How To Remove Ink From Fabric

July 27, 2021 in Motherhood

Last Updated on September 16, 2022 by Natalie

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I encourage my sweet, little toddler fox to experiment and feed that developing brain but there is a direct clash with the OCD in me when he does things that may break or ruin anything.

One day, not long ago, baby Picasso picked up my pen and drew a few small lines on my newish, cream-colored comforter.

When I saw the marks I couldn’t help myself from shouting “Noooooo!” And he instantly pouted and began to cry and broke my heart.

I immediately shifted to comforting my poor nice-things-ruiner 😢

Good news! I got the ink OUT! And here’s how!

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1. Remove Comforter (or clothing) From Atop Any Fabric

This is an imperative step as treating it while it lays on other material will leave you with another item that needs treatment. I’ve made this nightmare mistake once.

2. Use Tide To Go Stick on The Mark

Be warned: It will look worse before it gets better.

Again, make sure you aren’t doing this on a surface that can stain. Use your hand to put behind the material if you don’t have a surface.

Rub the Tide To Go stick on the stain until you stop seeing improvement.

Here are pictures of the progression:

Pretty scary, huh?

3. Pretreat Stain with Detergent

Either lightly scrub it in with a toothbrush or rub the material together to help it absorb. Let it sit for 5 – 10 minutes.

Tide ultra stain release — My detergent of choice (only sold at Target)

I just rubbed it together because I didn’t feel like looking for a toothbrush even though I knew I had one for such events. I’m not lazy.

4. Wash as Usual, with Like Colors

I read that you should put it in as warm of water as the item allows. My comforter calls for cold water so I got crazy and put it on warm/cool.

5. Inspect Material After Washing

Note: If you put it in the dryer and didn’t remove the stain, you will set it and be very sad.

I saw some very small evidence of the ink so…to the back of the line!

6. Rewash (If Necessary)

This time, I dabbed rubbing alcohol on the mark with a cotton ball and got my cleaning-friendly toothbrush and gently scrubbed in the detergent. Let it sit for 5 minutes and then ran the washer again.