Removing Magic Marker Stains

Marks from Magic Markers, and other markers, can appear on clothes, on walls, on furniture and on carpets when kids have been coloring. Even occasional slip-ups from adults can occur when they're making posters or charts. If the magic marker is permanent, it can be very difficult to get the stain out. Here are some helpful tips to try to remove these colorful marks.

Permanent markers are permanent. You might not be able to remove the stain. Try running water through the back of the stain to force some of the ink out, if the mark is very fresh. You can also spray the magic marker mark with hairspray, saturating the mark, and quickly rinse. Make sure to rinse the fabric well whether the hairspray takes out the stain or not.

Another method which may show some results is to use rubbing alcohol. Put a clean cloth down, place the stained area carefully on top of the cloth with no folds of the stained garment underneath, and use another clean white cloth to dab at the stain with rubbing alcohol. Keep dabbing until the stain is saturated with alcohol, and then let it sit. Allow thirty minutes for the rubbing alcohol to fully saturate the ink. You may need to move the stained fabric if the ink runs through the fabric onto the towel below—you don't want it to come off of the towel and back onto your garment.

Once you've removed as much of the mark as you can by saturating the mark with rubbing alcohol, rinse the area and try dabbing at the stain with nail polish remover. Test the nail polish remover on an inconspicuous part of the garment first, to ensure it does not cause the fabric color to fade. Dab and rinse several times with nail polish remover and a fresh cloth.

If the mark is still there, rinse it well and dab on some acetone. Don't forget to test this on an inconspicuous spot first. Dab with a clean cloth—don't use the same cloth you used to apply the acetone.

Something that may help the mark to fade, although it will not remove the mark entirely, is to dab at the mark with toothpaste (don't rub). Gently press the toothpaste into the stain. Rinse well.

You can also try dabbing on concentrated orange cleaner. Leave it on overnight, and rinse well.

Remember that it can be very difficult to remove permanent marker stains, so you need to be patient. The mark may never come out.