Ask Mrs. Clean: House Cleaning, Stain Removal and Organizing Tips

[cindysb1012]

Great tips for removal of FRESH ink, but what about when ya didn't realize an ink pen was in the pocket & it fell out. I didn't realize anything had happened UNTIL I was wearing the shirt. So several shirts in that load have ink spots on them. It was an ink pen--not gel and not a Sharpie. Any suggestions??? Thanx!

[mrscleannw]

Hello cindysb1012 and Welcome to Mrs. Clean's Forum!

We have a few suggestions for you to try regarding set in ink stains. These methods do work best on fresh ink stains. If you have already run these through the dryer these may not work and the stain may be set in.

Remove Ink Stains from Fabric using Denatured Alcohol:
Use a light colored towel and place behind the spot where the ink is located so it doesn’t bleed through when you follow these steps.

1. Pour denatured alcohol through the ink stain.
2. Let sit on stain about 10 minutes.

If this was a fresh ink stain, this would most likely be gone, but because this is a set in ink stain it may not work as well.
If the stain is not removed, move on to the next suggestion.

3. If the stain is removed using this method, lauder as usual and air dry.

Remove Ballpoint Pen Ink Stains from Clothing using Hairspray:
Use a light colored towel and place behind the spot where the ink is located so it doesn’t bleed through when you follow these steps.

1. Dab the ink stain with a clean wet sponge, paper towel, or use a spray bottle.
2. Moderately spray the ink stain with hair spray and let sit for 10 minutes.
3. Place a clean paper towel on top of the ink stain and blot to lift ink.
4. Spray with additional hair spray if needed.
5. If there is still a little of the ink stain remaining, apply a laundry pre-treatment stain remover.
6. Wash your clothing and air dry.

Good luck.
Mrs. Clean