Removing Expo Marker Out of Clothes Properly?
We all love playing with markers. Sometimes, we may spill the ink on the floor or clothes inadvertently. It becomes essential to remove them quickly; otherwise, they will leave stains behind. We provide you with some valuable tips to get marker stains out of clothing to avoid worrying about removing them later.
Methods of Removing Expo Marker Out of Clothes
So what can you do if you find an unwanted ink stain? Is it possible to remove the discoloration and restore your clothes to their original state? Of course! Here’s how to get expo marker out of clothes:
Method 1
- Wet an old towel or white cloth with hot water, lay it on top of the stained area for 30 minutes, and then use a pin to lift out as much ink as possible. (If the garment is washable, put it in the washer and let it go through a cycle.) It’s important not to rub too hard – if there’s any fabric left behind, this will only worsen the stain!
- Apply hydrogen peroxide on top of dried-up stains and scrub gently with baking soda (you can also mix them) until the stain starts to fade.
- Rinse it with cool water, apply a mild detergent or shampoo, and then lather it up before rinsing again. Add a bit of vinegar in your final rinse cycle to get rid of the smell.
- Use fabric softener to remove any remaining odor from the clothes before washing again in cold water, so it doesn’t set in during drying.
Method 2
First off, act fast. The faster you act, the better. If you can treat the area soon-to-be-stained immediately after it happens (ideally within 10 minutes), there’s a good chance that removing the marker itself will be enough to save your fabric. You’ll want at least one of the following items to start:
- Cotton balls, cotton pads, or cotton rounds.
- White toothpaste (not gel).
- Rubbing alcohol (isopropyl or denatured will work – just not vodka or gin)!
- The permanent marker has a similar tone to the desired result (like copier toner).
- Bleach pencils, bleach pens, or liquid bleach.
- Liquid laundry detergent.
- Rubbing alcohol-based pre-soak sprays. These will only work if you’ve caught stain in time, though.
If you’re unable to treat the stain immediately after it happens, don’t fret! You can still save your clothes. This is where having one or more of the above items comes in handy.
- Get into all those nooks and crannies. Apply whatever substance works best for you on top of the Expo marker stain (not beyond it!) and work it around with an old toothbrush, Q-tips, or another helpful tool that will allow you to scrub at the fabric without burning yourself. It’ll be worth it.
- Either wash and dry your clothing as usual or hand wash only if the care label specifies that this is okay. Sure to set any light-colored fabrics to the side, so they don’t discolor.
- Last but not least, you’ll need to pretreat any future stains that could potentially happen using one of the methods listed above. If anything like this ever happens again (and it probably will), the solution will already be prepared and waiting for you.
After going through these steps, you’ll have successfully removed the marker stains.
Other Methods Used for Removing Expo Marker Out of Clothes
Turning Up The Heat
One of the simplest ways to remove ink stains from fabric is ironing it on medium heat. Ensure your garment is not wet before putting it under the iron, which can lead to unwanted results. All you need is old cloth and electric iron.
- Iron over the stain gently until it comes off ultimately without disturbing the fabric or color around it.
- You can also put the garment on a hanger and hang it in the sun to dry. After some time, you will be able to remove the stain altogether.
Combing With Talcum Powder
When nothing else works, give this method a try.
- Take talcum powder along with some water and dishwashing liquid. Mix them into a thick paste.
- Apply this on the ink stains by gently rubbing your fingers or a small brush/toothbrush if required. Keep doing so until all the stain is removed from your clothing without further damaging it.
- Wash off everything thoroughly before you wear it again for best results.
Blotting The Stains
Sometimes, marker drops may not leave any trace of themselves immediately after spilling out on fabric, but they appear when rubbed or pressed. Blotting is, in such cases, the best option to get rid of them completely without causing any damage to the fabric.
- Do not rub at all. Put some plain water on the spot and press it using a clean white cloth till you see that the ink has come off ultimately.
- You may also use vinegar if water does not remove marker stains out of clothes effectively enough.
Chemical Remedies
Another effective method for getting marker stains out of your clothes is applying alcohol-containing liquids directly to them. It can be rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer gel with alcohol content, or even hair spray with some alcohol content.
Apply these on cotton balls and then gently press them on the stain to remove it altogether.
Dabbing With Dental Floss
Pressing a cotton ball with alcohol on marker stains is not always compelling enough, especially if the surface where the stains have spilled out has low porosity or rough texture. In such cases, dental floss can be of immense help in removing even tough ink stains.
Just rub the dental floss over the marker mark till you see that all of it has come off without leaving any trace behind. This method works for almost every kind of fabric except leather clothes which are difficult to get rid of hard to remove stains altogether.
Baking Soda
You can also use baking soda, an excellent ingredient for getting rid of household dirt and stains, including marker stains from your clothes.
- Mix baking soda in a bowl with a bit of water to make a paste.
- Spread this paste on the ink spot and rub it over the fabric’s surface till you see that all of it has been removed from your clothes.
- Use a toothbrush if required to scrub off stubborn stains.
Cat Litter
Some people may wonder why cat litter can be used to remove marker stains from your clothes, but its properties give it away as an excellent choice for this purpose.
Cat litter is made from bentonite, which absorbs liquid quickly and any dirt or stain without causing any permanent damage to clothing, unlike chlorine bleach, which can soon destroy clothes and stains.
- Dab a little bit of cat litter over the marker mark and wait for a few minutes to get rid of it completely.
- If possible, take the garment outside and let sunlight fall on it, as cat litter is very sensitive to light and will become almost invisible within seconds of exposure.
Lemon Juice
You might wonder why lemon juice can remove marker stains from clothes, but you will not be disappointed if you try this method. Lemon juice acts as a fantastic cleaning agent for many types of dirt and stains sticking to fabric for ages now.
All you need to do is mix some lemon juice in water and use a soft brush or cloth dipped into this solution to rub over the ink spot till you see that all of it has been removed from your clothes without causing any permanent damage whatsoever. The same method can be applied to removing ink stains from upholstery too.
Sunlight
One of the best remedies to remove marker stains altogether is putting stained garments outside in the sunlight. This method has been used for ages in traditional households and will give you the same results in a short time without causing any damage at all to your clothes in general.
Soaking in Warm Water
Sometimes, not always, but usually, when marker stains fall on lighter colored fabrics or materials, they become visible immediately after spilling out, making it easy to remove them quickly before they set deep inside the fabric layers.
Washing the garment in a washing machine or hand wash is not required to remove marker stains. Just soak it in warm water, and the stain will come off readily without causing any damage whatsoever. If such a situation occurs with you, soak these clothes in warm water for some time till you see that the stain has been removed from them completely.
Professional Help
If you cannot remove marker stains despite your best efforts, it might be time to take professional help for this purpose. Many kinds of cleaners can help you with this problem quickly without charging too much for their services, which makes it an ideal choice when you somehow lose hope about getting rid of marker stains at home.
Professional assistance will also give you some tips on preventing such stains from spoiling clothing materials permanently should they fall on them ever again in the future after buying new ones.
