99-Cent Store Solution #1: Scuffed Countertops

Countertop scuff-removing tools
Image: Liz Foreman

Here’s how to make short work of this common countertop ailment with finds from the dollar store.

If you’ve ever had a scuff mark on a colored countertop, you know that it sadly becomes the room’s focal point. But we found the right supplies to save you any embarrassment.

Easy Fix for your Scuffed Countertop

Supplies:

  • Crayons, 99 cents
  • Spatula knife, 99 cents
  • A microwave-safe bowl, 99 cents (If you have one you’re willing to sacrifice to melt crayons, you just saved another 99 cents.)

Total: $2.97. $3.96 if you throw in a weak lemonade-type drink.

What you do:

  1. Pick the Crayon whose color comes closest to matching your countertop. Peel off the paper and place it in the bowl.
  2. Pop the crayon and bowl in the microwave.
  3. Pour the hot, melted crayon onto the scuff mark and work it into the indentation with the spatula knife.
  4. Scrape off the excess with the spatula knife.

The Crayon mixture will harden and dry quickly, erasing your countertop flaw.

Related: More 99-Cent Solutions

Harmon Leon
Harmon Leon

Harmon Leon is a journalist, comedian, and filmmaker. His other stories have appeared in Esquire, Stuff, Salon, NPR’s, This American Life, Details, Maxim, Cosmopolitan, and Wired.