of everything where as the home made stuff will never come out of carpets etc and is a total b***h to clean up.

[Betty_Bubbles]

from experience i know spraying hairspray works on crayon marks...spray it on liberally and then wipe off with a cotton cloth....

also i have heard vaseline melts mascara on walls and you just wipe it off after a few minutes with a cotton wool ball....maybe it'll work with crayon as well....friend of mine saw these two on how clean is your house....great for picking up tips on...i've an endless supply of lemons and salt for household jobs now because of them...never buying those manufactured cleaners again...such a waste of money!

[susannn10]

I spent ages trying to get crayon off my walls and then out the the blue it hit me.. Melt it off, as they are wax. I just used the hair dryer and a cloth and it came off straight away with no problems. Still trying to figure out the colouring pencil though!

[jennie]

I spent ages trying to get crayon off my walls and then out the the blue it hit me.. Melt it off, as they are wax. I just used the hair dryer and a cloth and it came off straight away with no problems. Still trying to figure out the colouring pencil though!

Lol I had this prob when I was sketching I'd have the pencils stuck in my hair, & needless to say I walked too close to walls or leaned on them! Got if off with a pencil eraser noooo problem, but not them hard ones or really rubbery ones they make a complete mess, you need a plain white soft spongey one. Get them in any good office or art supply shop.

[colmsmum]

I got a box of 6 "Eraser Sponge Pads" for €2.49 in Aldi last week. They are great for black marks on floors from shoes, bicycle tyre marks on radiators and walls, cleaning doors etc. They work on biro and crayons as well. In SValue they are called eliminator sponges and cost about three times as much.

I got these before, what a nightmare! I scrubbed too hard and the paint came off the wall. Word of advice- Go Gently!

[summersun]

I got these before, what a nightmare! I scrubbed too hard and the paint came off the wall. Word of advice- Go Gently!




I swear by these sponges, they have saved me many times removing permanent pen from my oak table, pen from walls, pen on dolls etc , but they only come in to Aldi or Lidl once a year so stock up

summersun