How to take off permanent marker from anything

According to Wikipedia, permanent marker was first invented in 1952 by Sidney Rosenthal. Which we all use in our home, school or at work. It is mostly used for labeling products/tools, whiteboards or maybe arts and crafts. when using them you didn’t mean to label something but did it accidentally or at home you have a child who loves to play with permanent marker and did some artistic work on your wall or other household items. Or maybe you are a lawyer who’s case file got spoiled by permanent marker ink, at this point anything can happen. so you need to take off those permanent marker ink.

Removing anything permanent is hard especially when the name says permanent marker. Before removing permanent marker ink we should know why it’s difficult to remove. most permanent marker uses alcohol-based solvents (isopropyl alcohol, ethanol, or butanol, etc.) as a quick-drying agent and combines with resin for durability and water resistance. so does that mean you can’t remove permanent marker ink? well the answer no, nothing is permanent. it’s just difficult to remove. so we researched for you so you can easily remove permanent marker from anything.

How to take off permanent marker ink

Surprisingly there are lots of ways you can remove permanent marker stains. but not all methods will work for every surface. anything that contains alcohol, high-pressure washer, solvents (acetone, xylene etc.) will generally work on almost most surfaces. we tested rubbing alcohol(70% isopropyl alcohol) on different surfaces to remove permanent marker and it actually works. we know high pressure water spray works well to remove loose paint. so we gave it a shot and it also works well for hard surfaces. also we discovered that one skin product works very well which is sunscreen. it removed permanent marker ink from almost every surface we tested. we found another surprising cleaner is bug spray which contains isopropyl alcohol. dry eraser marker can also remove permanent marker but it works best only on non porous surface. so it’s important that whenever you apply your desired cleaner to the stain make sure to dab it with a microfiber cloth until the stain is no longer visible.

How to take off permanent marker from Clothes/Fabrics

You accidentally spill permanent marker stain on your clothes? instead of throwing it away, you will find there are so many ways you can take off permanent marker stains. if you do some digging on the internet you will find hairspray, rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer are the most common ways to get rid the stains. so we tested all of these methods and the results were quite similar but rubbing alcohol was the clear winner. because it contains the most isopropyl alcohol 70/30. So the key is to use a solvent with high alcohol amount. what are the steps then?

First gather some paper towels and place few layers of towels on a surface.

On top of the layered towels place the stained cloth facing down. so the paper towels can absorb the ink.

Soak a Cotton ball, clean cloth or a sponge in rubbing alcohol. Gently dab it to the stained area, the key is to start around the stain and carefully work inwards. this way you won’t spread the ink.

After that, the ink should be absorbed by the paper towels.

You might need to change the paper towels and cotton balls to redo the steps a few times.

once you see no visible ink stain remaining you rinse the cloth with clean water and can wash it directly in the washer.

This methods works great for colored cloths. for white cloths you need to take different approach.

Remove permanent mark from White Clothes

Removing permanent marker stain for white cloths. but don’t worry we have your back. we tried this methods and it works really well and it may be the most popular method on internet.

You will need

  • Nail polish remover
  • Cotton ball/Sponge
  • Tissue paper/paper towels
  • White Toothpaste
  • Bleaching powder

First place few tissue paper and on top of it place the white stained cloth.

Grab a cotton ball or sponge and soak it with nail polish remover. and gently press it directly on the stained area.

After that repeat the process few times by replacing tissue paper and cotton balls until you see less stain remaining on the cloth.

Make a bleaching powder paste by mixing it with water and apply the paste on the stained area. leave it for few minutes and wash the stained area with a brush then rinse it with water. (remember don’t use hot water)

Wash again with white toothpaste and let it dry. you will see permanent marker stain completely removed.

Remember don’t use this method for colored clothes. we tried it and it will ruin your colored clothes.

How to take off permanent marker from carpet

Getting permanent marker on a carpet feels like a nightmare. but every problem has a solution same for this scenario. follow these steps-

like every stain you want to treat it immediately. Isopropyl alcohol works great at removing permanent marker. if you have one at home, great! but if not you can use these- rubbing alcohol, hair spray, or hand sanitizer.

Grab a clean absorbent cloth and pour some isopropyl alcohol onto it. then bolt the stained area repeatedly with the soaked cloth. you will see the ink getting absorbed by the cloths.

Remember do not rub with it otherwise, you will spread it all over the carpet.

Also you want to you want to you use different sections of the cloth where no ink is absorbed so you don’t transfer the ink back to the carpet.

