Out, Damned Spot!
05/11/2014This is probably the one and only time I will get to use a quote from Macbeth in a title. In this case it’s about ink and how to remove it.
This week Office Supply Geek had occasion to use Amodex and so did I. OSG used it on his finger, but preferred a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.
A few days ago, my son got ink on a t-shirt, but I didn’t find out until it had gone through a wash and dry cycle. A couple of drops of Amodex, three seconds of scrubbing with the included brush, another trip through the washer and dryer and presto, the shirt was restored.
Ink on my fingers is not a big issue. I consider it an occupational hazard, but ink on clothing is another matter. I’ve used Folex successfully to remove ink and a lot of other stains, especially non-oil food ones. It even does a good job at removing chocolate and coffee depending on how long the stain has set. Folex handled a rather large, dried ink spot on off-white carpet last year. Good stuff, indeed.
Amodex has never failed me and it is a convenient size. There is a bottle of it next to my desk stashed amongst pens, inks and pads of paper and all get along just fine.
What do you use to clean ink stains?
An Inkophile's Blog 
Another quick and easy way to remove ink from skin uses something that is already in most people’s bathrooms. Just rub the ink-stained skin for 5 to 15 SECONDS with Nair, Neet, or any other depilatory cream/lotion sold for women’s legs. Such a brief exposure of skin to the depilatory removes ink without removing hair or anything else.
If you don’t have any Nair or Neet handy, and are fresh out of Amodex and Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, ink can be removed from skin with any opaque (non-gel) toothpaste such as Crest or Colgate. However, the method of ink removal requires vigorously rubbing the product into the skin for about 1 or 2 MINUTES. It does smell better than the other stuff, though, and if the ink was on your hands or on anything callused it’ll make the skin nice and soft.
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Thanks, Kate. Those are good suggestions.
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I have since discovered that Febreze also works very well, on skin at least. Spray it directly onto your inky hands (or whatever), run it in for 20-40 seconds, than wipe your hands dry and wash your hands.
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Does it leave a scent on skin?
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I also use Amodex for ink on clothing, and the nearest trash can if the ink was one of the Noodler’s bulletproof inks.
I prefer to work clean, including my hands; having ink and watercolor all over everything may look artistic, but I’ve left too many smudges on finished pieces. Lava soap and a nailbrush have always done the trick for me.
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Bulletproof ink does live up to its name, but we have a lot of 100% cotton clothing that makes good rags when retired from active duty.
Lava soap is good idea for hands. Thanks, Joe.
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If you ever want a good quote from Shakespeare about handwriting, there’s one I often use — in HAMLET, Act V, Scene ii: beginning with “I once did call it … ”
Let me know, too, if you’d like an interesting quote on handwriting from George Bernard Shaw.
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Thanks for the tips. I’ll have to find a way to weave them into future posts.
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Reduran for the hands, of course! Amazing stuff. Amodex for everything else, and for keeping in the bag and the office and all the other places you take your pen.
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Allan, I fumble-fingered the keyboard while searching for Reduran and it asked if I meant ‘redrum’! I’ll have to give it a try; thanks for the tip!
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