It's a fact of life: despite all the washable crayons and markers on the market, kids will still find the only indelible ink pen in the house. Even if you stash it in a locked box surrounded by mousetraps and an armed guard, your little Van Gogh will snatch up a Sharpie faster than you can say, "Oh, no! Not the kitchen wall!"
Fear not, moms and dads. It's not easy, but there are several ways to get ink off off furniture, clothing and walls. Before trying any of these methods, be sure to test in an inconspicuous spot first.
- Use hairspray to remove ballpoint pen marks from clothing. Simply spray it on the stain and wash in cold water. The garment may need to be washed a couple of times so check to see that the ink spot is gone before putting the item in the dryer where the heat will set it permanently. If you don't have hairspray handy, try rubbing alcohol.
- Magic Eraser is a lifesaver for many ink stains. I once successfully removed ink spots from a black Sharpie permanent marker after one of my son's demonstrated his artistic inspiration on a solid wood table.
- Bug spray removes stubborn ink stains from walls and other painted surfaces.
- For permanent marker stains on hard surfaces like tile and concrete, try nail polish remover. Be sure to use it judiciously on treated tile (like terrazzo flooring) or you may mar the finish.
- For ink stains on leather furniture and clothing, spray a paper towel or soft cloth with some WD-40 and wipe the stain lightly. Repeat several times until the ink is gone.
- If you've accidentely gotten ink on an LCD or flat-panel monitor screen, try rubbing carefully with a pencil eraser. This trick seems to be particularly effective on mishaps with a Sharpie or other permanent marker.
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Reader comments (Page 1 of 2)
I can vouch for the Magic Eraser! They're amazing!
ReplyAnother amazing product is Gonzo Stain Remover. Once I left an uncapped permanent marker on my bed, and most of the ink wicked out into the sheet and the mattress before I noticed. It left a huge stain but the Gonzo took care of it in minutes. I couldn't believe it!
Hair spray also works on car greese that has been dragged in on your carpeting. (Cheap hairspray is the best) then rinse with a sponge of clean cold water)
ReplyTrue, BUG SPRAY might remove ink stains from walls and other painted surfaces, but it might also REMOVE any CHILD that comes in contact with it. Come on! I can't believe a responsible adult writer would suggest using BUG SPRAY as a stain remover on ANYTHING. Lisa Hoover is an idiot and should be fired. There are too many safe stain removing products available for anyone to have to resort to these idiotic and dangerous "tips."
ReplyTrue, BUG SPRAY might remove ink stains from walls and other painted
Replysurfaces, but it might also REMOVE any CHILD that comes in contact
with it. Come on! I can't believe a responsible adult writer would
suggest using BUG SPRAY as a stain remover on ANYTHING. Lisa Hoover
is an idiot and should be fired. There are too many safe stain
removing products available for anyone to have to resort to these
idiotic and dangerous "tips."
Another product that works great on most stains is called Awesome and you get it at the Dollar Store for(what else?) one dollar. My sister got red crayon off her carpet and cloth chair bottoms. And I've used it alot for other dirty stains on walls and carpets.
ReplyI can vouch for the hair spray and ball point pen ink also.
DOWNY FABRIC SOFTENER IS GOOD FOR GUM OR GLUE. IT WORKS GREAT ON WALLPAPER GLUE !
Replymany years ago when my grandchildren destroyed their bedroom walls with permanent black markers, i found out by accident that WHITE BOARD CLEANER removes permanent ink. just spray it on and wipe it off.
ReplyLooks like Jerome & J. Brian Thompson live in the same house by the verbatim comments. It makes sense that the bug spray would be and immediate treament, and I'm assuming that intelligent folks are going to wash the bugspray residue off after it removes the stain. I also assume that the amount of bug spray is nominal. Folks use bug spray in the house all the time and if the child doesn't pick up the spray bottle and drink the contents or spray the can in their mouth, or on their food, the kids aren't going to be hurt. I'll remember these tips next time the grandkids get marker where it shouldn't go. WD40 is great on bugbutts on the front of your car before going to the carwash!
ReplyAlmost any substance used for cleanup can be harmful to children and/or pets if not judiciously used....along with...come on and be realalistic.
Replyalso try fantastic with oxy, this stuff gets out dog biusness stains really great just saturate the ares & walk away works great for blood, ink, almost everything and doesnt harm any surface ive used it on & thats alot, ive completely covered a sofa with this stuff which was about 4 bottles from the dollar store, very cheap, everyone though i bought a new sofa or had it re upholstered! try it see for yourself let me know what ya think!
ReplyI've found that the best stain remover is a cod fish. Just place it over the stain, leave it for a few days, and when you remove it, the spot's gone as well.
ReplyDrefft stain remover....usually found at Target, removes set in baby stains and more.
ReplyI would just like to say that only an idiot would leave the bug spray on the wall and not clean it off after it had removed the stain. The fact that this fact did not occur to the two of you just goes to prove my point. Us responsible adults do make sure and protect our children.
ReplyYOUR COMMENTS ON BUG SPRAY, WHILE WE ALL KNOW IT'S HAZARDOUS TO YOU AND YOUR CHILD'S HEALTH, DON'T YOU THINK THAT ANYONE WITH COMMON SENSE WOULD WASH THE COTHING BEFORE PUTTING IT ON A CHILD? COME ON PEOPLE, GRIP ABOUT SOMETHING WORTH WHILE.
ReplyANY RESPONSIBLE PARENT WOULD KNOW TO WASH ANYTHING TREATED WITH BUG SPRAY BEFORE PUTTING IT ON A CHILD. LB
ReplyForget the hairspray and the bug spray and whatever !!! If the blenmished item costs less than $1.79, simply replace it. If thenitem costs more than $1.79 to replace, take it out of your kid's allowance and replace it !!!
ReplyEver use a permanent marker like a Sharpie on a whiteboard? Use a dry-erase marker (like the Expo marker you should have used anyway) to "color over" the permanent marks, then erase with a whiteboard eraser. You might be amazed... and not fired for ruining the office whiteboard!
ReplyOxy works great on stains. My mother-in-law sprayed some on my shirt and by the time I got home, the stain disappeared! Just like magic.
ReplyWhen my 5-year-old daughter got ink on her brand-new Easter dress, her Sunday School teacher told me to use spray-on deodorant on it and it would come right out. And it did!
ReplyWhen my 5-year-old got ink on her brand-new Easter dress, her teacher told me to spray it with spray-on deodorant and rub it in, and it would come right out. And it did!
Reply