Apply rubbing alcohol, hair spray, or hand sanitizer to dilute the stain, making it easier to remove during the wash. These solvents help tackle most types of ink stains but remember to test the stained garment for colorfastness first as they can also attack fabric dyes and cause further damage.
Rubbing alcohol and hand sanitizers contain alcohol known as isopropanol, it's a powerful solvent of ink pigment and removes any kind of hard ink stains from clothes almost instantly.
Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol is commonly used to remove ink stains. So you can apply it to any paper you're trying to erase the ink from. If you only have a small amount of ink to erase, use a cotton swab. If you want to erase most of the ink from a page, soak the paper in a small washing tray for 5 minutes.
Isopropyl alcohol also known as rubbing alcohol reigns supreme for ballpoint ink stains. People swear by hair spray, nail polish remover, hand sanitizer and alcohol is the big common denominator between all these. Rubbing alcohol dissolves the oil of pen ink in stained fabric or an ink stained area.
Alcohol-based hand sanitizers do a good job of removing permanent marker ink. They reactivate the ink, allowing you to easily wipe the stain off. Cover the entire ink stain with hand sanitizer. Let it sit for about 30 seconds and then wipe off the ink with a soft rag.
Most inks also have both alkyl groups and polar groups, too. When two chemicals have similar chemical structures (like ink and alcohol), they mix together well, which is another way of saying one easily dissolves the other.
Sponge rubbing alcohol into the stain.
Pour rubbing alcohol onto another paper towel and use it to sponge around and directly on the stain. If the towel underneath the stain becomes too stained, remove and replace it with a clean one and continue to sponge until no more ink is being removed from the garment.
Apply rubbing alcohol, hair spray, or hand sanitizer to dilute the stain, making it easier to remove during the wash. These solvents help tackle most types of ink stains but remember to test the stained garment for colorfastness first as they can also attack fabric dyes and cause further damage.
Hand Sanitizer
Good thing there are many uses for it, one of which, stain remover. In fact, it may be the most readily available stain remover in a Sharpie emergency—and it works great for getting rid of permanent marker in addition to the germs on your hands.
Rubbing alcohol is the #1 method for DIY ink stain removal.
But if rubbing alcohol doesn't remove your stubborn stain, here are a few more techniques you can try: Remove ink stains using fingernail polish remover, following the same method outlined above.
The Secret Ingredient in Hairspray: Alcohol
Permanent and ballpoint pen ink are oil-based inks, and their stains can sometimes be removed by using rubbing alcohol applied with a cotton swab or cotton ball. Hairspray used to contain alcohol, which was the secret ingredient that allowed it to get out ink stains.
Because the main ingredient in most hand sanitizers is alcohol, you can use it to treat anything that rubbing alcohol can typically tackle. That means you can trust it to get rid of pen marks, hot sauce stains, grease, grass stains and makeup of almost every kind—including lipstick.
Rubbing alcohol is a great way to get rid of permanent marker stains. It's commonly used for wounds and scuffs, but it's also an excellent method for getting rid of Sharpie smears.
That's right, milk. Supposedly, a good soak in milk helps remove the mark from fabrics without any harsh chemicals.
To remove ink with vinegar, try soaking the stained area in a mixture of vinegar and water before thoroughly rinsing and washing the item as usual.
The waxy coating of a cucumber can actually remove ink, rubbing the skin over the writing will slowly remove it. Unlike the school erasers that were said to remove pen marks, these actually do!
Apply a small amount of dry-cleaning solvent or alcohol to the stain. Use small amounts to prevent any possible spreading of stain. Blot quickly using soft, absorbent, white material such as paper towel or napkin. Dry-cleaning solvent and alcohol are commonly available at grocery, drug and hardware stores.
It might not be quite as effective, but you can remove ink stains with toothpaste in a pinch — here's how to get it done: Cover the ink stain with toothpaste and let it sit for a few minutes. Next, run the area under cold water while you rub the toothpaste into the fabric.
To remove ink stains from coloured clothes, an overnight milk bath will often do the trick. Place your ink stained clothing into the milk bath and let it soak overnight. Once it has finished soaking place your clothes in the washing machine and clean as normal.