Stained Fabric to Perfection!

by Vicki

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As a volunteer at the Living Harvest Thrift Store, I have a first look at many of the donations that are brought to the store. One was this large, bed cover in great condition, but was covered in ball point ink stains.

What to do? It wouldn’t sell in it’s current condition. I volunteered to take it home to see what I could do with it.

• On the largest of the ink stains I poured 91% rubbing alcohol on the spot & blotted until the stain was dispersed but not gone. I used paper towels under the spot to absorb the ink & blotted with another paper towel changing when they were covered with stain. 
• On the smaller stains, I put rubbing alcohol into a small spray bottle & sprayed each stain. 
• All stains received a small amount of Dawn Dishing Washing liquid which I gently rubbed into the spot. 
• The entire thing went into the wash with another small squeeze of Dawn with white vinegar poured into the “bleach” & “softener” compartments. The vinegar is not necessary, but I use it in every cycle to help keep my front loader free from odors.
• After washing & examining the coverlet, I found all the spots that were treated came out!

Paper towels with ink transfer.

The ink starts to break up. Notice how the ink has transferred to the paper towel.

The Dawn Dishwashing liquid gently worked into the stain.

As the ink spreads, it will look much worse than when you started.

Note: If you try this stain removal method, be sure to test it first to be sure the alcohol will not remove the color of the item. Be gentle, do not rub the spot harshly. 

Materials used:

• 91% Rubbing Alcohol, generic
  
• Dawn Dishwashing liquid (do not use a generic)
  
• Paper towels--use a high absorbency one--I used Bounty
  
• Small spray bottle--I used a travel size one
  
• White vinegar--optional
  

After washing