This is part 2 of a 3 part article that looks at the how to remove drywipe ink from clothing/ fabrics. This article is looking at the direct application of ink on to clothing where you have the pen marking the fabric directly, Article 1 looks at the indirect application of ink transferring the dry marks onto clothing.
How and when is this an issue?
The main way this happens is when using a drywipe marker and you rest the marker nib onto yourself, or if a marker was falling to the floor when dropped and marks your clothing in the process, or even on purpose, especially if we are factoring in children. In most cases it is accidental, and unavoidable.
So what can we do?
Direct drywipe ink onto clothing/ fabrics is by far the worst of the 2 options when it comes to cleaning, this is due to the way in which drywipe ink works, check out our post on this subject.
No matter which brand of drywipe markers you have been using, unless they specifically state that the ink is washable from clothing there isn’t much that can be done, yet, we’re still working on it.
As this conversation comes up often enough to get the Research & Development team involved, we have been looking at a wide range of stain removers on the market that could be used to assist in the removal of drywipe inks. We have looked at several groups of products and their availability so that you can choose the solution that fits your circumstances.
In all of the testing, unless you have the correct solution and act before the ink dries, less than 15 seconds on average, then it doesn’t seem to make a difference if you wait minutes, hours or days before cleaning as the results were the same for us. This comes down to the way in which the alcohol dries and leaves behind the pigments, the damage is done already.
Post washing
We applied the ink directly to the shirt in a standardised block of ink (we know this is extreme) and numbered the different markers.
The ink was left on the shirt 8 hours, which we believe is a normal amount of time for a child to get ink on clothing in the morning and a parent will put a wash on in the evening.
Very few of the marks faded, and even then it was by such a small amount.
In the third post we’ll explore a wide range of solutions; ranging from those you may have, to specialist cleaners.
If you have any concerns or to clarify points made, get in touch with our customer care team who will be able to assist.