Ink! It's on clothes!

[volvoguy87]

I just got a call from my mother. My father has discovered Uniball pens and keeps leaving them in his pockets. Thus far, this error has ruined 2 loads of laundry and I don't know what to recommend.

I suggested Amodex (it gets my fountain pen ink out) but that only lightened the stains. She also tried an Oxy Clea paste, which didn't help much either. I do know the clothes have since been washed and dried.

Is it hopeless, or is there something else that can work?

The washer is a GE Adora front loader, which is without a doubt the WORST washing machine I have ever had the misfortune of using, even worse than WCI washers!

Let 'er rip,
Dave

 

[thomasortega]

Try isopropilic alcohol and a wmomen's absorvent that has absorvent gel, or a disposable diaper.

 

[qsd-dan]

Well, if the article of clothing was dried, he's pretty much screwed. If it hasn't been run through the dryer, I have had good luck with both hairspray and rubbing alcohol.

 

[toggleswitch2]

..but no smoking please!

 

[jonv112]

I've accidentally written on the cuffs of my shirts in pen a couple of times. What I did was soak the cuff and sleeve in a solution of hot water and Cascade powder and after a while it got the ink out. Washed it normally and good as new.

Maybe she soak the load in a tub of hot water and Cascade, or wash it in the washer with hot water and Cascade instead of detergent?

 

[jeffg]

Use hairspray. The cheaper the better (it's the combination of alcohol and aerosol spray pressure that does the trick, and you don't need or want any fancy extra ingredients for this purpose).

Blast the stain at point blank range, and saturate the heck out of it. I won't say the more the better, but something just short of that.

 

[launderess]

Ink stains require solvent type chemicals for removal.

Most inks are made up of at least two chemcials, one part is the dye which gives ink it's colour, the other is the fluid in which the dye is suspended. This is normally not water, but something which will evaporate quickly and leave the ink to fast dry behind. You want to at first remove as much of the binding chemical as possible, along with the dye. The remaining stain will have to be bleached out.

Skip hairspray as most are full of other types of chemicals such as conditiners and polymers so one will be dealing with another sort of stain afterwards.

You will need something along the lines of "Energine" or any of the other "dry cleaning fluid" type stain removers in a bottle. Citra-solv and other citric type solvent cleaners may work, but read the label to see if recommended for fabric.

Vintage Fels Naptha soap as worked for us in the past, but it contained Naptha, which is a petrol solvent, not sure if the new version will work as well.

In either case one should place the ink stained area face down on an absorbent material (paper towels, old towels, etc) apply the solvent to the back of the stain, then gently press (tamp) down with another clean cloth to push the stain onto the clean cloth underneath. Move the cloth/replace as ink stain shifts out, and keep reapply more solvent as needed,but don't go overboard.

Once no more of the stain comes out from the above, rinse the area well then apply a surfactant based detergent or spot remover such as Zout, work in well, then rinse. You can also use Fels Naptha soap. You want to remove remaining traces of the ink and any of the solvent spot remover.

Finally any remaining stain will have to be bleached out.

 

[whitekingd]

I've also had the best luck with good old HAIRSPRAY!

 

[laundromat]

GooGone