How to get ink out of clothes: pen, permanent marker and the dryer
To get ink out of clothes, blot up any wet ink, slide a paper towel under the stain, and dab rubbing alcohol onto it with a cotton pad until no more ink transfers to the pad. Then rinse in cold water, rub in liquid laundry detergent and wash. Check the spot before drying, because dryer heat makes leftover ink much harder to shift.
Ink usually reaches clothes in one of three ways: a pen left uncapped in a shirt pocket, a child with a marker, or a pen that goes through a full wash and dry and leaves spots on everything in the load. The fix depends on the ink, so start by working out which kind you have.
What kind of ink is it?
Ballpoint, felt-tip and most marker ink comes out with a solvent such as rubbing alcohol. Red ink is harder and needs extra soaking. Permanent marker is the hardest of the everyday inks. India ink, used for drawing and calligraphy, is a pigment that has to be flushed out with water straight away. University of Georgia Extension’s ink stain guide warns it “may be impossible if allowed to dry.”
Ink also behaves differently from most stains because it’s a dye. Our guide to choosing a stain remover explains why ink and dye stains are less forgiving than food or dirt.
How to get ballpoint and felt-tip ink out
- Blot any wet ink with a paper towel. Press, don’t rub, or the ink spreads.
- Put a folded paper towel or an old cloth inside the garment, under the stain, so ink doesn’t print through to the other side.
- Test rubbing alcohol on an inside seam. If the fabric’s color comes off on the cotton pad, stop and treat the stain with detergent alone.
- Dab the stain with a cotton pad dampened with rubbing alcohol, working from the edge toward the middle. Swap in a clean pad and a fresh towel underneath as they pick up ink, and keep going until no more ink transfers.
- Rinse the area in cold water, rub in liquid laundry detergent and leave it for a few minutes.
- Wash the item at the temperature on the care label. Any faint shadow that survives can get a second wash with whichever bleach the fabric’s label allows.
- Check the spot before drying. If you can still see ink, repeat from step 4.
For blue or black ballpoint, start with these steps. University of Georgia Extension uses the same alcohol-pad technique (“change pad as it picks up stain”) and adds two soaks before it for red ink. For felt-tip ink, its guide says to keep sponging with rubbing alcohol, acetone or a prewash stain remover “until all bleeding stops,” let it dry, and repeat. A stubborn felt-tip stain can sit overnight with liquid detergent worked into it before a prewash treatment and a normal wash.
Hand sanitizer and hairspray get recommended because they contain alcohol, but they also leave gels, fragrance or resins to wash out afterwards. Plain rubbing alcohol does the same job with less left behind. Liquid detergent is the easiest kind to work into a single spot. If you use a prewash spray instead, note how long it needs to sit; here is how treatment times differ between two common sprays.
Rubbing alcohol is flammable. The CDC’s NIOSH guide lists it as a Class IB flammable liquid with a flash point of 53°F, so use small amounts in a ventilated room, away from flames and heaters.
How to get red ink out
Red ballpoint and red stamp-pad ink need more work. University of Georgia Extension’s sequence:
- Soak the stain for 30 minutes in 1 quart of warm water with half a teaspoon of liquid hand dishwashing detergent and 1 tablespoon of household ammonia. Rinse.
- Soak it for 1 hour in 1 quart of warm water with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. Rinse and let it dry.
- Apply rubbing alcohol and cover the stain with a pad dampened with alcohol, changing the pad as it picks up ink. Continue as long as ink is still coming out.
- Rinse, then use a bleach that’s safe for the fabric and wash.
Ammonia and chlorine bleach must never be in the same wash. The Washington State Department of Health warns that the chloramine gases they form can cause coughing, shortness of breath and chest pain, so rinse the ammonia out of the fabric before you reach for any bleach. If you’re not sure which bleach the fabric can take, our guide explains what color-safe bleach is and when to use it.
How to get permanent marker out of fabric
Permanent marker is the most searched version of this question, and the honest answer is that it doesn’t always come out completely. Treat it like felt-tip ink: put a towel underneath, then sponge it again and again with rubbing alcohol or acetone until no more color bleeds, let it dry and repeat before washing.
Acetone is stronger, and it dissolves some fabrics. The University of Georgia guide says to avoid acetone on acetate, triacetate and modacrylic. Check the fiber content tag first. US law requires one on clothing and on household textiles such as sheets and pillowcases, according to the FTC’s guide to textile labeling. Acetone also has a flash point of 0°F, per the NIOSH entry for acetone, so open a window and keep it away from any flame.
