How to remove pen ink from floor

There's not much worse than finding an ink stain on clothing, furniture or floors. Ballpoint pens transformed the act of writing, and although we're not limited to the nuisance of lead-smudged letters, it brings with it its own set of challenges. Permanent ink can wreak havoc when it is applied in the wrong places. Learn how to remove pen stains from your wood furniture or floors without inflicting damage on the surface in the process.

UNTREATED WOOD

Do you have an unfinished wood piece that fell victim to an ink stain? This is probably the best case scenario to find your furniture. Because it hasn't been stained or finished yet, you have more freedom to get under the ink stain without worrying about damaging the surface layer.

Take some baking soda, mix it with warm water and create a paste. Use a damp cloth to spread the paste over the ink stain, and rub back and forth until the ink comes out. Do a final pass over the area with a clean, wet cloth to remove any lingering solution.

TREATED WOOD

This can be tricky, but not impossible. If you discover a pen stain quickly after the incident happens, it probably hasn't set yet. Mix together warm water and a non-synthetic or plant-based soap. Dip a cloth into the solution and wipe down the area where the stain occurred. Avoid rubbing it, advises the SFGate, as you don't want to spread the ink. Rinse the area and dry it, then repeat if necessary.

If the stain persists, locate a fine piece of steel wool (numbered #0000), which won't damage the finish. Using a light hand, dip the steel wool into liquid wax and very gently rub the steel wool over the ink stain. The steel wool should only target the very top layer of the furniture's finish, and no deeper. Follow up with wood polish or Murphy® Oil Soap to treat the surface and restore its shine.

Figuring out how to remove pen stains from your furniture requires you to tackle them as soon as they happen. You'll have a higher chance of removing the stubborn ink, and you can turn your attention to bigger matters for example, using your pen to make a payment for your next gorgeous wood installation.

This article was brought to you by Colgate-Palmolive Company, the makers of Murphy® Oil Soap. The views and opinions expressed by the author do not reflect the position of the Colgate-Palmolive Company.

Did you give your little ones a craft kit for Christmas, and they decided to create their latest pen and ink masterpiece on your laminate flooring? Or maybe you’ve been hosting the family for the holidays and the kids managed to slip away from you for just a fraction of a second and treated your floor like a drawing pad with the black biros? We know it can seem frustrating, and it feels like you’ll never get that kind of damage out. But the good news is that, thanks to your choice in flooring, removing ink stains couldn’t be simpler.

Why It’s Not The End Of The World

The good news is, laminate flooring is possibly the best type of flooring you could get biro, or any other kind of stain on. It’s incredibly hard wearing and tough, so with the right treatment you can get almost anything off. This is because the top layer (known as the ‘wear’ layer) is made of a super-hard, baked-on polyurethane finish, which is hard enough to resist scratches, most spills and the occasional creative art session involving marker pens and biros. And if you catch the stain happening fast enough, it’s much easier to remove.

What Cleaners Can Get Ink Off Laminate?

The main reason biro and ink is so tough to remove from any surface is that it’s too thin to scrape off, and if you try you often end up damaging the surface you’re trying to save. And scrubbing it out too, since the amount of force and abrasion you’d need to use would scratch the surface. 99% of ink requires a solvent to remove it once it’s dried onto a surface, so that’s your best port of call. That sounds scary, but there are a lot of different solvents that are safe to use on the polyurethane finish of laminate, including:

• Alcohol
• Spray lubricant (such as WD-40)
• Vinegar
• Latex paint remover
• White spirit

Although we should mention that you will need to use a lot of elbow grease with white spirit as its alcohol content is lower. You can also use acetone (most commonly found in nail polish remover), but this is generally better at cleaning up paint than ink. We should also mention that all of the above should only be used to spot clean ink staining, and not as a general cleaning tool.

How to Clean Ink Off Laminate

Your first step when you discover an ink stain on your laminate should be isopropyl alcohol. This is just rubbing alcohol, and you can buy it in any shop that sells paint, or online. If you’re a crafty or handy person, you may well have a bottle of rubbing alcohol lying around the house. Using it is very straightforward – just moisten a rag with the alcohol and start rubbing. You may have to put some muscle into it and rub for a few minutes, but you should see the stain just lift away. If the stain was left by a liquid ink (like you would use in a fountain pen) and it isn’t shifting, then it may have seeped through the finish, which is a different problem entirely.

If you’re opting for white spirit (otherwise known as paint thinner) you should be aware that it will take a lot longer to work, and there will be a strong and unpleasant odour as you use it, so it’s best to tackle it in several sessions. And both the white spirit and acetone options are flammable, so you should work in a well-ventilated area to avoid inhalation or fire risk.

If You Act Fast

If you can get to the stain quickly, you can use some of the other cleaners with great results. After all the best time to clean any spill from a laminate floor is as soon as it occurs and before it dries. Here you just need to apply the spray lubricant or latex paint remover directly to the stain and wipe it immediately with a soft cloth or piece of kitchen roll. If you’re using vinegar, soak the cloth with it first rather than pouring it on the floor, as the acid in the vinegar can cloud a polyurethane finish if its left sitting for too long. Once the stain is gone, wipe the area with a damp rag and let it dry.

If you’re struggling to get stains removed from your laminate, or it’s started to accumulate damage, then it might be time to replace it, or a section of it. At Floor24, we’re always happy to offer advice on the care and maintenance of laminate floors as well as fitting new flooring into your home. If you would like to know more, just get in touch with the team today.

How do you remove dried pen ink?

How do you remove pen ink from tile?

How do you get pen off linoleum floor?

What removes ballpoint pen?