How to Remove Sharpie and Permanent Marker Stains from Just About Anything in the Home

Shock horror! You, your kids or anyone else in the house has been using permanent markers and Sharpies for whatever permanent markers are used for but a slip of the hand or, in the case of the kids, some creative intent, has seen the nib of your marker pen coming into contact with something it shouldn?t have!

Fortunately, permanent markers don?t have to be as permanent as they make out. They?re pretty much resistant to water, so you need to get creative if you want to wipe away a stain that shouldn?t be there. In this feature, you?re going to get accustomed to making circular motions ? it just works better than anything else for spot stain removal and not just when Sharpies are involved. Between that and some items that you have lying around the house ? including some that you might not have expected, you can get rid of Sharpie stains without delay and the panic should be over in no time!

Remove Permanent Marker from Laminate Floors and Countertops with Vegetable Oil

Cooking oil doesn?t come up all that often in any conversations about cleaning, but it can be just what you need if the worst has happened. Maybe you?ve gone over the edge of the page with your marker, or perhaps it has even gone straight through the paper! Getting a stain like this on a laminate surface is always cause to panic, as that laminate is usually on the floor or the kitchen counter ? things that you can?t exactly head out and get a replacement for in a few minutes.

First, you need to weaken the stain. This is achieved by dabbing some vegetable oil on a kitchen towel and placing it over the stain. Give it a few minutes to work its magic, then get a fresh kitchen towel and add some more vegetable oil. It?s circular motion time as you keep on going until the stain is completely gone. You don?t want any residue from this, so use a wet cloth of your choosing to get up anything left over and then dry it off.

Get Permanent Marker Out of Clothes with Alcoholic Hairspray

No, no, alcoholic hairspray isn?t used by those that enjoy a few drinks too many to maintain that perfect dishevelled look. I?d hazard a guess that some of our readers wouldn?t even think that hairspray contains alcohol ? I didn?t until a few weeks ago ? but most of it does. You can check the label if you have some in the house, but the chances are that unless you?ve gone out of your way to find an alcohol-free formula, you?ve got just what you need to get Sharpie stains out of clothing.

Now, I have to be honest and say that this technique doesn?t always work. However, if the alternative is throwing the afflicted item in the bin, then I?d say you don?t have much to lose in giving it a try. Apply the hairspray to the stain just as you would to your hair and leave it to sit for a few minutes ? a few minutes sitting is also a recurring them among these tips.

When the time comes to put the washing machine on, wash the item of clothing as normal. If all goes to plan, your clothing will come out fresh, clean and completely stain-free.

Baking Soda Does the Job on Upholstery

Even if you never cook with it, baking soda tends to be a crucial component in any cleaning toolkit. I?ve mentioned in the past that it is always well worth keeping it around, so I?ll go ahead and assume that it?s ready and waiting in the cupboard.

It has probably taken quite the creative disaster for a Sharpie stain to appear on upholstery, but it?s nothing to panic about. Apply the baking soda to the stained area and leave it for ? you guessed it ? a few minutes before scrubbing it off. I?d recommend an old toothbrush for this purpose if you have one to hand. It?s hard to see whether your efforts have worked until you?ve removed the baking soda, so if the stain has stayed where it was, just repeat the process ? it?ll work eventually.

Essential Lemon Oil is the Trick for Painted Surfaces

One of the best things about good permanent marker brands like Sharpies is that they work on just about any surface. One of the worst thing about them is that they work on just about any surface ? including painted ones. You always need to be careful when dealing with paint as anything too intense might well get rid of the stain, but it might get rid of the paint too.

Fortunately, there is one item that will come to the rescue and that is No products found.. If you don?t have any to hand, which wouldn?t be massively surprising, you can get some from Amazon through that link (it?s an affiliate link, so Robode will receive a small commission, but you won?t pay anything extra).

I don?t know what it is about essential lemon oil that happily extracts permanent marker ink while leaving the paint intact. What I do know, however, is that it works and if you dab it on, leave it for a few and then wipe it away, your results should be pristine.

Vinegar and Leather Rarely Mix ? Unless Someone?s Sharpied Your Sofa

We try to stay away from liquids on upholstery, hence baking soda being the go to as part of that tip. Leather is a lot more resilient to it, and so vinegar enters the fray as the Sharpie removal tool of choice. The tip is in the vinegar itself as the process of waiting a few minutes after applying and then wiping away is one that you?re likely used to at this point. Just remember to use white vinegar for this, as malt vinegar might well leave you in more of a mess than you started in.

Wipe Away Whiteboard Errors

Do you have a whiteboard? Probably not. I do, and I?d recommend that everyone gets one. What they shouldn?t do, however, is something I?ve probably done four times in my life, starting at school, and accidentally mix up the whiteboard markers and their permanent cousins.

If this happens, there?s no need to stress as this is the simplest removal technique of the lot. Simply go over the area you?ve coloured in more permanently than you planned with a conventional whiteboard marker and then wipe it off. The powdery ink that you?re meant to use just so happens to be ideal for wiping away what shouldn?t be there.

Get Marker Off Skin with Makeup Removal Wipes

There?ll come a time when I have to change my tune, but for getting just about anything off skin that you don?t want there any more, makeup removal wipes tend to come in clutch. It makes sense when it comes to Sharpie stains too ? you?ll see far worse than permanent marker on some people up town on a Friday night. If wipes can cope with that, Sharpies should be a breeze and so they are.

Nail Polish Remover is the Trick for Carpets

As mentioned, I try to steer clear of liquids on relatively absorbent surfaces, but we can make an exception when marker comes into contact with carpets. Crucial here is that you dab at the stain with nail polish remover that you?ve applied to a cloth. Indeed, while we?re using a liquid on an absorbent surface, we don?t want to get it wet if we can help it. Don?t scrub and don?t bathe the stain ? just keep on dabbing until the polish remover successfully deals with the stain.

Use Regular Toothpaste if You get Sharpie on Wood

The toothbrush had its time to shine when getting the baking soda off upholstery, so it?s only fair that your toothpaste gets an opportunity too. It is easy to get Sharpie stains on wood, especially if you like to do your arts and crafts at the dining table. Fortunately, it is just as easy to get them off again, assuming you?re not as creative with your choice of toothpaste as you are with your markers.

You need plain, boring, white toothpaste for this to work. If you brush with a blue gel or anything that isn?t as traditional as it gets, you might need to pop to the shops. It?s worth the trip if you need a stain gone in double-quick time, however, as a few trusty circular motions with the toothpaste applied to the cloth will ensure that the offending stain is no more.

Hand Sanitizer will Take Care of Sharpie on Plastic

Most of the tips contained herein have been targeted at accidentally getting marker on surfaces in the home. However, we couldn?t finish off without getting Sharpie off surfaces that you might have intentionally used your marker of choice on. If you like to label your Tupperware then nothing truly beats a Sharpie, but you don?t want to be tied in to using the same tub for the same thing every single time. Fortunately, a dab of hand sanitizer on a cloth or paper towel will have that marker off in no time and you can relabel your plasticware however you see fit.