I have to share this tip because I love it. It has absolutely nothing to do with food or cooking, so it doesn’t really classify as a Kitchen Tip…but I’m sharing it anyway! Have you ever gotten pen on your clothes? Yeah, me too. A friend of mine shared the best tip with me years ago that has worked every time since…HAIRSPRAY. Before you wash the garment, soak the pen stain in hairspray for a while (sometimes I repeat this step). I swear it works. It’s like MAGIC.
I took this picture right after I sprayed hairspray onto the pen marks…yeah, this is Anna’s brand new, adorable outfit that she attacked with a pen. You can see how the ink started to fade out immediately.
I will tell you, the trick did not work once…but the ink was from a bright red, non-ballpoint pen, so I think the ink is different. Too bad, because it was another cute outfit of Anna’s destroyed by none other than Anna herself. Kids!
Hello! My name is Jane Maynard and you've landed yourself on my blog, This Week for Dinner™. Every Sunday I share a weekly menu...and then count on you to share your own! You'll also find other deliciousness that I hope you'll enjoy!
I love this trick too! Logan marked (accidentally – he was color in bed and didn’t realize he was going over the edges of the paper) pen all over this bed quilt. I thought it was ruined, but then I remembered this tip and it came right out.
I totally forgot about that trick! My husband is always getting pen on himself at work. I have no clue how…I’m going to do this today!
Good to know. I had success removing a huge two-foot long “portrait” from my white bed sheets this week with hand soap and baking soda. My toddler found a black pen. The baking soda cleaned it well with some scrubbing, but hairspray might have been easier.
Ah Jane, thank you. Pen is one of those destroyers of adorable outfits at our house. Not that it ever stopped me from dressing the kids in pen stained outfits…
Just as a side note cheaper aerosol hairsprays work the best…the “fancier” hairsprays seem to suck at getting ink stains out. Happy laundry tips!
I think it helps if you throw it in the washer pretty quickly after applying the hairspray.
I love all your comments and the personal stories…KIDS!!!
michelle – right on. I think there’s probably less alcohol in the fancier hairspray…the worse it is for your hair, the worse it is for the ink…which is actually a good thing!
interesting, kelly…my friend who gave me the tip said to let it soak a while before washing, so that’s just how I’ve done it…but I think this is something worth experimenting with. thanks for your comment!
I think that the hairspray trick works because hairspray traditionally has alcohol in it, or a similar solvent. The Alcohol breaks down the ink and then subsequent washing clears away the ink solids. However, the oils in the hairspray can leave a stain, so that the ink comes away but an oily spot remains. And some inks are water based, like markers. But your typical Bic or Papermate have oil-based ink.
You could try using a regular solvent, such as dry cleaning fluid (which older drug stores used to sell in small bottles). I once rescued a beloved skirt that had gone through the dryer with a very new tube of lipstick (the skirt looked like a weird Dalmatian–but with pink spots) by using a solvent called Energine. I must have spent a hour rubbing out lipstick and then rewashing the skirt. But it worked and I wore the skirt for several more years. Unfortunately, I’ve tried to find Energine since, but no one seems to sell it.
FYI — those home dry cleaning kits usually have a small bottle of dry cleaning fluid for “touch up” cleaning.
great tip, meg! thank you!
yes…as with any stain remover, you should check in a non-noticeable place for colorfastness, etc. I’ve personally never had problems with that, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen with some fabrics. I’m usually using it on denim or cotton shirts.
also – I have used hairspray that does not have alcohol in it and it worked…but as michelle mentioned, it doesn’t seem to work as well. I think alcohol is part of the trick, but not the whole part of it.
stain removal is so fun, eh?
I’ll have to try that. I have had a lot of luck with just straight rubbing alcohol, but I’d love to see if hair spray works even better.
two related awesome tips I’ve found
Permanent marker and rubbing alcohol, found this one after seeing it on one of the tv screens at the gas station, the next day I walked into the kitchen to my 2 year old and a sharpie and her “artwork” all over the wood kitchen table and the laminate flooring, the rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball took it right off
Crayon and WD40, again artwork gone wrong on the walls, took it right off