For any of you that have children, you understand that occasionally they can get into something that they know they absolutely should not be getting into - they simply just don't care. One of those particular items is the permanent marker. Crayola washable markers are annoying enough to clean off of surfaces around the home, but when we get into the Sharpies, it become a whole different ordeal altogether.
But how do you get the dreaded permanent marker ink off of the different surfaces inside your home? It turns out that there is a different strategy for each type of material that has been defaced.
Here are seven do-it-yourself home strategies for dealing with permanent marker.
1. Your clothing.
Apparently, if your clothes have been scribbled on, or God forbid, a marker has broken while in one of your pockets, you can remove the stain by applying hand sanitizer to the effected area. Just pour a little bit of it on the area of ink and then scrub it off using water. Obviously you may also need to give the clothing a normal cleaning, so wash the piece of clothing individually to make sure you don't spread the ink to other items.
2. Your walls.
It is more than just a cliche, kids love to scribble on walls with anything that they can get their grubby little hands on. It's the bane of many parent's existence, and it is also unavoidable no matter how many precautions they take. If you come across a scrawl of permanent marker on your beautifully painted walls, spray it down with some hairspray and then wipe it away.
3. Wood surfaces.
It doesn't matter what the particular object is, the floor, a chair, other pieces of furniture, if permanent marker gets on there, parents are faced with the task of trying to get it clean. But how? Well, you can use something that the majority of us have sitting in our first-aid kit, rubbing alcohol. Pour some on a rag and start scrubbing, the ink should start coming off immediately.
4. Carpet
Carpet is expensive to have professionally cleaned, and even more expensive to have replaced. What do you do when one of your kids does a number on your carpeting with permanent marker? White vinegar is able to get the job done. Obviously do a spot test to make sure the vinegar wont actually damage the color of your carpet further before tackling the bigger mess.
5. Material furniture coverings.
We had to double check this one to make sure that we weren't setting you on a pointless path, but if one of your kids (or possibly your less intelligent adult friends) manages to get permanent marker, or any other type of ink, on your material furniture coverings, you can soak that particular item in a mixture of milk and vinegar overnight. Take it out the next day and rinse it well with water. If ink stain persists, just repeat.
6. White boards.
This one is more for the teachers reading this, or for the family that uses those schedule planning white boards at home. There is nothing more annoying than attempting to rub permanent marker off of your white board. The ink just seems to spread and permanently stain the board even if you manage to get most of it off. Instead of trying to use elbow grease to get it clean, take a pencil eraser and literally just erase it.
7. Mirrors or other glass surfaces.
Glass is just annoying when it isn't clean, especially when it has something like permanent marker scrawled across it. It turns out that cleaning permanent marker off of one of these surfaces is not only easy, it also smells great. Simply spray perfume or cologne on the affected area and wipe away. You will see the ink start to run shortly after spraying the surface.
Always make sure to check any warnings or instructions on any products that you are going to use in order to clean up any mess.