People who have children usually want to know about crayon stains and grass stains. Crayon is really tough—so let’s deal with that.

Crayon on the walls is a nightmare. This is a good place for Magic Eraser. You’ll need to be very careful, however: Magic Eraser CAN scuff the surface of whatever you use it on if it takes more than a quick brush or two to get the offensive mark off.

Crayon on a chalk board is actually pretty simple. First, wipe the blackboard down with a damp cloth or paper towel to get the rest of the residue on the board off. Then, apply a citrus cleaner or Goo Gone—following the directions. Believe it or not, this will make your chalkboard as good as new. The only caveat is that if your chalkboard is old and worn, you might find the citrus cleaner will leave a section of your board that looks closer to new than the rest of the board. If you’re like me, you may find yourself now cleaning the ENTIRE board in the citrus cleaner.

Crayon in a dryer… it’s really not as hard as it would appear. Run the dryer for 10-15 minutes to soften the crayon and then take a little bit of Bar Keeper's Friend or Bon Ami on the corner of the soft side of a sponge to make a little paste and try to rub it off. These products shouldn't scratch the enamel. Repeat until it's off. If it's in a crack or hole, put this paste on a toothbrush. When you're done, be sure to use a damp cloth to wipe off the residue. Wipe, rinse the rag, and repeat until it's all off.

Melted crayon on a carpet is the same as removing candle wax. First, scrape up as much of the wax as possible with a butterknife. Then place one layer of paper bag on the stain. Take an iron on a high setting and rub it back and forth on the paper bag. This will soften the crayon and the paper bag will absorb the wax. This will leave you with a color stain and there are a number of ways to remove the stain—but you’ll need to test any of those remedies on an inconspicuous part of your carpeting to make sure it doesn’t harm your rug. Some of the things that work are Simple Green (which is often found in the automotive cleaner section of a store), dry cleaning fluid (follow the directions and make sure to clean THAT out with some detergent and plenty of water), or just a laundry detergent and water mixture. Be sure that you apply in a blotting motion—not rubbing or in circles.

This should take care of most of your crayon issues…!