Two Laundry Questions: Dry Erase Marker Stain and Mold on Bath Mat

Try using Goo Gone or Goof Off on the stains if they are not too harsh. I used them in the past with GREAT success. I now use a shaved down Bella Bar (available through Scent-Sations Distributors) mixed with water to get out pretty much any stain. Good luck!

Make it a GREAT day!

S.

Bleach will remove mold immedately

I tried both wd-40 and murphy's wood oil soap on dry erase. I just scrub it a bit with a toothbrush and usually one or the other will work but it's trickiest with cotton. Good luck.

I have had no luck with dry erase marker stains on clothes either and I think I've tried everything! It is one of the most evil clothes stains. It's really like permanent marker. Avoid it like crazy in the future.

Bath mat- only solution is bleach for mold I think. Maybe try clorox for colors first- it's a little less harsh than straight clorox. Good luck!

The dry erase markers are permenant. but you could try nail polish remover, baking soda and vinegar, or hydrogene proxide.

As for the mold just wash the mat in the washer with your detergent and then just add baking soda and a splash or two of vinegar and it should take it right out.

As a teacher, I have had to deal with quite a few dry erase marker stains. A couple of things have worked for me:
1) Zout. It is a commercial stain remover you can buy at the market.
2) Other dry erase marker. This sounds funny, but what you do is get a dry erase marker the same color as the clothing item. Color over the stain. Wash well before the marker has time to dry. It seems that the solvent in the marker dissolves the stain. Note that this is really hard if you have odd color clothing.
3) Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) will take out some brands of dry erase marker, but not all. As will nail polish remover.

The mold is tricky. Bleach is the surefire mold killer, but will ruin the color of the mat. Color safe bleach will help, but doesn't always work on mold. Sometimes it helps to put the mat in a black trash bag, seal it well, at put it in the sun for several days. You basically bake the mat. If it has a rubber backing on it, though, sometimes it will melt. Most molds will also stain. Even though the mold is dead, you will still be able to see the mark. So your washing and drying might have killed the mold, but the stain will be set in place. If it bothers you, I would just buy a new mat. You can put a rug spacer under it to help the water drain and prevent mold.

Good luck!

Dry erase marker - hand sanitizer: apply generously, rub in, rinse, repeat if necessary. May not work if the shorts have already been through the dryer, though. (Hand sanitizer will also get dry erase maker off of wood furniture. You probably don't have to ask how I know this...)

Mold in bath mat - if bleach is not an option, try soaking in vinegar, then drying in the sun.

Good luck!

Bleach would be my first choice too - you can fill the tub with a solution of water and bleach and just soak the mat for a while, then rinse it out.

For the dry erase marker (and even black permanent marker) I have had some success with Sol-U-Mel. It is a Melalucca product. Our kids use dry erase marker at school every day and it is frustrating to see it on their clothes!! To get dry erase marker out of denim I have also used a mr clean magic eraser. I gently scrubbed jeans with this and it worked quite well. You could see a little blue from the denim on the Mr Clean eraser but it didn't leave a washed out spot on the jeans. Good Luck!

I have had great success with Murphy's oil soap on dry erase marker. Put it on and wait 10 minutes then work it around with a soft brush. Good luck!

once the mold is actually growing where you can see it past the nasty smell saying I'm getting sour, you can't really do much in my experience it's best to just get rid of it and start over. if you get the mold out there would be a hole where it has grown because it eats the fabric as it grows on it. to prevent mold hang the bathmats up to dry after bathing or showering--I do this a couple of times a week not every time we use the tub or shower unless I know that it got really wet.
you don't want the mold in your home as it can cause all kinds of problems. (allergies/respiratory)

Hi S.,

You may already know this, but several of the products suggested to use, have some serious chemicals in them. And since your children are sensitive, I would be very careful.
I have a free Home Cleaners Toxin Checklist that might enlighten you about some of them. You can go to it at: http://www.4greenplanetsolutions.com.

If, you'd like more information about some safe cleaning products that may work for your issues, please feel free to email me.

Have a blessed day!
L.

For the bath mat, I would lightly scrub into the back with baking soda and rinse with vinegar. Do again. You can also just soak it in a your washer in a vinegar baking soda combo for an hour and then wash with your normal detergent and a 1/2 cup of baking soda.

Dry erase marker is one of the hardest things to remove...ugh.

I always try vinegar baking soda first it works with most everything, but if i remember corrrectly it does not on dry erase. I ended up using Goo Gone and Goof off. I scrubbed in that, then rinsed with room temp water, then rinsed in a vinegar solution of 1 cup to 1 gallon water, then rinse again in plain water. This will break down the chemical residues so your kids won't have reactions to them.

You can buy the 5lb bag of baking soda and two gallon box of vinegar from costco or sams. Its about 8 dollars for the combo and it last me about six months, and I used it on most everything to clean, including in my laundry. CHEAP < CHEAP but works awesome.

My cousin called the other day with a complaint that her cat had lost its mind and peed all over her leather couch and the urine had soaked into the foam cushions and in her porta crib while they we gone. She had tried just about everything expensive. She tried the bs and vin combo and it worked!! No more urine or smell. It actually changes the PH of the urine and breaks it down ...Works on red food dye stains in carpet and clothes too...but anyhow, sorry for rambling, I just love cleaning and for cheap so I hope this helps!!
K.

Sharpie comes out with rubbing alcohol but I've never had luck w/that for dry erase markers (go figure, you'd think they'd be easier to clean up!)-that's for when the kids discover Sharpies. I got some cheap stain remover from the Dollar Tree-looks similar to Shout-that works better than anything else I've tried. Walmart magic erasers (I buy cheap) sometimes work too.
The bathmat-I hang mine up every other day to prevent mold because (go figure) it's the teenager that soaks it the worst (his mom didn't train him to dry his feet BEFORE he got out of the shower apparently, but I trained the younger ones to do so). Teach your kids (start them on it now & they'll pick up the habit easily) to lay their towel down before they get out of the shower & dry their feet-keeps the mold from even becoming an issue. I've heard great things about Pine Sol as a cleaner. Ammonia is amazing against mold, but I'd recommend washing it a few more times to get the ammonia out if you've got sensitive kiddos. Vinegar, hot water & sun might do the trick too. If all else fails, buy a towel-like bathmat instead of the rubber-backed ones.