How to remove or cover up a tiny stain on a white top

May 23, 2018 5:10 AM

Does anyone have any ideas for how to remove or cover up a tiny dark stain from a white top made out of fabric that is 65% polyester, 32% viscose, 2% polyamide, and 1% elastane?

I suspect, but am not sure, that the stain is from a ballpoint pen. It is very small (just a dark dot) but bothers me because it is in a very obvious location. I have tried a) soaking it in bleach and b) soaking it in Oxyclean, to no effect. It's a cheap top, so I'm willing to try any and all ideas to deal with it.

posted by mydonkeybenjamin to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (14 answers total)

Chalk or baby powder to cover it up.

Hairspray or rubbing alcohol to remove ballpoint ink.
posted by jbenben at 5:12 AM on May 23, 2018 [1 favorite]

I've successfully used nail polish remover (the kind with acetone) to remove pen ink from clothing.
posted by schroedingersgirl at 5:26 AM on May 23, 2018

A teeny tiny bit of typewriter correction fluid, applied with a toothpick, might do the job. No idea whether it'll hold in the laundry.
posted by Too-Ticky at 7:23 AM on May 23, 2018

Is the location suitable for a bit of embroidery or an applique? Maybe a couple could be arranged symmetrically or as a cluster.
posted by Botanizer at 7:42 AM on May 23, 2018

Amodex has saved me on several occasions, on a variety of stains.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 7:54 AM on May 23, 2018

I can attest that rubbing alcohol works, having used it three times to remove ink from the same top. THREE TIMES.
posted by the webmistress at 7:56 AM on May 23, 2018 [3 favorites]

embroidery or an applique
This will work very well, and it doesn't have to be garish! Like Botanizer said, it can be a small cluster of items arranged to look purposeful.
posted by soelo at 8:23 AM on May 23, 2018

My go to for this is a citrus oil product mixed with some Dawn. I get it at my local organic food store which also sells cleaning products. Almost never fails on any stain.
posted by Lescha at 8:33 AM on May 23, 2018

2nding rubbing alcohol. Used to be that hairspray was recommended for ink stains but I guess that was because they all had high alcohol contents; now it's easier to just use alcohol directly.
posted by stellaluna at 10:35 AM on May 23, 2018

Ball point ink is soluble in alcohol. Synthetic fibres are not.
posted by flabdablet at 12:56 PM on May 23, 2018

I would expect ball point ink to be soluble in dry cleaning fluid as well, so if you can't get it out, perhaps a dry cleaner can.
posted by flabdablet at 12:57 PM on May 23, 2018

Rubbing alcohol should work, although viscose is a fussy material
posted by radioamy at 1:52 PM on May 23, 2018

Acrylic paint in a matching shade would affix well to polyester and is both opaque enough and flexible enough when dried to cover up many fabric stains. You may need to use a fabric medium if the area is large to avoid stiffening of the fabric and cracking of the paint.
posted by OnefortheLast at 5:43 PM on May 23, 2018

Response by poster: Thanks everyone! I tried all the stain removal advice and nothing worked, so will try the suggestions for covering it up.
posted by mydonkeybenjamin at 7:11 PM on May 26, 2018