How to get Sharpie out of fabric, jeans and clothes

Step by step: how to get sharpie out of fabric, jeans and clothes

Safety first. Rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer and acetone are flammable. Work in a ventilated room away from candles, stoves and pilot lights, and let treated fabric air out before washing. Never mix bleach with alcohol, ammonia or vinegar.

1. 1

   Check the label and test the solvent

   Read the care label, then dab a little rubbing alcohol on a hidden seam with a cotton swab and wait 1 to 3 minutes. Blot with a white paper towel. If the fabric’s own color comes off, use a gentler stain remover instead.

2. 2

   Put a pad under the stain

   Lay several folded paper towels on a flat surface and place the fabric stain side down on them. Working from the back pushes the ink out of the fibers and onto the towel instead of deeper into the garment.

3. 3

   Dab with alcohol or hand sanitizer

   Wet a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol, or squeeze enough clear hand sanitizer gel onto the back of the stain to saturate it, and press it in. Let the gel sit for a few minutes. You should see ink bleeding into the paper towels below.

4. 4

   Blot and move to clean towel

   Blot, don’t rub, which spreads the ink. Each time the towel underneath picks up color, shift the fabric to a clean section. Keep applying alcohol and blotting until no more ink transfers, which can take 10 to 20 minutes for a large mark.

5. 5

   Rinse and pretreat

   Rinse the area under cool water. Rub heavy-duty liquid detergent or a color-safe stain remover into what’s left of the mark and leave it 5 to 10 minutes, keeping it from drying out.

6. 6

   Bleach only if the fabric allows it

   For white cotton or polyester, soak the spot for 5 minutes in 1/4 cup chlorine bleach mixed into a gallon of water, then wash right away. For colors, use oxygen bleach or a color-safe remover instead. Never bleach wool, silk, mohair, leather or spandex.

7. 7

   Wash and air dry

   Wash on the warmest setting the care label allows. Air dry and check the spot in daylight. If any ink remains, repeat the alcohol step; dryer heat can set what’s left.

Why alcohol gets Sharpie out when water doesn’t

Sharpie and other permanent markers use alcohol-based ink with a resin that water won’t dissolve, so you need a solvent to break it up before washing. OxiClean notes that permanent ink’s resin is not water-soluble, which is why these stains are so stubborn.

Clorox recommends an alcohol-based hand sanitizer gel, because the ethanol breaks up the ink and the gel soaks into the weave without evaporating too quickly. After that, it uses a bleach solution of 1/4 cup per gallon of water for 5 minutes on bleachable fabrics, or a color-safe stain remover for 5 to 10 minutes on colors, and says to air dry and check the result. The University of Georgia Extension gives the same core approach for felt-tip ink: sponge it with acetone, rubbing alcohol or a prewash stain remover until the ink stops bleeding, then launder.

How to get Sharpie out of jeans

Use the same alcohol method, but test first and work from the inside of the leg. Rubbing alcohol can lift indigo dye from dark or raw denim, leaving a pale patch that is worse than the ink.

• Test on the inside of the hem or waistband with a cotton swab, as Tide recommends for any ink solvent: wait 1 to 3 minutes and blot.
• Slide a folded paper towel inside the leg so ink doesn’t bleed through to the other side.
• Dab rather than scrub; denim’s twill weave holds ink in the grooves, so it may take several rounds.
• Skip chlorine bleach on blue or black denim. Use a color-safe stain remover and wash inside out in cool or warm water.

What to use on each fabric

Cotton, polyester and denim take the full method; delicate and synthetic fibers need a gentler solvent and a test first.

The UGA Extension specifically warns against acetone on acetate, triacetate and modacrylic. For ballpoint pen, see our ink stain guide; for whiteboard markers, see removing dry erase marker from clothes.

Sharpie, fabric marker or washable marker?

Work out what made the mark before you start. The three common types behave very differently in the wash.

For washable markers, Crayola’s stain tip is to rinse the stain with hot water until no more color comes out, then machine wash in hot water with laundry detergent on a heavy soil cycle, with no prewash and no chlorine bleach. If color is left, soak the item for one hour in OxiClean or Clorox 2 mixed as the container directs, and air dry rather than machine dry. Highlighter is different again; see our highlighter stain guide.

Sharpie on a couch, chair or car seat

Upholstery cannot go in the washer, so everything depends on blotting and on the fabric’s cleaning code, usually on a tag under the seat cushion or the frame. Rowe Furniture describes the codes, and here is what each one means for marker:

• W/S: either water-based or solvent cleaners are allowed. Rubbing alcohol on a white cloth is fine once you have tested it on a hidden spot.
• S: a water-free dry-cleaning solvent only. Use a solvent spotter instead of rubbing alcohol, which contains water.
• W: water-based shampoo or foam cleaner only. Expect slower progress, and call an upholstery cleaner if the mark does not fade.
• X: vacuum or brush only, with no water or solvent. Leave the mark to a professional.

Whatever the code, put the alcohol or solvent on the cloth, not the fabric, and blot from the outside of the mark inward, turning to a clean part of the cloth as ink transfers. Do not soak the cushion; liquid that reaches the foam can carry ink back up as it dries. Our microfiber couch guide and car seat guide cover those fabrics, and marker on a leather sofa is covered in our ink on leather guide.

If the ink still will not come out

Permanent ink sometimes leaves a gray shadow after a few rounds. Before you give up on the item:

• Keep it away from heat. The Sharpie FAQ says not to iron stained garments or put them in the dryer, as this may set the stain.
• Try a dedicated ink remover. Sharpie’s FAQ suggests Amodex Stain Remover for permanent ink. Test it on a seam and follow its label.
• Give the alcohol longer to work. Leave hand sanitizer gel on the back of the stain for several minutes before blotting, and repeat.
• Take silk, wool, dry clean only and valuable items to a dry cleaner before you try anything at home. The Drycleaning & Laundry Institute warns that household cleaners and stain sticks often make stains harder for professionals to remove, and says to tell the cleaner what caused the stain.

Know when to stop. Sharpie says it cannot guarantee stain removal because many variables are involved. On a T-shirt or kids’ clothes, a faded mark that survives several rounds can be covered with a patch or a fabric marker design.

Mistakes to avoid

• Rubbing the stain, which spreads the ink into a bigger smear.
• Treating from the front without a pad underneath, so ink goes deeper.
• Washing and machine drying before the ink is gone, which can set it.
• Using acetone on acetate or modacrylic, which melts the fibers.
• Bleaching colored jeans or wool and leaving a pale patch.
• Working near a candle or gas stove with alcohol or acetone.
• Pouring alcohol straight onto a couch cushion instead of dabbing it on with a cloth.
• Using rubbing alcohol on S-code or X-code upholstery that calls for a water-free solvent or no liquid at all.