10 effective home tricks to remove an ink stain

A pen that leaks into your pocket, the ink that spills on your carpet, the tip of a marker that touches your sofa … An accident happened quickly.

You are now confronted with a beautiful spot of ink . First and foremost, remember that ink stains should be treated as quickly as possible. A dry ink stain is virtually impossible to remove.

As soon as you get stained with ink, the first thing to do is press a paper towel firmly onto the stain for several seconds to absorb excess ink. Just press on the stained spot; do not wipe or rub the stain, otherwise you may spread the ink. The stain will be easier to treat later.

Here are the top 10 tricks to remove an ink stain on clothing, carpets and leather. Use the alternative of your choice depending on what you have on hand!

On fabric

1. With alcohol

It is important to use 90 ° alcohol or denatured alcohol. The alcohol neutralizes the ink pigments – as long as the ink is not dry – and gradually fades the stain.

1. Pour 90 ° alcohol or denatured alcohol on a piece of cotton.
2. Dab the stain with the piece of cotton soaked in alcohol.
3. Change the cotton every time it is stained with ink. Repeat as many times as necessary.
4. Before drying, use another piece of cotton soaked in cold water to rinse off the alcohol on the fabric.
5. Once the fabric becomes immaculate again, you can wash your clothes normally. Do not put the fabric in the dryer until the ink stain has completely disappeared. The heat of the dryer will fix the stain.

Tip: For best results, let the fabric dry before re-wetting the alcohol ink stain. The stain release effect of alcohol works best on dry tissue. Removing large stains can be more laborious.

 2. With ammonia

Use ammonia only for non-synthetic garments .

1. Mix two parts of denatured alcohol with one part of ammonia.
2. Pour the mixture on a piece of cotton.
3. Dab the stain.
4. Neutralize the ammonia with a little vinegar.
5. Wash the garment in the washing machine normally. Do not put the fabric in the dryer until the ink stain has completely disappeared. The heat of the dryer will fix the stain.

 3. With hairspray

The hair spray dissolves the ink, making it easier to remove.

1. Place a paper towel under the ink stain, then spray hair spray on the stain until the tissue is saturated.
2. Dab the stain soaked in hairspray with a damp cloth.
3. Repeat until the stain fades.
4. Wash the garment in the washing machine normally. Do not put the fabric in the dryer until the ink stain has completely disappeared. The heat of the dryer will fix the stain.

4. With milk

With cold milk:

1. Dab off the excess ink with a paper towel.
2. Soak the stained tissue in cold milk for half an hour.
3. Wash the garment in the washing machine normally. Do not put the fabric in the dryer until the ink stain has completely disappeared. The heat of the dryer will fix the stain.

With warm milk (effective to remove an ink stain on silk ):

1. Heat the milk in the microwave oven for 30 seconds.
2. Soak the stained fabric in warm milk.
3. Rinse and wash with the washing machine normally. Do not put the fabric in the dryer until the ink stain has completely disappeared. The heat of the dryer will fix the stain.

With curdled milk:

1. Add a few drops of vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk to make it curdle.
2. Apply the pieces of curd on the stain so that they absorb the ink.
3. When the ink starts to transfer to the milk pieces, shake the fabric to get rid of the pieces.
4. Place the fabric in cold water and scrub the stain with soap. Rinse.
5. Wash the garment in the washing machine normally. Do not put the fabric in the dryer until the ink stain has completely disappeared. The heat of the dryer will fix the stain.

5. With glycerine

1. Reheat glycerin in the microwave oven for 30 seconds.
2. Pour warm glycerin over a piece of cotton, then dab the stain.
3. Add a few drops of ammonia, then rinse with clear water.
4. Wash the garment in the washing machine normally. Do not put the fabric in the dryer until the ink stain has completely disappeared. The heat of the dryer will fix the stain.

*** For all the previous methods, if there is a stain shadow on a  white fabric , spray a bleach-based cleanser. Brush the stain slightly, then rinse with clear water. ***

Ink stain on synthetic fabric or jeans

6. With lemon juice

To remove an ink stain on synthetic fabric and jeans, do not use alcohol at 90 °.

1. Pour lemon juice and a pinch of salt over the ink stain.
2. Dab the stain with circular motions always going from the outside to the inside.
3. Rinse the garment with clean water.

Ink stain on the carpet

7. With alcohol to burn

The ideal is to act as quickly as possible, because the ink penetrates and quickly becomes embedded in the carpets .

1. Pour alcohol at 70 ° or 90 ° on a piece of cloth (never pour alcohol directly onto an ink stain, as this will only spread it further).
2. Gently swab the ink stain to transfer the ink into the fabric fibers. Start at the edges of the stain and progress towards the center so as not to spread the stain. Rehumid the fabric occasionally with alcohol. Caution: do not rub so as not to impregnate the stain further.
3. Press the soaked cloth over the stain repeatedly until the ink is completely absorbed by the alcohol. It should take about 30 minutes, so be patient!
4. To prevent alcohol from spoiling the carpet, rinse the treated area with warm water and vinegar (60 ml of vinegar per liter of water)
5. Finally, rinse with clear water and allow to dry. Vacuum if the carpet fibers seem a bit crooked.

If the stain persists , cover it with shaving foam. Leave on for 15 minutes, then remove the shaving cream with a spoon and rinse with the warm water and vinegar mentioned above. Rinse again with clear water and you’re done!

8. With a lubricant

1. Apply a lubricant such as WD-40 or Triflow to the stain. Leave on for a few minutes.
2. Rub the stain with a sponge soaked in hot, soapy water. Be sure to get the soap into the stain to loosen the lubricant and the ink.
3. Rinse well with clear warm water.
4. Let dry.
5. Vacuum if the carpet fibers seem a bit crooked.

Caution: It is strongly recommended that you test a small, invisible part of your carpet before cleaning, as the lubricant may stain it permanently. In general, the WD-40 is relatively harmless, so if you have to choose between different types of lubricants, choose this one.

9. With dishwashing liquid, ammonia and vinegar

1. In a bottle with a spout, pour 230 ml of water with a teaspoon of dishwashing liquid.
2. Spray this solution generously on the ink stain.
3. With a clean white cloth, gently dab the ink stain from the edges of the stain to the center. Caution: do not rub so as not to impregnate the stain further.
4. In another bottle with spout, pour 110 ml of water with a tablespoon of ammonia.
5. Spray this solution on the ink stain.
6. Dab the stain with another clean white cloth.
7. Prepare a third equal solution of water and vinegar.
8. Again, dab with a clean cloth.
9. The stain should be gone. If residue remains, apply the solution to dishwashing liquid again for cleaning.
10. Finally, so that the carpet is not damaged by ammonia, rinse with clear water, dab and let dry. To remove all traces of ammonia, vinegar and dishwashing liquid, rinse with clean water, swab and allow to dry.
11. Vacuum if the carpet fibers seem a bit crooked.

Ink stain on leather

10. 2 more effective methods

These methods are effective for removing an ink stain on all leather surfaces (sofa, armchair, bag, coat, etc.)

Method # 1:

1. Soak a cotton cloth with moisturizing face cream mixed with a few drops of white vinegar.
2. Rub on the ink stain by making circular movements.

Method # 2:

1. Spend a sponge sprinkled with clay stone and a few drops of alcohol at 90 °.
2. If the stain persists, try again with a cloth moistened with 90 ° alcohol.

For the two previous methods, once the ink stain disappeared, apply to the spot where there was the stain using a cotton baby toilet milk.

Do you know of other effective home tricks to remove ink stains? Share us!