So after few minutes of bolting and scrubbing, you will see the stain starting to go away. just keep applying isopropyl alcohol on the clean part of the cloth and keep scrubbing. The ending will surprise you.

But if you still see no progress i would recommend getting a professional Carpet Cleaning Service.

How to take off permanent marker from painted wall

Unlike other surfaces removing permanent marker stain from painted walls is a bit tricky. one wrong step will ruin your painted wall. you will be surprised to see there are so many ways to remove permanent marker from walls. but not all methods will be effective at removing the stain. so we here is what you should do.

Isopropyl alcohol works great at removing permanent marker. but in this scenario you want to use a solvent that has less isopropyl alcohol. using 100 percent isopropyl alcohol may remove paint from all. hand sanitizer and hairspray will work fine. Hold and napkin or tissue paper below the stain and spray it onto the stained area of the wall. then bolt and rub it with a clean cloth, you mignt need to repeatedly spray and wipe it with a cloth few times for a great result.

You can also use other products like sunscreen and magic erasers. we suggest you to use sunscreen as it showed the best results. for those who mitght use magic eraser you don’t want to scrub too hard otherwise it will remove the paint. we tested all of these products on painted walls. they all works great on removing permanent marker stain from wall.

How to take off permanent marker from Upholstery

Just like your clothes, Upholstery is made of different fabrics such as cotton, linen, wool, silk and also some includes polyester, and nylon. so getting permanent marker stain on it is frustrating. maybe your kids did some artistry or maybe you accidentally did it. it doesn’t matter we are here to help.

Rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover is probably the common way to remove permanent marker stains from upholstery. just like we provided you carpet cleaning method with rubbing alcohol use the same method here.

we found the best results by mixing 1 tablespoon dish soap or dishwashing detergent with 1 tablespoon white vinegar and 2 cups of cold water. then grab a sponge or clean cloth dip it in the vinegar solution and dab on the stain. leave it for 30 minutes or so while dabbing after every few minutes. using a clean wet cloth rinse out all the solution. now get a new dry clean cloth or sponge and soak it with rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover and bolt the stain area. rinse out all the solution again with a wet cloth then damp with dry paper towel and let it dry.

after drying if you still see any visible stain add Amodex stain remover on the stain and rub with a brush or cloth until the stain comes off. using a wet cloth rinse out all the solution and dam with dry paper towel until completely dry or you can use any air drying tools.

How to take off Permanent Marker from Wooden Furniture

Don’t get confused by so many cleaning methods on how to remove permanent marker from wooden furniture. you can use rubbing alcohol, hairspray, toothpaste, magic eraser, amodex stain remover, hand sanitizer and more. but which one to use?

all solvents containing isopropyl alcohol(rubbing alcohol, hairspray, hand sanitizer will remove permanent marker from wood faster and more effectively, including amodex stain remover. in our testing hand sanitizer showed the best results without creating any mess.

First get a clean towel or cloth then squeeze some hand sanitizer gel on the cloth and directly apply it to stain. make sure to rub it lightly then work your way until the stain is lifted, this way you will not damage the wood.

other methods will work but we don’t recommend them as magic eraser damages the wood and if you use toothpaste and baking soda method the just create a mess to clean.

How to take off Permanent Marker from Whiteboard, Plastic, Glass, Metal etc.

Unlike other surfaces, you can remove permanent marker from these surfaces(whiteboard, plastic, glass, metal) easily. any solvents that contains isopropyl alcohol will work best on these surfaces. other methods like baking soda, tooth paste, dry eraser marker and magic eraser will work also. however, they are messy and some damages the surfaces.

First get a cotton ball and pour some rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer onto it. rub the cotton ball directly on the stain surfaces until stain comes off. again pour some alcohol again on a new clean cotton ball and apply it the stained area to make it 99.99% clean. it should get rid of the permanent marker.

Remove permanent marker from skin

Permanent marker will not stay for too long on your skin because of skin’s natural oils and it will eventually fade away in few days with regular wash. Some expert says it will fade away in 2-3 days. but you don’t want to wait and remove it quickly, is it possible? the answer is yes.

olive oil, coconut oil or baby oil can be used to remove permanent marker. just apply small portion of your desired oil on the stain area and rub it gently. after that wash with soap and rinse with warm water.

you can also use rubbing alcohol, nail polish remover or hand sanitizer. however these chemicals can be harsh on your skin. we recommend you to use makeup remover as it is gentler than these chemicals. like oil method apply small portion on the stain rub it gently, wash and rinse with warm water.

Let us know if you have any surfaces you are struggling with permanent marker removal.