India ink
Treat India ink immediately. Hold the stain under running water and force water through it until no more loose pigment comes out. Then wash it repeatedly with a light-duty liquid detergent. For what remains, University of Georgia Extension soaks the stain in warm water with 1 to 4 tablespoons of household ammonia per quart, rinses, and repeats. The same ammonia and bleach warning applies.
How to get ink out of jeans
Denim’s dark dye is the problem here, because rubbing alcohol can lift indigo along with the ink. Test on the inside of a hem, work from inside the leg with a towel behind the stain, and use light dabs rather than soaking the area. Expect to repeat the alcohol step a few times on thick denim before the mark fades.
A pen went through the wash and dryer
- Pull every item out and check each one in good light before anything goes back in the dryer. Spots on light colors are easy to miss in a damp load.
- Set aside the spotted pieces and treat each one with the ballpoint steps above. Ink that has already been through a hot dryer is harder to shift, so plan on several rounds, and accept that some marks may stay.
- Check the dryer drum before the next load. Read the dryer’s manual for what’s safe on the drum first. A common approach is to unplug the dryer, wipe the ink with a cloth dampened with rubbing alcohol, and leave the door open until the drum is completely dry and the smell has gone.
- Tumble a load of old towels or rags before drying good clothes again, to pick up any residue.
Because rubbing alcohol is flammable, never switch the dryer back on while the drum is still wet with it.
Fabrics to leave to a professional
Silk, wool, acetate and anything labelled dry clean only shouldn’t get rubbing alcohol or acetone at home. Take it to a dry cleaner, and say what kind of ink it is. The same goes for a dress shirt you can’t risk; if it goes out for shirt pressing anyway, flag the ink when you send it.
Sending ink-stained clothes to Freshly Folded
After a pen goes through the wash, the hard part is sorting. If you’d rather hand that off, put the spotted pieces in a separate bag and don’t dry them again first. Add a note to your order that says “ink” and which items are affected. Ink from a dryer run lands in small, scattered spots, so knowing a pen went through tells the team to check every piece, and they spot-treat each stain they find. If you’ve already tried alcohol on a stain, say so. Ink doesn’t always come out fully, especially once it’s been dried, and nobody can promise it will. Empty pockets before the bag goes out, so the pen doesn’t take a second load with it.
Wash and fold is $2.69/lb on request or $2.49/lb on a weekly plan, with a $49.99 minimum order and a $5.99 pickup charge, and comes back the next day. The pricing page has the full list. Schedule a pickup, or see how laundry pickup and delivery in San Diego works.
Other stains need different chemistry. Blood takes no solvent at all, just cold water and an enzyme soak, as our guide to getting blood out of clothes explains. Kitchen oil and bike grease are the reverse case, needing dish soap and hot water, and our guide covers how to get oil and grease stains out of clothes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does dish soap get ink out of clothes?
Dish soap helps as part of a method, not on its own. University of Georgia Extension’s red ink treatment starts with a soak in warm water, liquid hand dishwashing detergent and ammonia, but the ink itself comes out with rubbing alcohol. For most ballpoint and felt-tip ink, start with the alcohol.
Does dry ink come out of clothes?
Often, yes. Dried ballpoint and felt-tip ink usually respond to repeated rubbing alcohol treatments with a towel underneath. India ink is the exception, and may not come out once it has dried. Ink that has been through a hot dryer is the hardest to remove.
What removes permanent ink from clothing?
Rubbing alcohol or acetone, sponged on repeatedly until no more color bleeds, then a normal wash. Don’t use acetone on acetate, triacetate or modacrylic, and test any solvent on a hidden seam first. Permanent marker doesn’t always come out completely.
Does hand sanitizer remove ink?
It can, because of the alcohol in it. Plain rubbing alcohol does the same job without the gel and fragrance that sanitizer leaves behind.
Should you use hot or cold water on ink?
Rinse in cold water while you treat the stain. The University of Georgia soaks for red ink use warm water. Whatever the method, keep the item out of the dryer until the ink is gone.
How do you get ink out of a dryer?
Check your dryer’s manual first. A common approach is to unplug the dryer, wipe the ink off the drum with a cloth dampened with rubbing alcohol, leave the door open until it’s completely dry, then tumble a load of old towels before drying good clothes. Never run the dryer while alcohol is still on the drum.
