🎨 Dyes & pigmentsHow to remove permanent marker & name pen stains
Permanent ink · it may not come out completely
Permanent markers and name pens use ink designed not to wash off, which makes them one of the hardest stains to deal with on clothes. Alcohol can dissolve a good deal of it, but go in knowing that the parts soaked deep into the fibers may leave a trace.
🔬 Why this order works
Permanent marker ink is dye or pigment dissolved in a solvent such as alcohol, plus a resin that bonds to the fibers. The basic approach is to re-dissolve it with the same solvent (alcohol) and draw it out downward.
🧺 Step by step
Tap a step when it's done to tick it off.
👕 By fabric
Repeat the alcohol thoroughly, then oxygen bleach, and if the care label allows, go as far as chlorine bleach.
Go only as far as alcohol (after testing); accepting a faint remaining mark is the way to protect the garment's color.
Take it to a dry cleaner and tell them it's permanent marker.
🚫 Don't
- Rubbing with water.
- Using acetone without testing — acetate fibers dissolve and dyes bleed.
- Using the dryer while a mark remains.
⏳ If it has already dried
For marker marks that dried long ago, soak with alcohol for 10 minutes, then dab, repeating several times.
💡 Tip
When writing names on kids' clothes, using a fabric pen means it won't bleed in the wash, and it's less likely to end up on other clothes by accident.
❓ Common questions
I got whiteboard marker on my clothes.
Whiteboard markers use ink designed to wipe off, so it comes out more easily than permanent marker. Dab with alcohol, then wash with liquid detergent, and that usually solves it.
My child drew on the sofa fabric with a marker.
If the fabric can't be removed, dab with a cloth dampened with alcohol to transfer the ink out, then wipe with a wet cloth to remove the alcohol. Rubbing over a wide area spreads it, so work a little at a time from the outside in.
🔗 Related stains
🧭 All stains
- Coffee stains
- Red wine stains
- Kimchi & tteokbokki sauce stains
- Curry stains
- Tomato sauce & ketchup stains
- Jjajang (black bean sauce) & soy sauce stains
- Chocolate stains
- Grease & oil stains
- Milk, formula & spit-up stains
- Blood stains
- Mud & red clay stains
- Yellow sweat stains
- Shirt collar & cuff grime
- Lipstick & lip tint stains
- Foundation & cushion compact stains
- Sunscreen stains
- Nail polish stains
- Hair dye stains
- Ballpoint pen ink stains
- Permanent marker & name pen stains
- Grass stains
- Chewing gum
- Candle wax & crayon stains
- Rust stains
- Mildew stains
- Egg stains
- Green & black tea stains
- Fruit, juice & cola stains
- Baby poop & diaper blowout stains
- Urine stains & odor
- White deodorant marks
- Mascara & eyeliner stains
- Water-based & acrylic paint stains
- Sticker, tape & adhesive residue
- Highlighter stains
- Fountain pen & printer ink stains
- Hat sweat stains & forehead marks
General home methods. For valuable garments or unknown fabrics, take them to a dry cleaner and say what the stain is. Follow product labels for bleaches and solvents, ventilate, and never mix them.