How to Clean Pencil Stains

When the time comes to removing stains such as pencil marks, whether it is from your walls or your clothes, you can find yourself in quite a dilemma. Any pencil marks found on your walls can be 'erased' off; be sure to use a good white eraser for this process. First try to gently erase pencil stains in this fashion, chances are most, if not all, of the stains will disappear. For clothing you need to take a different approach, as pencil stains can obviously not simply be erased. Try to blot a cleaning brush on the pencil stain by using many gentle strokes, don't apply too much pressure, or use a razor blade to scrape the fabric and, in the process, take off any excess pencil stain that may still be around.

Very stubborn pencil marks can be rubbed off of your material with toothpaste and a damp rag. There are many ways to get rid of even the toughest pencil stains in laundry, carpet, upholstery and anything else that may have been marked up. To remove stains dab some laundry detergent with cold water until the stain lifts off of your material. Slight, fresh stains can often be removed by washing with your usual laundry product and air drying. There is a chemical which is found in laundry detergent, as well as many other cleaning chemicals, which naturally removes pencil stains.

Additionally you may want to flush your material with cold water and soak in an enzyme detergent; then wash like normal laundry. Flush your pencil stained material occasionally with a dry solvent or dry cleaning fluid and then allow your material to air dry. If any stain remains, simply flush your material with water and dab the spot with a solution of water and a very small splash of ammonia.

Colored pencils have some rather strange properties that are both a blessing and a curse. One thing that must be understood is that when lines are applied to paper they are nearly impossible to remove. Unfortunately colored pencils can leave a stain on your carpet as well. The first step to dealing with colored pencil stains is to scrape off the excess pencil, you can use any tool, such as a razor blade, for this. Colored pencil work should receive a light spray of cleaning solution, water and detergent, and then be dabbed. Follow this up with a heavier spray. A heavy spray first can cause the color to smear and dissolve which makes your original pencil stain even worse.