Ink Mess Clean Up

It began as a simple cleanup project. It grew into something much bigger.

I’m a big fan the all-natural cleaning system of white vinegar, baking soda, varying between lukewarm & hot water, hairspray & blueDawn dish soap. This time, though, the big guns had to be called in. I'd taken it too far. Really, I just kept on doing stupid things trying to resolve the original mistake.

“What was the mistake?” You ask. Simple. A broken pen in a pocket. Just as recently I’d learned that hairspray, lots of spraying hairspray, with lukewarm water, will take out any ink from fabric. Bingo. Right? Yep. I’ve tried this now & it really does work. In fact, the way I tried it, I actually got the hairspray to basically take out the ink without even using any water. I basically kept spraying the fabric & the next time I’d “checked in” the ink would be more diminished, almost as if it were being dissolved. This worked initially on navy blue fabrics – twice. Then a light khaki fabric joined the test. Magic.

Next up would be the original source, the apron pocket. The most damage had been done here, yet it would be great to get it cleaned up as well. The spraying began, & because the ink had also ended up on a portion of the apron, towards its top, hairspray was also sprayed in that area. This created a huge “wet spot” at both the top &, essentially, the bottom of the apron where the apron got itself into an awkward position. It couldn’t be hung as the spray would’ve just run right off, so I propped it up in between a chair & a table. I was psyched. Then I revisited the scene about a day later. Oh my. Ink markings on lots of stuff. I’d been paranoid about the spray causing issues, so I left the apron on things. It hadn't occurred to me that those things would then be marked instead. I moved the apron to the tiled floor nearby, with paper towels underneath. Still, some ink markings remained on the grout. Then the sink top, as I worked to begin the lukewarm water process, got “ink dinged up”.

I began with the white vinegar spray bottle. I “went to town” knowing that the vinegar didn’t cost much. It didn’t do much either. I found myself reaching for the baking soda. That worked. I got both the floor tiles & the sink top back to normal. I also, at this point, put the apron, with its loads of hair spray, into a bucket of water which included blue Dawn dish soap. My biggest remaining obstacle in this battle to remove all the ink was the back of a chair. This chair, a “kitchen chair” where it’s all painted sans the seat of the chair where the cushion sits, had tons of ink smudging & the chair’s color is cream, while the ink is blue/black. Definitely not blending in much.

After asking Dad for a number of “How would you clean this?” tips last year, I received, from him, a container of Bar Keepers Friend because each time I asked how to “break through” Bar Keepers Friend was what he knew most likely would work. I’m not much for chemical solvents, yet digging into this glaring chair back ink had become somewhat a top priority. I was game.

I’d just spent the day giving “a-go” to a dishtowel soaked in baking soda sitting atop this chair back & saw no progress. It was time to open the BKF (as the back of the container calls the brand), sprinkle a bit into the big bucket, & add a minimal amount of water (I wanted high potency for this project). I got a plastic bag on my scrubbing hand (because it’s a chemical after all & probably shouldn’t be able to seep so easily into my flesh) & a roll of paper towels & began scrubbing.

There was a small, half inch section, on one side which was also lighter in extremity than the other portion. This section removed easily enough, providing needed encouragement for not just potential success, rather the great likelihood of success. I just wanted it done. I just wanted this one. more. mess, this one. more. mistake, to be rectified. I scrubbed & kept on scrubbing. With great success. I’ve no more ink where it doesn’t belong & through this whole scrubbing process I’d run a load of laundry where I put that extremely inked apron, that’d been causing damage everywhere, into a machine & officially laundered it. Again, success.

And so, I share. Never prevail. There are ink messes. There are also ink cleansers. This has been the story of a variety of ink cleansers. They are amazing, resourceful, multi-tasking, & most definitely successful. Ink pen caps are our friend; so are the typewritten word & lead writing instruments. 😂