I’ve had several people ask me about how to deal with INK STAINS lately. Trust me, I don’t go LOOKING for new cleaning ideas to post…but for some reason they keep finding me! And of course my obsessive curious nature compels me to search for answers and then try them out for myself. I gotta tell ya…it’s pretty thrilling when something actually works that you really didn’t think would!
INK STAINS are the perfect example!
After several people inquired about how to get ink stains out of fabric. I did some research and was surprised to find the two most common “remedies” used are hand sanitizer and hair spray! (Others I found…Cutter’s Insect Repellent and cold milk! True story.)
While I didn’t have any current ink stains to test these out on…I decided to “sacrifice” one of these expensive flour sack towels I recently purchased at Walmart. :-)
Here are my unscientific (but quite convincing!) results:
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| Top Photo: After writing on this end of the towel…I sprayed liberally with Suave Professional hairspray (the only hairspray we had in the house)! Bottom Photo: On this end of the towel I covered the ink with Purell with Aloe hand sanitizer (which I bought at Walgreens and had been sitting in a cupboard in my laundry room for well over a year!) |
I made a half-hearted attempt at rubbing the spray and the gel into the ink stains…but really didn’t try all that hard. Then I waited maybe 10 minutes (I was impatient) and threw them both into the washing machine. I washed in HOT water using my regular (homemade) detergent and my regular (homemade) Shout. Since I was pretty sure this wasn’t going to work on the first try and I would end up doing this whole routine at least a 2nd time…I just let it run through one regular washing cycle. No extra agitating…no extra soaking time.
When the load had finished…I went to see if I’d at least made a DENT in the ink stains and quite honestly was shocked to find that the towel was COMPLETELY STAIN FREE. I actually double-checked inside the washer to make sure there this wasn’t actually a different towel that had accidentally made it in with this load. Nope. Only other thing in the washer were a few dish rags I’d thrown in at the last minute.
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| FRONT and BACK: After ONE washing! Can YOU find any ink??? |
I took the towel out and laid it on the kitchen counter where I had done the ink staining in the first place…and believe it or not…I couldn’t even tell where I had written on it. I tried. I really did. Since I wasn’t even sure where the ink had been in the first place…I took pictures of the entire towel, both sides…to cover my bases. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
This was definitely one of those experiences where I thought I had it “all figured out” and was completely wrong. I mean come on! Hair spray?Hand sanitizer?I realize they both have alcohol in them which is most likely what made them effective….but I was so certain that while they would both make somewhat of a difference…there was no way they could COMPLETELY eliminate the stain.
Normally I really don’t like being proven wrong….but in this case I’ll be more than happy to make an exception. :-)
A few more tips from a long-time manager of a laundromat
Any ideas for getting nail polish off clothing?
I have found that my Prestone Ice remover for the windshield also removes ink stains quickly!
Wow. I can honestly say I’ve never heard that one! Going to have to try it out. Thanks! :-)
Is this effective for colored clothing as well?
I’m so impressed! I accidentally washed some brown corduroy pants with a black ball point pen, including into the dryer somehow! What a mess. There were about 15 black spots on the pants! Just tried the Purell and it is almost all gone. I’m re doing two areas but I’m sure they will be gone, too! Thanks so much for the tip!
My daughter took ink pens to my microfiber glider multiple times when she was younger (I didn’t learn my lesson and hide the pens after the first time). Hairspray and a cloth…like magic eraser for ink on upholstery!
Fast forward a few months…red crayon on my white dining room chairs. Now this took elbow grease, but WD40 sprayed directly on the crayon, allowed to penetrate for a while, followed by Dawn and a clean water sponge rinsing…completely removed all traces of red crayon! Thank goodness!
Have you tried Murphy’s oil for sharpie stains!
Argh! Just found your site via Pinterest – boy have I been missing out! Love the tips, thank you for sharing them with us! On to subscribe… ;)
Did you use a ballpoint pen or some other kind? I have ballpoint pen on my shirt and don’t know how to get it out. Thanks!
From what I understand it’s the alcohol in both the hairspray and the hand sanitizer that is actually lifting the ink. :)
Plane rubbing alcohol works to, and cheeper!
