How Do You Remove Gel Ink From Clothes?
Gel ink stains are tough. Simply put, they can be small, but mighty, and take hours to remove. If you fall victim to getting gel ink on your clothing try these steps to attempt removal.
Steps:
- Do not wash it before attempting stain removal.
- Purchase a store bought product that specifically targets Ink Removal. I would recommend Carbona Stain Devils Ink Remover which should be available at your local grocery store.
- Apply the ink treatment and wait 15-30 minutes to let it penetrate the stain.
- Use a white towel or paper towel to blot the stain. This allows you to see how effective your stain removal is.
- Blot Blot Blot (Do not rub the stain as it increases the risk of the ink spreading or pulling the color from your fabric). This process can take a long time. You will need to continue adding your ink treatment as you blot to help pull the ink out.
- When adding ink treatment no longer yields results you have successfully removed the ink (oil) portion of this stain, but you may still have the color component stuck in the fabric.
- Use some home laundry treatment spray (Shout, etc.) to your garment and throw it in the wash.
- Before drying check to see if the stain is successfully removed. If it is not, try repeating the steps again to increase your odds of removing it.
To show you an example of how this process can unfold we’ve included two pictures for reference. These pictures show the three original dots of gel ink and their size relative to a dime. The white towel shows you how much gel ink can come from those little spots! We used both sides of this towel to work this small stain!
