OK, so it wasn't ink from a fountain pen (blasphemy, I know) it was from a Uniball eye micro pen, which is suppsed to be pretty much water proof, unfortunately for me. And I have managed, I know not how, to get it on not one but 2 items of clothing. HELP! I have washed it several times after using rubbing alcohol on it, but to no avail, so please, any and all advice!!!

I think this may be a job for Amodex - it's pretty widely recommended for ink stains of all sorts. It's not too hard to find, depending on where you are - my last tube came from the grocery store, where it was in the laundry aisle.

Good luck.
Jon

Is it available in the UK?

You might try lighter fluid. Rubbing alcohol usually works for ballpoint, but rollerball requires something more. Amodex is available at most online pen stores. The Writing Desk in the UK carries it (thewritingdesk.co.uk). I don't know if you have Carbona laundry treatments, but there is one in the Carbona line for removing ink stains. I've had good luck with lighter fluid and Carbona in the past. Hope you can get the stain out.

It's been a few days now, but here's what I understand:

Sorry to hear that news, elpelco.

Some pigment particles from that ink will probably stay in the fabric for a long time, especially if the clothing material includes any cellulose fibers, animal hair fibers or animal skin. If all of the fibers are silk or artificial, I hope you can get enough of the stain out for your purposes.

I will try the suggestions suggested and let you know. Thanks guys!

You can also try hair spray. either pump or aerosol, just spray it on, and let dry then wash. if it doesn't come out the first time, repeat a few times.

Everyone's favourite UK supplier The Writing Desk usually sell Amodex (although they seem to be out of stock at the moment). While waiting for Martin to get some more in, I suppose you could try here. It does seem to be available from a lot of places.

John

I second Amodex, if you can find it. I just got a bottle and it is very good at getting ink out of cloths and off my skin.

WOW, an amazing story! I just received an old Brahman Indian eyedropper and I immediately but Private Reserve DC Supershow blue in it. I didn't know about putting silicone on the threads and ink leaked everywhere. A big spot on my beige pants. On the way home I bought some rubbing alchohol 70% and spot cleaner. I tried both of those and hairspray. None of the before mentioned products touched or dilluted the ink stain at all.

I confessed to my wife and showed her the ink stain. She gave me hell, told me I reminded her of a school boy with ink stains everywhere (hands, shirt, pants), then told me not to worry. She just put my pants and shirt in the washing machine with Oxy-clean. When the washing machine was finished she removed my shirt and pants and held them up for me to see. Ta-Daa, she exclaimed! Ink stains were completely GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy cow.. this stuff works....




-Gawain

I'm not sure if you can get it in the UK, but if all else fails, try Orvus soap. My mom uses it to restore antique quilts -- some of which come to us complete with years-old ink stains! You can find it at any quilt shop, but if you have a Tractor Supply or other farm supply shop that carries it, it's usually cheaper there.

Just put a teaspoon or so in the wash with your items, on warm (or a tablespoon if you have a huge washer).

Susan

Oxyclean really does work on inks. Someone wrote on the back of my sleeve in the subway with a roller! I think he was trying to do a puzzle standing up and missed his target. He was quite apologetic and offered to have the blouse dry-cleaned. However, since it's washable, I sprayed it with Oxyclean spray, rubbed it a bit, and threw it in the wash. It came out clean. A warning though: if you rub a spot with oxyclean, do it gently, or the skin on your hands will rub raw. I have two big scabs on my fingers from overdoing the rubbing with Oxyclean.

My wife uses a mixture of Oxyclean Powder, Dawn dishwashing detergent with bleach alternative and water. (small amount of each on the spot and rub.)