When my daughter Marion was still very small, she found a permanent marker in a closet.
I'll let you guess the rest...
Marion drew on all the imaginable surfaces of the house. A real disaster!
There were permanent marker stains everywhere:on the walls, on the carpet, on our beautiful rugs...
…and even on the furniture in the house we rented at the time. And all that, the day before we moved!
I let you imagine the state of panic of my husband and I discovering Marion's latest masterpiece.
That's when I remembered a tip for removing permanent marker stains:70% alcohol.
I put the trick to the test right away, and it worked like a charm !
Without the 70° alcohol trick, we would never have recovered the deposit for the rental of our old house.
I'm sure many parents have had to deal with this kind of problem.
Children who draw on walls, furniture or clothes... it's a great classic!
Fortunately, here are 19 tips to remove permanent marker marks from almost any surface ! Watch:
Have you made a permanent marker stain on cotton fabric or on your jeans?
The good news is that there are several options for erasing a marker stain from fabric!
You can use:
- 70° alcohol
- hydroalcoholic hand gel
- hairspray
- nail polish remover
- WD-40 lubricating oil
- White vinegar
- cream of tartar (potassium bitartrate) with lemon juice
- toothpaste (paste, but not gel)
How to: to stain fabric, use a towel to apply the product of your choice to the stain.
Very important: dab the stain lightly . Care should be taken to avoid rubbing the stain.
Because that would cause the marker ink to penetrate even deeper into the fibers of the fabric!
Similarly, put an old towel or paper towel under the stain. This helps absorb the ink.
And above all, it prevents a new stain from forming on the other side of the garment or fabric object.
These tricks are effective on a sweater, a fabric covering, a bag (Eastpak type) or a down jacket.
You can also use one of these tricks to clean a marker or highlighter stain from a pencil case.
For satin, silk or other delicate fabrics: take them to a professional for dry cleaning. And don't forget to clearly indicate where the stain is.
For marks of permanent marker on wood , try using 70% alcohol.
You can also erase the felt mark with toothpaste or peanut butter. Yes, you read that right:peanut butter!
How to: sponge the stain with one of the products above and let it sit for a few minutes. Repeat the treatment until the stain disappears.
Note: not all wood surfaces react the same. It is therefore essential to test in a discreet place beforehand.
You have to be sure not to damage the stain or varnish on your furniture or wooden floor.
This is especially important on a wooden or lacquered wooden table.
I must admit that I thought it was impossible to get a permanent marker stain back on leather...
But fortunately, there is a trick to save the skin of leather clothing and furniture!
And it can save your pair of shoes!
On the other hand, do not wait too long before treating the stain.
The trick is to use hairspray, white vinegar or sunscreen. Sunscreen ? Weird, I know, but it works!
How to: lightly dab or spray the product of your choice onto the stain. Then, wipe the stain until it disappears. Check out the trick here.
Ah, the walls… the children love to draw their pretty pictures there!
To remove a permanent marker stain from a wall, there are several solutions. You can use:
- 70° alcohol
- hairspray
- toothpaste (paste, but not gel)
- magic eraser
- lemon essential oil
However, be very careful when scrubbing your walls !
Indeed, if you rub too hard, you risk removing the paint, especially with the magic eraser.
And it's like for clothes, better to dab the stain with light touches . If you rub the stain, you may smear the ink.
As I explained to you above, 70° alcohol worked really well on the carpet of my old house!
But you can also use white vinegar, hairspray or shaving foam.
How to: dab the stain lightly with the product of your choice.
As you will have understood, avoid excessive rubbing.
Otherwise the ink may penetrate deep into the fibers of your carpet.
Then, blot with a clean, damp cloth to remove the stain remover from the carpet.
Better yet, the most effective way to remove a stain from the carpet is to use your iron! Check out the trick here.
For permanent marker stains on fabric, wood or leather furniture...
You can use one of the methods listed above.
For laminate furniture: the easiest technique (and surely the most surprising!) is to remove the permanent marker by writing over it with… a dry-erase whiteboard marker!
Afterwards, simply wipe the dry erase marker with a cloth or paper towel. And the stain is gone. It's stunning!
Other methods that work, depending on the type of furniture, are 70% alcohol, nail polish remover...
But also toothpaste, baking soda, a simple eraser or WD-40.
Note: never use a magic eraser on lacquered or shiny surface furniture! The sponge may damage the finish and make it dull.
You accidentally wrote on a whiteboard with a permanent marker?
Welcome to the club, because many people have made this mistake!
Fortunately, getting rid of a permanent marker stain on a whiteboard is child's play!