Would this work on an ink stain that has been sitting in the fabric for months??? We tried every other method of stain removal and I finally gave up. However, the pants were brand new and I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of them. I’m gonna go try your method….!!! Cross your fingers for me..I really do love these pants!
hi how about ink on sofas? how to get rid of it, i have tried alot of stuff and NADA!! please help!
Here is another tip – if you don’t realize a pen went through the washer or dryer – use nail polish remover to remove the ink – works like a charm :)
Please be careful about using nail polish remover. It can damage many of the synthetic fabrics (and mixed fibers).
Undiluted ammonia works great for taking out crayon that went through the dryer. I just put some in a spray bottle, spray where the crayon melted, and wash normally. Just came across your site and LOVE it!
How do you get ink and grease stains out of Kahki without messing up the color?
Just an FYI the link at the bottom of the article (A few more tips from a long-time manager of a laundromat) is no longer working.
Any suggestions to get stains out left from cheap dryer sheets?
The common thing to hand sanitiser, and hair spray is ” alcohol” I’m a hair dresser, we use hairspray to remove dye stains as well. ( spray it on before the dye sets in) I’m pretty sure rubbing alcohol, although I have not tried it, may have more to do with it ( diluted of course)
My baby boy “artistically” painted my favourite fabric book cover (sewed and embellished by myself) with a violet ink lighter; totally in panic I googled looking for a solution, and found the hot milk recipe… and despite of my skepticism IT WORKED PERFECTLY!!! Cheap, easy, quick and amazingly effective, I recommend it.
The Tips from a laundromat manager still not working.
Thanks for the tip! I’m going to try it and see if I can save my husbands favorite shorts. I’ll update if it works.
I have tried everything including alcohol and nail polish remover on stains left by a gel ink pen on my purple shirt. Nothing has worked. Any ideas?
Great tip! I use Milk to get out ink stains. Works great and is something I always have in the fridge.
Just tried this tip on my £200 golf jacket. And it appears to have done the trick. I only hope that when it dries out,the colour of the jacket hasnt faded as well. The surplus milk that was on the jacket was tinted with the red colour of the coat.
How would the hand sanitizer work on bright red jeans? My daughter unfortunately got black Sharpie (permanent marker) on her red jeans, and we aren’t sure how to get it out, without taking the color out of the jeans.
I carry hand sanitizer all the time. I use it to get out all sorts of stains from clothes. If it doesn’t remover the stains entirely, then it makes them easier to remove when doing laundry.
It is great to get rid of coffee stains from cotton shirts!
How do I get ink off my refrigerator. I love my lil artist.
Omg!!!! IT WORKED!! I just got a new designer bag from my sister for my birthday -when I say just a mean the day before!!! I know she would be very disappointed that I already damaged the bag! One of my pen went rogue at the bottom of the bag and it was one big mess on liner. In a hurry I goggled remedies and ur article popped up! I used the hand sanitizer and that thing worked in seconds!!! Worked like a charm!!! You saved me!! thanx
Trish its so ironic that I was doing this search for the same reason and come across your post. The only difference is my boyfriend brought my designer bag and he would absolutely kill me if he knew that ink is all inside the bag because he paid $1830 for it. However, the hand sanitizer thing is not working for me. Did you let it sit on the stain for a few seconds? Did you rub or blot? Any tips that you can pass along will definitely grately appreciated.
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So, I use one or the other? Or I use both on the stain?
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Is it safe to use the hair spray and hand Sanitizer on Colors? Alcohol damages colors. I have a set in ink stain on my Red stretch skinny jeans!!
Right away I am going to do my breakfast, once having my breakfast coming again to read further news.
I have used hair spray for most of my life to take out pen. Works like a charm!
o w tym momencie zero z wyjątkiem polem
reflektorów, Porfirio spoza którego dobiega chichot również urągliwe nawoływanie.
Tak duża liczba rózgi po tej stronie byli, tylu dowieźli do granicznego mostu.
Tudzież jeszcze im się nie
znudziło. Jeszcze się śmieją także celują im w plecy.
Finalnie zrozumiał. Oni tak naprawdę nienawidzą, Odwlekają,
iżby ktokolwiek odwrócił się,
pobiegł ku tyłowi. Ażeby wolno stało się nacisnąć język spustowy.
Cienie co chwila dłu�.
We have ink stains on our carpet, how do i get them out? I have heard that hair spray works great and then use the carpet cleaner on it!