Jenny's Crayon Collection: Washable Crayons

Kid's First Markers and Crayons: What's Inside the Box

In 1997 Crayola came out withe a line of crayons and markers called Kid's First. This line came in regular and bright colors crayons. It was specifically marketed for kids 1 to 3 with a large crayon size. Crayola also emphasized that these crayons were washable. They gave the crayons fun names to appeal to the young children. The bright colors were fluorescent and named: Magic Magenta, Pinkasaurus, Rocket Red, Goldfish Orange, Sunshine Yellow, Gator Green, Balloon Blue, Purplepotomus. The regular colors were named; Birdie Blue, Bunny Brown, Candy Apple Red, Grape Juice Purple, Kitty Cat Black, Leap Frog Green, Pumpkin Orange, School Bus Yellow. I do not know if the markers were creatively named, but they did feature pictures like the crayons did.

click here to find on ebay

4, 16, and 24 Count Crayola Washable Crayons: What's Inside the Box

Crayola washable crayons have been around for a while, but only was it in 2014 that they were given new packaging and a new name, Ultra-Clean ColorMAX. These boxes are the boxes before those boxes were introduced. I am sure there are more out there, but I am happy to have a few. They are super washable and wipe off easily from the wall, something I'm really glad for with a two year old :)

This blog post contains affiliate links.

Click here to find on Amazon

How are the crayons so washable and how were they tested? In the patent it says, "The crayons obtained had excellent washability. Crayon marks were made on various surfaces by applying 5 hand strokes on top of each other. The crayon marks were easily washed off painted tile boards having two coats of flat white paint thereon. A wet paper towel was employed to wipe off the marks. The marks wiped off completely as determined visually. The crayon marks were similarly washed off wallpaper. Crayon marks on fabrics, 100% cotton and 50/50 cotton/polyester, were washed off in a clothes washing machine using TIDE.TM. powder detergent with a hot water wash. The fabrics were dried under the normal drying setting. The marks were removed completely, as determined visually. No residual stain was observed on all substrates tested above."

Ultra Clean Washable Crayons: What's Inside the Box

The first type of Washable Crayons from CRAYOLA that I have personally seen is from 1958, there was were a couple boxes before that. I do not know if they used the same formula and ideas for later washable crayon boxes, but it is quite possible. The patent for washable crayons was published in 1999, about the same time as they published the patent for washable markers. According to the patent there are certain additives mixed with the crayons that cause them to fleck less, and they become more washable. Numerous products have been made with these "washable" crayons, but mostly geared at the very young artists. In 2011 Crayola added washiblity to their mainstream 24 count box and then added it to many other lines in 2013. They added Ultra-Clean and ColorMAX (both trademark) to the name, and supposedly these crayons are even brighter than normal crayons.

This blog post contains affiliate links.