Tips for Getting Ink Stains Out of Clothes

Ink stains are by far the worst stains to get on your clothes. Ink stains, in my opinion, are worse than lipstick, juice, dirt, or just about any other stain you might get on a piece of clothing. In all honesty, if you have a really bad ink stain on one of your garments, you should take it to a dry cleaner. That's the safest way to get the stain out without damaging your garment. However, if you want to save money (which most of us do right now), you can get the stain out yourself.

Here are some things you're going to need in order to do this:

Cotton balls

Milk

Salt

Soapy water

Denatured alcohol (methylated spirits)

Okay, so most of this stuff you probably have in your kitchen and/or bathroom. Salt, milk, soap, water... are all pretty common things. As for the denatured alcohol, which I assume you don't have just lying around, you can buy a bottle of that at any hardware store like, Ace, Home Depot, etc...

I should warn you, denatured alcohol is some pretty potent stuff. You want to be very careful with this liquid. It literally is poison. Do not, under any circumstances, get this stuff in your eyes and mouth. In fact, try not to even get it on your skin. Trust me, it is toxic stuff. That's why it's so good for getting out ink stains.

So, now that you know what you need and I've given you fair warning about denatured alcohol, you should be ready to get started. Here is hot to get the ink stain out:

(Note: if the ink stain has already set-in, it is going to be almost impossible to remove. Also, the garment must be washable to do this. If it is not, take it to the dry cleaner.)

Step #1. Saturate the stain by pouring denatured alcohol directly on it. I would suggest only pouring a cap full at a time until the stain is covered.

Step #2. Gently dab the stain with a cotton ball.

Step #3. Each time a cotton ball soaks up some of the ink, moisten a new cotton ball with denatured alcohol and dab the stain again. Do this until the cotton balls stop soaking up ink.

Step #4. Pour denatured alcohol over the stain again and let it dry.

Step #5. By now most of the stain should be gone, but their will still probably be some stuck in the fibers of your clothing. Rub salt into the stain and let it soak overnight in a bowl of milk.

Step #6. Wash the stain one last time with some cotton balls and soapy water, then wash the garment in your washing machine as you normally would.

If you go through this entire process and the stain is still there, you'll have to take it to a dry cleaner. I hope this works well for you. Good luck!