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Published: Dec 2, 2022 | Last Modified: Dec 22, 2022 | Author: adrienne

How To Get Ink Out Of Fabric

There are all sorts of circumstances where you might end up with ink spilling onto fabric.

A pen could leak out onto your brand-new fabric sofa, or your child could spill ink from their coloring felt tip pens all over their t-shirt. Either way, you will be faced with unwanted ink on fabric that you will likely be desperate to remove

How To Get Ink Out Of Fabric

Removing ink from fabric isn’t always the easiest task, and you might find yourself a little stuck with where to begin.

Thankfully for you, I’ve put together this guide to how to get ink out of fabric. No matter whether the ink is dry or wet, I’ve covered how to get ink out of fabric in this guide. 

So what are you waiting for? If you need to get ink out of fabric, keep on reading to find out how!

Can You Get Ink Out of Fabric?

So, before I tell you all about how to remove ink stains from your fabric, let’s quickly determine whether, or not, you are actually able to get ink out of fabric. Well, as I said earlier, most of the time, yes, you will be able to get ink out of your fabric. 

Thankfully, due to the materials that are used in ink, you will often be able to remove ink from fabric.

Even if the ink is incredibly dark, and the fabric that it has stained is incredibly light. In fact, most of the time, removing the ink from the fabric will be incredibly easy. It doesn’t take too long, and you won’t need too many tools to do it. 

What you will need, however, is the knowledge to know what to do, and that’s where I’ve got you covered.

I’m going to tell you absolutely everything you need to know about how to get ink out of fabric, regardless of the color of the fabric, the color of the ink, and whether the ink is wet or dry. So, let’s take a look at what you need to know.

How To Remove Wet Ink Stains From Fabric

First, let’s take a look at how to remove wet ink stains from fabric. For the best results when it comes to removing ink stains from fabric, you should aim to remove the ink while it is wet.

Fresh stains will always be easier to remove, so it is important that you start cleaning up pretty quickly after the ink seeps into the fabric. 

Begin by taking a towel and blotting at the ink. It is incredibly important that you blot the link, not rub it as this can make the stain worse.

Blotting allows you to lift ink away from the stain without pushing any ink into the fabric. Keep blotting until you are able to lift away any more ink, and the cloth you are using is completely dry. 

Once you have done this, you then have options. You can either use hairspray, hand sanitizer (unscented and colorless), or rubbing alcohol for the next step.

I would simply recommend using whichever you have at hand. 

Choose your fighter, then apply it to the area where the ink has stained the fabric. Cover all the stain with either the hairspray, sanitizer, or rubbing alcohol as this will dilute the stain even further.

Then, once that is done, simply pop the fabric into the washing machine. Wash at your regular temperature, and once you remove the item from the washer-dryer, the stain should be completely removed.

Close up of crumpled orange fabric.

As I said earlier, your chances of removing the stain successfully are much higher when the stain is fresh. However, this doesn’t mean that you will be unable to remove the ink stains from your fabric if the ink has dried. It will just be a little trickier, that’s all.

How to remove dry ink stains for fabric

  1. Get an old towel

    To remove dried ink from fabric you will need an old towel. It’s important that you don’t mind the towel getting ruined as this will probably happen in the process.

  2. Place stained fabric on top of towel

    With the towel on the floor or counter, place the stained fabric on top, ensuring that the stain is on top of the towel.

  3. Apply alcohol to the stain

    Choose between hairspray, hand sanitizer and rubbing alcohol. Apply it to the stain.

  4. Let it sit

    Apply a large amount of your chosen substance to the stain, then leave it to sit for around 10 minutes. It is likely that the ink-cleaning substance solution will leak through onto the towel during this time, which is why the towel is so important. 

  5. Wait 10 minutes

    After 10 minutes have passed you should remove the stained fabric from the towel and rinse with cold water. You can submerge the item of fabric or simply run it under the cold tap, whichever is easiest for you. Make sure that you do not rub the ink stain at any time.

  6. Wash fabric

    Wash your fabric following the normal cleaning instructions. Some people choose to hand wash the fabric as this allows you to watch the stain come out of the fabric. Unless the specific garment recommends hand washing I suggest using a washer and dryer to minimize the risk of pushing the stain into the fabric.

  7. Repeat if necessary

    If the ink stain is still showing you can repeat the previous steps. If the fabric is white you may want to use a white enhancer and put the fabric in the washer for another cycle to ensure that the stain has been completely removed.

Summary

In this guide, I have told you all about how to get ink out of fabric. No matter whether you have a piece of fabric that has been freshly stained, or fabric with ink that has dried, I’ve covered how to get the ink out of the fabric in this guide. 

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Hi I’m Adrienne Carrie Hubbard.I believe a rich life comes not from the things you have, but the things you do; the experiences you create and the people you meet along the way. Thanks for hanging out!

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