How to: write over the permanent marker with a dry erase marker, then erase as usual. It sounds so crazy, but it really works! Check out the trick here.
I'm sure your kids are really well behaved.
And they would NEVER think of drawing on a book borrowed from the media library. Is not it ?;-)
In case they ever want to...
Know that there is a solution to remove permanent marker stains from paper.
How to: apply a very light coat of nail polish remover to the stain. But be careful, do not saturate the paper!
Then, blot the remover with a clean cloth. Repeat the treatment until the stain disappears.
For all glass objects (windows, cups or dishes) you can use:
- toothpaste mixed with baking soda
- WD-40 lubricating oil
- nail polish remover
- a dry erase marker
- 70% alcohol
How to: rub the product of your choice onto the stain with a paper towel. Continue until the stain disappears.
My daughter loves getting permanent marker "tattoos" with her friends...
The problem is that it's not easy to make disappear!
Fortunately, it is enough to use basic household products that you probably already have at home.
And you can remove those indelible markers from the skin, no problem.
How to: just rub the marker marks with a bit of nail polish remover, moisturizer.
You can also take shaving foam, sunscreen, 70° alcohol or hydroalcoholic hand gel.
Do great be careful with permanent marker stains on the screens, as they are very fragile!
You can use toothpaste (always in paste, not gel) or baby wipes.
How to: first try wiping the screen very thoroughly with the baby wipes. If that doesn't work, then switch to toothpaste.
Dab the stain lightly with toothpaste, and leave for a few minutes.
Wipe with a clean cloth. Repeat the treatment until the stain disappears.
To erase permanent marker stains from a plastic surface, you can use:
- a simple eraser
- sunscreen
- a dry erase marker
- 70° alcohol
- a commercial stain remover, such as Goo-Gone
How to: each of these products can overcome a permanent marker stain...
And this, on almost all types of plastic:toys, furniture, garbage cans...
You need to remove traces of permanent marker on metal, for example on a stainless steel coating of your household appliances?
Use 70° alcohol, a dry erase marker or toothpaste.
How to: apply one of these products to the marker stain. Wipe away, and you'll see the stain disappear on its own!
To discover: Fingerprints On Stainless Steel? The Magic Trick That Prevents Traces FROM COMING BACK.
Normally, stains on smooth tiles are relatively easy to clean.
On the other hand, permanent marker stains on porous tiles require a little more elbow grease!
How to: to thoroughly clean nooks and crannies, use a toothbrush or cotton swab.
To remove stains, try toothpaste, hair spray or a magic eraser.
To discover: 6 Magic Tricks To Make Your Tiles Look Like New.
If you have a granite surface in your home, then you know that it is sometimes a particularly difficult stone to clean! This material is more delicate than it looks.
How to: try removing marker stains with 70% alcohol or a little hydrogen peroxide.
But take care not to leave these products on too long, as they may leave marks on the granite.
To discover: La Terre de Sommières:the Magic Trick to Remove Grease Stains from Granite and Marble.
Laminate (like parquet) or melamine (like worktops) surfaces are usually super smooth. They are therefore relatively easy to clean.
How to: clean the traces of indelible marker with 70° alcohol, a magic eraser.
Another solution:toothpaste (but not gel) mixed with a little baking soda.
My son and his partner bought microfiber sofas.
And according to them, the advantage of this type of coating is that the microfiber is surprisingly easy to clean!
How to: 70° alcohol and a damp sponge will get rid of most stains.
But my son prefers to use hydrogen peroxide or nail polish remover.
He assures that it is effective in removing stubborn stains like the permanent marker. Check out the trick here.
This trick will be of particular interest to teachers who have a lot of laminated books on hand!
It is also useful for removing permanent marker writing from a binder or laminated sheet.
How to: remove permanent marker stains from textbooks, books or other laminated objects with nail polish remover.
I know, it's not the kind of thing you often stain. But believe me, my daughter also drew with permanent marker on our wooden cutting board!
How to: pour salt on the marker spot. Use a lemon cut in half to rub the stain well. Let stand overnight and clean the next morning. Check out the trick here.
There you go, now you know how to clean those indelible encrusted stains :-)
Thanks to these home remedies, even stains that don't come out in the wash won't last long.
A stain from permanent pen or pencil, ink, Posca, Velleda marker or sharpie marker is no longer a nightmare.
Your permanent marker is all dried up? It happens if you forget to put the cap back on! But no need to buy another one.
There is a simple trick to give a second life to a dry marker. You just have to soak the tip of the marker in 70° alcohol for a few seconds. Check out the trick here.
