How to remove ink stains
As you are sorting your clothes, you find there is a rather large ink stain. Is the article of clothing ruined? How can an ink stain be removed?
When looking at the best ways to remove ink stains, you need to know what kind of ink you are working with.
If the stain you are trying to remove, is water based or ballpoint ink stain it will be much easier to get rid of. Here are some steps to try:
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- Place the stained area of the article of clothing on a clean dry white cloth.
- Apply lukewarm water to the ink stain with another dry white cloth.
- The stain should start to disappear as you blot the cloth
- Apply a little detergent to the stain.
- Set the article aside for 3-5 minutes.
- Wash the clothing in the warmest water the material can handle.
- Do not dry the material until you know the stain is removed. Once the stain is dried, the stain is going to be set.
For a stain that is more of a permanent ink marker etc. the process is a little trickier. A permanent marker ink stain is one of the most difficult to get rid of. A permanent ink stain will likely ruin most fabrics that are not bleachable.
Here are some steps that you can try to remove these stains.
- Apply a bit of rubbing alcohol to the area that the stain is. The main thing to keep in mind is that rubbing alcohol can damage some materials, be sure to do a test area first and make sure the material is not damaged. Even if you get a stain out of an area of clothing, if the clothing is ruined from the alcohol or other treatment the clothing is still ruined.
- Place a white dry cloth on top of the stain. Do not rub back and forth, as this may spread the stain.
- The cloth above and under the stain should become wet with the alcohol and ink.
- Repeat putting the rubbing alcohol on until no more stain comes out onto the cloths.
- Rinse the stain immediately, to remove all the alcohol.
If these steps do not remove the stain, you can go to the next step.
- Take another clean white cloth; lay the stain over the top of it.
- Dab a little nail polish remover on it.
- Again not rubbing but, patting lightly
- Continue this process until you can no longer see any of the ink coming through to the white cloth.
- Rinse out the remaining nail polish.
If neither of these stains removing processes works, you can try one final thing.
- With a few fabrics, you can try a little acetone.
- Apply the acetone the same way you applied the alcohol.
- Try these steps a couple times until the ink does not appear on the cloth any longer.
- Rinse the material immediately.
After you have treated the materials with these pretreatments, washing the garment is next. Take a bit of a stain sick or stain spray and apply it to the stained area.
Wash the garment as instructed on the tag of the article. If however the stain is still there after washing, try a little baking soda, then wash again. Repeat steps a couple times to see if there is any reduction in the stain.
Removing ink stains can be a more difficult of all the stains to remove, however, it is possible to get some of them out, so it is worth a try to remove them.
