How to wash pen off a white shirt, review of effective methods

Ink stains, especially old ones, cannot be dealt with by regular washing. Moreover, incorrectly selected products can harm the material. The dye will firmly set in the fabric, and the item will be completely ruined. Therefore, before washing a pen off a white shirt, you should find out which methods are most effective and which ones should be abandoned. It is also necessary to know the general rules for removing stains of this kind.

Basic rules

The longer the ink remains on the fabric, the deeper the stain becomes and the harder it is to remove. You should start cleaning immediately. Before you wash out pen marks from a white shirt, you should press a paper towel on the outside and inside of the stained area to remove any remaining ink from the fabric. A fresh stain should never be rubbed, otherwise the paint will penetrate deeper into the fibers and the area of ​​contamination will increase.

It is important to remember that:

1. All stains are treated from the edges to the middle so that no stains remain on the fabric.
2. To wash off ink, do not use hot water - it will fix the dye on the fibers. For the same reason, it is not recommended to wash the item until the stain is completely removed.
3. If the area of ​​contamination is large, clean areas of clothing should be protected. Use a cotton swab to collect melted wax, outline the contours of the stain, and wait for it to harden.

When choosing a cleaning agent, you need to consider the type of fabric. Recommendations for choosing a method depending on the material are presented in the table.

Before attempting to remove ink stains from a white shirt, test the cleaning solution on the back seam of the garment.

Ink stain removers

You can remove stains at home using improvised means. It is advisable to first try to remove the stain with weak compounds, and only if they do not help, move on to more aggressive ones. The hardest thing is to remove old stains.

Fresh

Before washing a ballpoint pen, turn the clothes inside out and place a napkin under the area being treated. This will prevent contamination of clean areas of the fabric. Methods for washing ink stains from light-colored items:

1. Kefir or sour milk. The stained area is moistened with a fermented milk product and left overnight. The softened dirt is wiped off with a damp cloth, washed, and rinsed thoroughly.
2. Alcohol, acetone. Wet the fabric damaged by ink with it, rub with a cotton pad. Wash off with plenty of water.
3. Dishwashing gel. To remove pen marks from a white shirt, apply a drop of the product to the dampened area, then treat with a cotton pad. When the latter gets dirty, take a new one. Rinse the cleaned area with water.
4. Soda. Sprinkle the problem area with powder, dilute with water to a paste. After a few minutes, treat the pen stain with cotton pads. Rinse off the remaining soda with a stream of water.
5. Laundry soap. Soap the item after it has been soaked in water, carefully brush off the ink stains, and rinse.
6. Low-fat milk. The heated product will help to gently clean the blouse fabric. Apply the warm liquid to the stain, wait for half an hour, rub off the remaining dirt with a soft cloth, rinse the item.
7. Toothpaste with a whitening effect. Only the one that does not contain dyes will do. Squeeze the product, spread it over the stained area of ​​the T-shirt, leave for 15 minutes. Rinse, wash in the usual way.

To clean suede, you will need an eraser: rub it until the pen marks are gone. You can also use talc or starch: sprinkle the dirty area generously, leave for an hour, shake off the remaining powder, add a new portion. Repeat until the talc has absorbed all the ink, then treat with a soap solution.

Chronic

To remove complex old stains, more effective means will be required:

1. Mixture of alcohol and vinegar. To remove pen from a shirt, mix the liquids in a 1:1 ratio, wet a cotton pad, and treat the stain.
2. Soda and vinegar. Add 1 tbsp of alcohol to 2 tbsp of soda, spread the resulting paste over the entire problem area, leave for a while, then scrape off the remaining mixture and send the item to the wash.
3. Ammonia and alcohol. A ballpoint pen stain can be removed from thick fabrics using this method: mix the liquids in equal proportions, wet the stained area, and rinse the item after 5 minutes.
4. Hand cream. Apply the product to the stain for 10 minutes. Dip a cotton pad in warm water, squeeze it out, and remove the cream residue and dirt. If there is a greasy mark left on the treated surface, wipe it with a soft cloth soaked in alcohol.
5. Hairspray. You can wash ink off leather items using alcohol-based styling products. Bring the can to the contaminated area at a distance of 30 cm and spray generously. Wait for several minutes until the liquid has dried, then wipe off. Repeat if necessary. Then wipe the treated surface with soapy water.

A stain from a gel pen can be easily removed with alcohol or nail polish remover. Soak a cotton pad in any of these solutions, apply to the stain, and leave for a few minutes. Remove the old pad, apply a little alcohol to the new one, and wipe off the remaining marks.

Using stain removers

You can remove a stain of any age with professional products. There are special and universal products. They are available in different forms: gels, liquids, powders or pencils.

More detailed information on how to remove ink from white shirts and other clothing, as well as the exact dosage, can be found on the label of a specific composition: the amount of stain remover and the exposure time may vary depending on the type of fabric.

Should I use bleach?

Bleaches are divided into 3 types: optical, oxygen and chlorine-containing. The latter act more aggressively, so they are not suitable for treating delicate fabrics. They can only be used to clean durable natural materials: linen or cotton.

Oxygen bleach "Persol" is designed for all types of fabric. To remove ink stains, fill a basin with warm water, dissolve the product, soak the item for at least half an hour (if the stains are old, increase the time to 8-9 hours). Wash, adding 1 tbsp. "Persol" to the powder.

Sarma optical brightener does not reduce its effectiveness even in cold water, so it is suitable for synthetics and delicate fabrics. The powder is dissolved in liquid, the stained item is left for half an hour, then washed. Ace removes ink stains from cotton and linen items, but it should be used strictly according to the instructions. Before washing a gel pen from white fabric, the item is soaked in a chlorine bleach solution: mix 100 ml of the product with 15 liters of cold water. Leave the item for a maximum of 10 minutes, rinse thoroughly. Wash in the usual way.

Having learned how to remove ink using improvised means or household chemicals, you can quickly put your clothes in order. The main thing is to choose a cleaning agent suitable for the fabric and not to use hot water. Methods should be selected depending on the degree of contamination.

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