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How to Remove Ink from Clothes

Removing ink stains caused by biros, fountain pens and artist's ink from clothing is not an easy taskbut it is doable. There are a few ways to remove the stains, and a few products that can help you todo it easily. Here are some suggestions to remove the ink from washable clothing, preferably soonerrather than later.

Treat very fresh ink stains as soon as possible. Acting fast is important because ink stainsare very stubborn and hard to remove once they've set. If the ink stain has just happened, geta paper towel and press it against the fabric very firmly for several seconds. Do not "blot" assome people recommend, and never rub. Blotting and rubbing can spread the ink. The papertowel, on the other hand, will absorb the still-wet ink out of the fabric somewhat, making thestain less obvious, and easier to remove.

Use rubbing alcohol or methylated spirits. Rubbing alcohol or methylated spirits(denatured alcohol) from the drug store or hardware store are ideal to remove ink stains, aslong as the stains have not set. The alcohol neutralizes the pigment in the ink so it disappears.Either soak a washable garment in rubbing alcohol or methylated spirits, then wash as normal,

or use the following process:

Steps

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Dip a clean cotton swab into rubbing alcohol.

Dab at the soaked up ink mark with the cotton swab (bud) or small sponge.

Repeat this each time with a fresh cotton swab or sponge, as many times as needed.

Dip another fresh cotton swab or sponge into cold water and dab the area to remove thealcohol from the fabric. For best results, let the fabric dry before trying to remove the inkstains again. Rubbing alcohol works best on a dry fabric, but after each application youmust rinse it with water. The process of removing heavy ink stains is a lengthy, cyclicalprocess of blot, rinse and dry.

Allow the area to dry. Wash the garment as normal.

Try ammonia for non-synthetic garments. Make a mixture from 2 parts of methylated spirits(denatured alcohol) to 1 part cloudy ammonia. Soak, then add vinegar to neutralize theammonia. Wash as usual.

Put a paper towel under the stain first then apply hairspray to the stain. Hairspray willcause the ink to dissolve, making it easier to wash the ink out of the material. Spray liberally

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until the stain is saturated with hairspray, then blot with a damp cloth (do not rub). Repeatapplication and blotting until the stain lifts, then wash. Be sure that you have gotten all the inkout before you dry the washed garment in a dryer, because the heat of a dryer will set thestain.

Try milk. There are several different possible methods for using milk to remove ink stains, asfollows:

Use cold milk. After dabbing up the fresh ink with paper towels as outlined in step one, soakthe stain in milk for half an hour. Wash as usual.

Use warm milk. Heat milk to lukewarm. Pour into a suitable container and soak the stainedpart of the garment in the warm milk as soon as possible. Rinse after soaking and wash asusual.

Use rotten milk solids. Put milk into a container and put it into the sunshine to rot. When itturns lumpy and smelly, it's ready to use; use a wide-mouthed container to speed up therotting process. Using your fingers, grab some of the lumpy pieces and apply these directto the ink stain. Once you see the ink bleeding into the lump, shake the lumps off the fabric.Dip a cake of bathroom soap into cold water and rub the stain. Once the stain has

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disappeared, rinse off with cold water to remove the soap residue. Wash as normal.

Use glycerin. Warm the glycerin slightly to lukewarm temperature. Apply to the stain, then flushwith water. Add a few drops of ammonia.

Proceed to stronger methods for difficult or older stains. Commercial stain removers areusually a good choice for more stubborn stains. Some choices include:

Put Dry-Erase whiteboard cleaner or water-based "Goof Off 2" on the ink stain. Thesemake a good pre-wash to quickly loosen the ink. Follow the instructions and wash off asusual.

Apply OXY-CLEAN to really serious ink stains. Permanent marker can also be removedfrom clothes that have already been laundered with this product.

Take the garment to the dry cleaner if you've tried and failed, or if you've been too scaredto even try! Any ink-stained clothing that cannot be washed should be taken to the drycleaner immediately.

Ask the dry cleaner if they have experience removing this type of stain. Most dry

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cleaners have a spotting board with high pressure steam and vacuum, plus a selection of muchstronger chemicals than is available to the public specifically for removing these stains. Mostblue inks can be removed, most black inks cannot be removed. Throw away (or put up) all yourblack pens.

Sometimes "home remedies" make stains much harder to remove. All stains can beremoved, some stains require scissors. But,this would greatly damage the garment and is NOTrecommended

With most of the stain removed and with just a shadow of the stain remaining: use amild spray cleaner with bleach as the final step. Tap on the stain with a brush after applying thespray cleaner with bleach.

11 Finished.

Never rub the stain; it will spread.

For older, dried stains, try using Water Armour Cleaner.

For whites, dip a cotton swab lightly in bleach, and lightly dab the ink or other spots. Wash.Make sure the cotton swab is barely wet, do not make it very wet.

If none of this will work, you can also remove it with nail-polish remover. It usually works for penstains.

For cotton clothes try sprinkling with some rice. The friction helps remove the stain, but it takestime. Alcohol doesn't work well with cotton clothes because the ink spreads being rubbed withalcohol.

Tips

A mild solution of hydrogen peroxide can work with lighter colored clothing.

If removing ballpoint pen ink from a leather jacket or other clothing item, wipe the stain withglycerin. This will reconstitute the stain, making it easier to remove using rubbing alcohol.

Cheesecloth can also be used to dab up ink when using rubbing alcohol.

Never get anything such as Ammonia or any other chemical near your mouth.

OXY-CLEAN™ may not be safe for all colors.

Paper towels or cheesecloth

Cotton swabs (buds), balls or pads

Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol or methylated spirits

Milk

Ammonia

Glycerin

Hairspray

Commercial products

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1. ↑ Christine Whiston, ed., Domestic Bliss, p. 1/40, (2001), ISBN 1-740640-37-3

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Warnings

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Sources and Citations

2. ↑ Penguin, Household Hints: The Easy Way to a Clean, Clutter-Free Home, p. 183, (2006),ISBN 0-14-300474-3

3. ↑ Penguin, Household Hints: The Easy Way to a Clean, Clutter-Free Home, p. 185, (2006),ISBN 0-14-300474-3

4. ↑ Reader's Digest, Hints, Tips, & Everyday Wisdom, p. 87, (1985), ISBN 0-87857-578-2

5. ↑ Reader's Digest, Hints, Tips, & Everyday Wisdom, p. 90, (1985), ISBN 0-87857-578-2

6. ↑ Reader's Digest, Hints, Tips, & Everyday Wisdom, p. 89, (1985), ISBN 0-87857-578-2

7. ↑ Penguin, Household Hints: The Easy Way to a Clean, Clutter-Free Home, p. 185, (2006),ISBN 0-14-300474-3

8. ↑ Shannon Lush and Trent Hayes, Stainless, (2010), ISBN 97-0-7333-2791-9

9. ↑ Reader's Digest, Hints, Tips, & Everyday Wisdom, p. 87, (1985), ISBN 0-87857-578-2

10. ↑ Reader's Digest, Hints, Tips, & Everyday Wisdom, p. 87, (1985), ISBN 0-87857-578-2

11. ↑ Christine Whiston, ed., Domestic Bliss, p. 1/40, (2001), ISBN 1-740640-37-3

12. ↑ Reader's Digest, Hints, Tips, & Everyday Wisdom, p. 87, (1985), ISBN 0-87857-578-2