How to get a pen off a white shirt

Marks from pens and felt-tip pens are most noticeable on white things. And most often the blots appear on men’s shirts, as men carry pens and other stationery in their breast pockets. Having found such a stain, do not rush to take the item to the dry cleaner or throw it away. There are many ways and means to solve this problem. From this article, you will learn how and with what to wash off the paste in such a way that not the slightest trace of it remains on a white shirt.

Rules to follow

Compliance with simple rules will allow you to achieve the desired result and carry out the procedure for removing traces of the pen without the risk of sad consequences, such as a chemical burn on the skin or a hole at the site of contamination:

1. Whatever stain remover you use — improvised or professional, wear rubber gloves just in case.

2. If you are using a product that smells strongly, such as ammonia, use a respirator and work in a ventilated area.

3. Try to start removing stains as soon as they appear. It is easier to remove fresh ink marks than those that have had time to dry well.

4. Before using any of the cleaning products, determine what fabric the shirt is made of and also make sure that the stain remover you choose will not harm the fibers of the product. You can test the drug on an inconspicuous area of ​​the item, for example, on the lower free edge, which is usually tucked into trousers.

5. In order not to stain pens and other areas of the white shirt with ink during processing, place a plastic bag under the contaminated area, and something absorbent on it — a paper napkin, towel.

6. Work the stain from the edges to the middle so as not to smudge it further.

The rules are not complicated, it will not be difficult to follow them. Especially if you use special stain removers, the choice of which is quite large.

Professional tools for removing ink from a white shirt

On sale you can find special stain removers that help to easily remove traces of the pen, including from white fabric. It is with them that you need to start the rehabilitation of the soiled thing. For example, you can buy the German remedy “Dr. Beckmann pen and ink”, designed to remove stains from ballpoint pens, ink, felt-tip pens, markers, watercolors. Due to the innovative composition, the drug effectively dissolves the coloring pigment, removes it from the fibers, while not disturbing the structure of the fabric, retaining its color. The stain remover costs about 2 dollars per 50 ml. Therefore, if the thing is dear to you, it is better to abandon the use of risky methods and buy a proven special-purpose tool.

Using a stain remover is not difficult:

1. Take a saucer, put a napkin or a piece of clean white cloth on it.

2. Place the part of the shirt that is stained with ink over a saucer, soak with stain remover, cover with a second saucer on top.

3. Leave for a while until the stain completely disappears.

4. Wipe off the liquid with a dry cloth.

5. Wash the shirt under running water, rinse.

6. If necessary, you can repeat the cleaning without damaging the fabric.

Stain removers are sold in different formats — these are soaking liquids, and pens, and sticks, and sprays. On sale you can find such household chemicals of the brands “Eared Nyan”, “Vanish”, “Frosh”, etc. Choose for yourself the appropriate form of release, a reliable and trusted manufacturer, the optimal cost and feel free to start cleaning the product. And if for some reason there is no opportunity to buy household chemicals, you can try to apply one or more folk recipes.

Folk ways

Experts have selected for you several popular ways to wash a pen from a white shirt:

1. 
   Milk. This is a proven method with high efficiency, the white shirt is completely washed off from pen marks. You need to take enough milk so that the product can be soaked in it. Warm the milk to room temperature, immerse the thing in it, leave for two hours. Then rinse first in warm, then in cold water and wash.

2. 
   A mixture of glycerin and ammonia in a ratio of 1 to 1. We take a sponge, soak it with a mixture, three spots. It will just disappear right before your eyes.

3. 
   Acetone-based nail polish remover or pure acetone. You need to take a sponge, cotton pad or cotton ball, soak it with a solvent, attach it to the mark left by the pen, rub it lightly. Take a new disk, saturate it with liquid, apply it again to the stain and rub it. It works until the ink is completely dissolved.

4. 
   Laundry soap. A piece cut off from a bar is rubbed on a grater. The shavings are poured with warm water so that it dissolves, turning into a paste. Apply the paste on the trace from the handle for 15 minutes, then wash the thing with your hands, carefully working through the area with pollution.

5. 
   Glycerol. The liquid is applied to the mark from the pen for 30 minutes, then the stain is blotted with a paper towel and the product is washed in the usual way.

6. 
   Hydrogen peroxide. Using a cotton swab, apply liquid to the stain, wait 10 minutes, blot with a dry paper towel. If necessary, the procedure can be repeated.

7. 
   Table vinegar, alcohol or vodka. Heat the liquid in a water bath to 50 degrees, apply to the contamination for 15 minutes, wash the product.

Also, many housewives try to use lemon juice in order to wash the pen from the fabric. Cut off half a lemon, squeeze out all the juice onto the stain from the handle, you can additionally rub the pollution with a squeezed half of citrus. Leave for half an hour, wash. This method is considered effective, but in practice this is not confirmed. Pen marks on a white shirt still remain and may even become brighter. But with traces of gel pens and felt-tip pens, markers, lemon juice can cope, in any case, you can try this method. Another fallback option for removing ink from a shirt is to use toothpaste, which is applied to the stain for 15 minutes.

We select a tool depending on the type of fabric

If you intend to use non-professional products to wash the pen, consider what material the item is made of. Optimal cleaning products for different types of fabric:

1. Cotton, linen, chintz — milk, hydrogen peroxide, acetone, vinegar, household bleach containing chlorine (Whiteness).

2. Wool — milk, soda, glycerin.

3. Synthetics — vodka, medical alcohol, toothpaste.

4. Suede — laundry soap, stationery eraser for pencils.

5. Silk is hydrogen peroxide.

Using any product, it does not take much effort to rub it into the fabric, otherwise the fibers of the shirt can be damaged, due to which the material is deformed or torn. Also, do not soak the product in an impromptu stain remover for longer than 15-30 minutes. If during this time it does not work, then it is not worth hoping that the effect will occur later.