ink remover?

Parent Cafe
1

<p>So the other night while leaving for a party, I grabbed a pen in haste in stuck it in my shirt. Only minutes later, I took it out of my pocket to note the beginning mileage on the trip log (for the IRS) and noticed that the cap was already off. The resulting splotch centered at the bottom of my shirt pocket makes me appear to have been shot through the heart while proving that I am indeed a black-hearted wretch.</p>

<p>That aside, the offended shirt is not nearly old enough to be set aside lightly. But in the past (yeah, I’ve pulled this lame trick before), neither StainStick or whatever the commercial product is nor my dry cleaners was able remove the stain. Reduce, yes. Remove, no. Leaving the shirt unwearable for most occasions.</p>

<p>Any suggestions? Besides switching to pencils?</p>

2

<p>I’ve had luck with hairspray, and I’ve also heard alcohol (not the sinner’s alley variety) will work on ink stains.</p>

3

<p>I’ve had good luck with De-Solv-It. It smells terrible, but it gets most any stain out.</p>

4

<p>I would take out the pocket, fold in the bottom of it a little more to cover the inkstain on the pocket, and then reattach it to the shirt just a little lower, to cover the inkstain on the shirt. 5 minutes :)</p>

5

<p>Depending on the type of ink, this might work: soak it for a couple of days in a highly concentrated solution of OxyClean.</p>

6

<p>I second the Oyxclean. Just keep trying & trying.</p>

7

<p>Thanks for the suggestions. This ink laughs at hair spray. I’ll look for Oxyclean and De-Solv-It.</p>

8

<p>Z-Out worked on an old ink stain for me. Not “Shout”, but Z-Out. If your grocery store doesn’t have it, try Bed Bath and Beyond.</p>

9

<p>I agree with Jmmom… our local supermarket (Shaws) has a special subset of items in the laundry aisle…they have this one family of products, numbered 1 thru 9 or something…each number is for the type of stain that the small bottle will remove…ie # 3 is for ink… or # 5 is for motor grease… I have bought it before and found it to be 100% successful for the specific stain I was working on…so, don’t wash and dry the shirt until you go to the supermarket and look in the laundry aisle…todays markets are soo large that they have a lot more of these specialty items than before…sorry I don’t know the brand name…</p>

10

<p>If its black, magic marker ink-on a cotton fabric, Too much carbon black in the fibers; Try white acrylic paint. Use a fine hair brush to apply. </p>

<p>If its black, on synthetic; Try the old cancerous standbys like carbon tetrachloride, chlorofluoro solvents, benzene, ether. LA water.</p>

<p>If its blue on cotton;Try the above cancer agents, or find one of the chemgirls that can convert the aniline dye into another color. </p>

<p>If its white on a black tux, black shirt, or similiar; Try the magic marker, black.
or other magic marker color to match the color of shirt.</p>

<p>If everything else fails;

  1. TyeDye
  2. H2SO4. Guaranteed.</p>
11

<p>I’m about ready to try the H2SO4 on the black dry erase marker stain on my D’s new pink shirt!</p>

12

<p>it reaches a point where the shirt is going to be for under sweaters, sometimes, you just have to let go…</p>

13

<p>Uh…won’t H2S04 ruin the dye in the shirt? </p>

<p>Black ink, cotton shirt. </p>

<p>CGM: sweaters? What are these “sweaters” you speak of?</p>

14

<p>Ikf25: The problem lies in that the carbon is either imbedded in the thread-fabric or coated onto the fiber. If imbedded, then solvents really don’t work and if coated then a release agent is needed. Either way you need a way to remove the particles from the frabric, which is a dilution-suspension problem.</p>

<p>I offer that solution that you use pink chalk and a vacuum. Gently rub chalk on the affected area and vacuum. Repeat as necessary. The chalk will abrade carbon from fabric and suspend and dilute the particles in the chalk dust. </p>

<p>Alternative is to use a pink clay which has even finer particle size. </p>

<p>GL</p>

15

<p>Shirt with a stain can be worn under a SWEATER, or am I spelling something wrong?</p>

<p>Duh!!! ; )</p>

16

<p>WWJD?</p>

<p>What would Johhny Do?</p>

<p>I have a feeling he wouldn’t notice too much or he would wear it rakishly askew to cover the stain ;)</p>

17

<p>I get the feeling that TheMom doesn’t know yet. </p>

<p>Ladies, remember, we’re guys. We attack problems with whatever it takes. It is either going to work with us or die.</p>

18

<p>EK4, Good one. :D</p>

19

<p>Carbona Stain Devil for ink has worked for me before.</p>

20

<p>It’s just that darned determination. There should be no earthly reason why I can’t get the last little bit of that marker out! I’ll try the chalk dust thing, and I just bought some acetone based nail polish remover. Thanks for the ideas. BTW, I think sulfuric acid (H2SO4) was just a joke. There’d be no spots, but no fabric either!</p>

<p>Hey, those Carbona Stain Devil products look promising too. Thanks!</p>