Opening the dryer and finding ink splattered everywhere is one of those moments that throws your whole mood off.

You go in expecting warm, clean clothes and instead you’re staring at blue or black blotches like a pen decided to self-destruct mid-cycle.

It looks dramatic and honestly a little chaotic, and your brain immediately jumps to worst-case scenarios. But this situation is way more fixable than it looks.

The dryer isn’t ruined, the clothes aren’t doomed, and ink actually comes off a lot easier.

In this post, I’ll show you what to do if a pen exploded in the dryer.

#1 Stop The Dryer And Check The Damage

The very first thing you want to do is stop the dryer as soon as you notice the ink.

Don’t keep it running because heat just bakes stains into both the machine and the clothes.

Pull the clothes out and take a quick look at what’s actually stained. Sometimes only a couple of items catch the worst of it and the rest are totally safe.

The key here is just getting everything out so you don’t spread ink around even more.

Most people panic at this point, but honestly the damage always looks worse than it is.

The ink splatters across the drum in a dramatic way and it feels like the entire load is ruined. But once you start wiping the machine down you’ll see it’s mostly sitting on the surface and hasn’t soaked into anything.

So breathe, look it over, and get ready to clean things up one layer at a time.

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#2 Separate The Clothes Before Doing Anything Else

Once you’ve pulled everything out, you want to split the stained clothes from the clean ones.

Don’t toss the whole pile into the washer just yet because stained pieces need a bit of pre-treatment and you don’t want fresh ink rubbing onto clothes that had nothing to do with this chaos.

Separate everything on a counter or table so you can actually see the spots and figure out which pieces need attention.

This step keeps you from making the situation worse. It also helps you stay organized because the second you dump ink-covered clothes into a washing machine you’re just asking for a bigger problem.

So keep clean and stained items apart and you’ll have a smoother time dealing with both the machine and the clothing.

#3 Clean The Dryer Drum

Now it’s time to tackle the drum itself, and this is actually way easier than people expect.

Rubbing alcohol is your best friend here.

Grab a clean cloth or microfiber towel, pour some alcohol on it, and start wiping down every ink spot.

The alcohol breaks the ink down pretty quickly and you’ll see it transfer onto your cloth almost immediately. Keep going until the spots fade or disappear.

If a few areas seem stubborn, don’t stress, you have options.

Nail polish remover with acetone also works really well to remove ink from the dryer drum, and so does hand sanitizer because it has a lot of alcohol in it.

Just don’t go wild with scrubbing pads that can scratch the metal. You want lifting, not grinding.

Warm the dryer for a few minutes on air fluff if you need to loosen anything stuck on the surface, but avoid using full heat because ink responds better when it’s warmed gently rather than scorched.

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#4 Clean The Dryer Fins/Gaskets

The fins and gaskets are the little ridges, edges, and seams inside the dryer, and this is where tiny ink splatters love to hide even when the drum looks spotless.

Don’t skip these spots because leftover ink can transfer to your next load and you’ll be right back in crisis mode. Give those areas a quick but thorough wipe with the same alcohol-soaked cloth and make sure you’re not leaving behind smudges.

These spots don’t usually hold heavy amounts of ink, but they catch droplets and streaks you might miss the first time.

Go along each fin slowly and peel back any rubbery gaskets so you can see if ink slipped underneath.

It doesn’t take long, but it makes all the difference in keeping your next load safe from random blue streaks.

#5 Treat The Clothes Separately

Now that the dryer itself looks like its normal self again, you can deal with the clothes.

The trick here is simple stain-by-stain treatment instead of throwing everything into a wash cycle without prep.

Rubbing alcohol works on most fabrics for ink. Just dab it onto the stain, blot the ink out, and then rinse the spot before washing. You don’t have to scrub aggressively because ink responds fast when it meets alcohol-based cleaners.

For heavier stains, you can use a bit of laundry stain remover and let it sit for a few minutes before washing.

Delicate fabrics might need a gentler approach, but even they respond nicely to alcohol if you dab instead of rub.

After treating all the stained spots, wash those pieces separately in warm water and let them air dry.

#6 Do A Test Load

Before you dive back into regular laundry, it’s smart to run a quick test load just to make sure the dryer is truly clean.

Grab an old towel or an old T-shirt you don’t mind sacrificing and toss it in for a short cycle.

If there’s even the smallest bit of leftover ink hiding along a seam or tucked into the fins, the test towel will pick it up right away, which saves you from ruining your next real load.

Let the dryer run for a few minutes and then pull the towel out and check it under good lighting.

If it comes out totally clean, then you’re officially in the clear and the dryer is safe to use again.

If you spot a faint mark or a weird little streak, don’t freak out. It just means you missed a tiny patch the first time. Go back in with rubbing alcohol, give the drum and edges another quick wipe, and repeat the test.

What Not To Use Inside Your Dryer

Here’s what you want to avoid using inside the dryer when a pen exploded because it can damage the machine or create problems later:

Bleach or anything heavily corrosive that can ruin the drum coating.
Abrasive scrubbers that scratch the metal and give future stains places to cling.
Strong flammable products used in a closed dryer without ventilation.

Stick to alcohol-based cleaners and gentle cloths and you’ll be fine.

It keeps the drum smooth and safe for future loads, and you won’t deal with weird smells or chemical reactions down the line.

Bottom Line

An exploded pen inside the dryer feels like a nightmare at first glance, but it’s so fixable once you break it down into small steps.

As long as you stop the dryer, pull everything out, clean the drum properly, and treat the stained clothes before rewashing, you’ll get through it without lasting damage.

The dryer goes back to normal, the clothes come back to life, and you move on with your week without turning this tiny disaster into a huge headache.

Just take your time, use the right cleaners, and finish with a test load, and you’ll be good to go.

Pen Exploded In The Dryer? Here’s What To Do Next