Laundry Mess

June 21, 2009 5:41 PM

I just did a small load of laundry and a pen (without cap) was in it.

Am I screwed?

The clothes (all light colors) now have blue pen marks all over. Any suggestions for how to remedy this? Will I need to individually clorox each pen mark?

All suggestions are welcome!

posted by mdwiffle to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (20 answers total)

you're screwed.
posted by patnok at 5:45 PM on June 21, 2009

yup, you're screwed.
posted by hippybear at 5:47 PM on June 21, 2009

after 40 years of experience in washing clothes with pens, my assessment is, you're screwed.

-2 points for washing the pen, +2 for your accurate perception of being screwed! :)
posted by HuronBob at 6:00 PM on June 21, 2009

I hope you weren't too attached to those garments. Because the pen marks certainly are.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:11 PM on June 21, 2009 [1 favorite]

You can try peroxiding the ink stains, but I'm not sure how successful that will be.
posted by thisjax at 6:13 PM on June 21, 2009

Aerosol hairspray worked when I was a kid.
posted by anthropoid at 6:20 PM on June 21, 2009

You might try brake cleaner. It removes "permanent marker". but i will probably just smear it around:-(
posted by patnok at 6:30 PM on June 21, 2009

Seconding the hairspray. That's what I use when I get pen on clothes and they are dry. Spray it on and rub the fabric against itself. Whatever you do, don't put things in the dryer. You might wait until they have dried naturally to try the hairspray remedy. Good luck!
posted by snugglebunny at 6:35 PM on June 21, 2009

Yeah, the aerosol hairspray trick works better than anything else I've tried for ink, eventually. Spray it on, rub it in, rinse with cold water, repeat overandoverandoverandoverandover.
posted by little e at 6:38 PM on June 21, 2009

Oh, yeah, and I've tried spraying the hairspray then rewashing in the washer. Sometimes this works well but I've also had it go pink cat ring and ended up with new spots.
posted by little e at 6:50 PM on June 21, 2009

Try soaking the load in water with borax mixed in. Overnight, maybe? Then wash as normal. May help, certainly won't hurt.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 7:03 PM on June 21, 2009

Milk! Soak the inkspots in milk - it works well, honest.
posted by fish tick at 7:28 PM on June 21, 2009

Milk, I say.
posted by fish tick at 7:31 PM on June 21, 2009

Check out your washer, too. Good chance it's fuxored as well. Last (and only) time I did this I had to install a new washer drum.
posted by torquemaniac at 7:36 PM on June 21, 2009

I've had luck before with nailpolish remover ...
posted by DingoMutt at 8:13 PM on June 21, 2009

Nthing milk if it's ballpoint pen. If it's marker, you need a solvent from the art supply store - if it's still legal. It's been years since I killed a jacket with a marker, so don't know if the remover is still around. And, you could try pinesol/dog washing soap/any coal tar soap/lestoil. I used nail polish remover to clean up the ink in the dryer after one (with cap) melted in there.
posted by x46 at 8:35 PM on June 21, 2009

I've had luck before with nailpolish remover ...

Yup, that's what worked for me in this exact situation. It was a very time-intensive process so I was only able to rescue a few of the most beloved garments. I placed several layers of paper towels under each spot, soaked a cotton pad with nail polish remover, and blotted (no rubbing!), frequently moving to a clean spot on the cotton pad. When I couldn't stand this anymore I put the clothes through a normal wash cycle with detergent, then did it all again. I'd say it took 4-5 repetitions before the stains were completely removed, though I was dealing with big dark splotches rather than normal pen marks. Don't put the clothes in the dryer until the stains are gone or you will set them further.

If you try this technique, just be aware that acetone nail polish remover will dissolve some synthetic fabrics so you might want to do a spot-test. Honestly, the whole process was a huge pain in the butt so I would definitely try milk first. Sadly I hadn't heard of that trick at the time...
posted by purplemonkie at 9:07 PM on June 21, 2009

You can always RIT some of the clothes to something that will disguise the pen marks better, if the clothes are that important to you. And you like navy blue.
posted by dhartung at 1:00 PM on June 22, 2009

I agree you're almost certainly screwed. But I've occasionally had surprisingly good luck with OxiClean, if you soak the clothes in it and then wash. Once it got out a huuuuge red wine stain all over a skirt. (It was fresh.) And once it got out a grease stain that was at least a year old -- and had been through the washer and dryer several times. I found it at Target, I think, but I'm sure other places sell it.
posted by kestrel251 at 1:09 PM on June 22, 2009

For what it's worth, I made this same mistake last night: sent a pen through the wash and worse, didn't discover this until the clothes came out of the dryer. I used this thread as a basis for seeing what might work. I gotta say, milk passed with flying colours, and it is something I would never have thought of.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:37 AM on June 27, 2009 [1 favorite]