Monday, July 8, 2013

How to get pen ink out of a microfiber couch

A little over a year ago I posted on how to clean a mircofiber couch using a spray bottle, rubbing alcohol, a sponge and a bristle brush. 

You can read the full tutorial HERE





By far this is my most pinned post, and probably one of my favorite cleaning tips for our home. 
If you go back and read the original post, you remember that I really dislike this couch.
It's not my design style, not super comfortable and although I know how to clean it now, it still kind of drives me nuts how easily it gets dirty. 

So when I came down stairs a few weeks ago to find my 3 year old drawing on the arm of the couch with blue PEN...I hate to say it, but my first response wasn't to get mad. It was to do a happy dance. 

I really thought the couch was RUINED. I mean, blue pen. ALL over the arm.

There was no hope.


Right? 

I felt like this might be just the right reason to start looking for a new couch (and hide all the pens).

But then I figured I might as well try cleaning it off,  just to prove it really was ruined. 

So I got out my supplies and started spraying and scrubbing. 

And wouldn't you know, the pen started coming right OFF!

What the....?!?!

I was so sure it wasn't going to come off that I didn't even think of taking a before picture of the whole arm, but when I saw it was coming off I snapped this picture.


Just picture this all over the whole arm. 


I scrubbed pretty hard to get it all off, and used a decent amount of rubbing alcohol, so now there is a little discoloration on the arm (it's a little darker than the rest of the couch in a few spots) but I think if I had used a little less rubbing alcohol it wouldn't be a problem.

Either way, a little discoloration is better than pen art. 

Here's the after.*


You can see the light discoloration I was talking about best in these two pictures.


I hope this is helpful! 

I was so surprised that this technique worked on pen of all things. 

I think I'm stuck with this couch for a very long time. :) 




*These pictures have NOT been photoshopped in anyway. 








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57 comments:

  1. Great tip! Alcohol also removes Sharpie permanent marker from wood furniture, as well as particle board furniture.

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    Replies
    1. Always be careful not to remove or soften the finish on wood furniture. Alcohol is a solvent. Great tip though.

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  2. Hey! nice idea.. this will really help me to remove a stain lying on my Traditional Bedroom Furniture from past 2 weeks. Thanks for helping me out..

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  3. Thank you for this post and the tutorial. My almost 3 y.o. just took a black pen to our tan microfiber couch. We also just got a dog. As you can imagine the couches need a major cleaning. I will try this method asap. Thanks so much!

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  4. I have 4 doxies and 1 of them cant hold his licker. So we have stains from him licking the furniture. I hope this works. If it does I might have to buy stock in alcohol. ?.thanks for the tip!

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  5. WOMAN! Where have you been since I bought this *%^$@!Q#$& couch set! LOL! I can't wait to try this; I hope it works on the fuzzy microfiber, too.... To be continued..... I have kids, dogs, cats....myself (laughing a lil too hard) ahem

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  6. Baby wipes also take pen out of microfiber. A repairman accidentally got pen on our couch and I used my son's baby wipes to remove it. So easy!!!! Who knew!

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    Replies
    1. I tried the baby wipe trick with our tan microfiber couch and it just made our couch super wet from the wipes.

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    2. I tried the baby wipes and it worked!!! Thank you!!!

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    3. I tried the baby wipes and it worked! Thank you so much! :)

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    4. The baby wipes work because the have alcohol in them!! :) I just got gel pen on the couch writting a letter and was going to use alcohol like always but saw your response and thought wow that's such a better idea lol!

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  7. This alcohol trick did NOT work on my microfiber couch. Ours is a chocolate brown. It made the fabric even more "shiny" and a mess. This is my 2nd living room set of microfiber. What I used before and now that DOES work, is a diluted Lysol solution and elbow grease. I spray the couch, scrub the couch. And allow it to air dry. thats it. no brushing and no sponge. just a clean towel. Its always made my couch come back to life. I wasted too much time trying to get this to work. Possibly it only works on light colored fabric?? I don't know. But it was a waste of time for me.

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    Replies
    1. I have an army green one please share the Lysol trick I want to try it.....Please

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  9. The result wasn’t that bad. Actually, pen marks are one of the trickiest stains to remove. It’s good to hear that you were able to remove yours with the use of alcohol. However, I suggest you try using nail polish remover. Just moisten the cotton ball with a few drops, then gently dab it on the pen marks until it’s all gone. It really helps, and it won’t even tarnish the color of your microfiber.

    Brad Wike

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  10. Thanks so much for publishing this. We have a moss green microfiber sectional that our pets share with hubby and a lazy boy to match. Both need serious help! I will definitely be trying this :)

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  11. I find using my norwex cloths work well (www.norwex.com) with a little bit of soap, I will have to try the rubbing alcohol, I also find using baking soda or borax sprinkled on the wet area helps to dry the area alittle faster and deeper. Thanks for the help

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  12. I use some tide in water and sponge a little on. Fan dry it and I am good to go. Too easy.

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  13. Actually, your couch doesn’t look like it was faded in picture. And it doesn’t even look like it was marked by a blue pen before. That is incredible! You saved your couch from the stubborn ink once again. Cheers!

    Gail Wallace @ Emergency Flood Masters

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  15. I used Clorox wipes and it works amazingly well!

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  17. This is a great inspiring article.I am pretty much pleased with your good work.
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  18. That sounds like a good idea! It's great that it completely removed the blue ink, despite the slight discoloration. I think it’s best used when the ink stain is fresh, so that you won't have to use too much alcohol, and lessen the discoloration. It can be frustrating to scrub and remove once it already dries up. What do you think? Anyway, thanks for sharing!

    Monique Fletcher @ Safeclean by Guardsman

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  19. A little over a year ago I posted on how to clean a mircofiber couch ... furniturecouch.blogspot.com

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  20. My micro fiber couch looks REALLY BAD....I HAVE 4 KIDS so you can imagine. I read somewhere to spray Windex on the couch, let it dry, and the stains would remove without even scrubbing. Ha....yeah right....to good to be true & totally did not work.
    My microfiber couch is a tanish brown color... not chocolate, & not as light as yours. I've got to find something because like the lady above my couch is getting that slick shine effect in places.
    Thank you very much for this article I will definitely try alcohol.

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  31. Baby wipes definitely work on the ink. I just removed ink from my microfiber Couch with just one baby wipe.

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  32. Your comments made me laugh because I soo understand not liking the couch! We have one that is uncomfortable and I just want so badly to replace it. Last night, my toddler scribbled black pen all over the arm and parts of the cushion. I will try your technique today. I hope it comes off, but if not, I may use this situation to persuade my husband for a new one - though we should probably hold off until he's a bit older! Thank you for the tips!!

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  33. It worked like a charm - thank you (I think!) :)

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