A.P. asks from Parks, AZ on November 08, 2008
How Do I Get Permanent Marker Out of My Microfiber Couch???
My son found a red permanent marker and is learning to color.....all over the armrest of our microfiber couch. I was wondering if anyone has any tips for removing this or making it less noticeable?
1 mom found this helpful
So What Happened?™
Well I tried a little combination of responses. I used some baby wipes at first to get some of it off, but wasnt working to quickly, although it did help some, then i used a little rubbing alcohol and that helped a little. Then my husband came up with some goof off. I used a towel and that to work it out. It is mostly gone. I will finish a second application today. I have heard of the sol u mel, and would normally prefer to do something more eco and baby safe,but have none to try out and i used to order the melaluca through my mother, but she canceled her account.
Thanks to everyone for your advice
Featured Answers
E.B. answers from Phoenix on November 10, 2008
I asked the service guy how to clean my microfiber couches and this is what he told me. He also said that it works on sharpie pen and it does!!! I use this solution to get everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) out of my couches. It is one part of neutrogena facial cleanser (or generic equivilent)(it doesn't leave a soapy residue) to 3 parts DISTILLED water. It has to be distilled so there are no minerals in it. Squirt it on the stain, let it sit for a few minutes then brush the stain in with a nylon brush, toothbrush, etc. Then, spray the stain again with plain distilled water and blot with a clean dry cloth. As it is starting to dry, take a clean dry nylon brush, toothbrush, etc and rough the nap of the couch. That is the trick to keeping the microfiber soft. I LOVE MY COUCHES!! I had a green marker stain that took two tries but it came completely out as well. So did ballpoint pen, red juice, black grease, etc. The guy said that the weave is so tight on the couch that the stain will push down inside and will not ever come back up through the fabric and he was right! Had mine 2 1/2 years and have yet to find a permanent stain. And mine are bone colored and I have three boys and a very messy girl! :) HTH.
2 moms found this helpful
N.C. answers from Tucson on November 10, 2008
Rubbing alcohol is my "go to" for ink, permanent or otherwise. Careful, though, because if you just dump it on it can spread the ink. I would be patient and blot it little by little with a cloth soaked in rubbing alcohol, changing cloths when needed so as not to redeposit the ink.
1 mom found this helpful
More Answers
E.B. answers from Phoenix on November 10, 2008
I asked the service guy how to clean my microfiber couches and this is what he told me. He also said that it works on sharpie pen and it does!!! I use this solution to get everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) out of my couches. It is one part of neutrogena facial cleanser (or generic equivilent)(it doesn't leave a soapy residue) to 3 parts DISTILLED water. It has to be distilled so there are no minerals in it. Squirt it on the stain, let it sit for a few minutes then brush the stain in with a nylon brush, toothbrush, etc. Then, spray the stain again with plain distilled water and blot with a clean dry cloth. As it is starting to dry, take a clean dry nylon brush, toothbrush, etc and rough the nap of the couch. That is the trick to keeping the microfiber soft. I LOVE MY COUCHES!! I had a green marker stain that took two tries but it came completely out as well. So did ballpoint pen, red juice, black grease, etc. The guy said that the weave is so tight on the couch that the stain will push down inside and will not ever come back up through the fabric and he was right! Had mine 2 1/2 years and have yet to find a permanent stain. And mine are bone colored and I have three boys and a very messy girl! :) HTH.
2 moms found this helpful
D.Y. answers from Phoenix on November 10, 2008
A. - I am a Melaleuca customer. If you are not familiar with them they only sell non caustic, ph balanced cleaning products that are child safe and effective. They do have a product called Sol U Mel that I have seen take permanent marker off of carpet, tile, linoleum floors, cabinets, counter tops and furniture. Not sure about your furniture but I have not seen it fail yet. Contact me if you want to know more. It is great to have around for such things. ###-###-#### (D.)
1 mom found this helpful
L.M. answers from Phoenix on November 11, 2008
Try Folex,,,available at Home Depot, maybe other places but Home Depot always has it. It's taken red ink off our microfiber couch and white paint off a microfiber chair. Maybe it'll do the trick for you. What have you got to loose?
1 mom found this helpful
L.H. answers from Phoenix on November 10, 2008
Not sure if it will work after it has had time to set in (and I've never used it for permanent marker), but there is a great product out there (I think every mom should own), it's called TECH. You can get it at ACE Hardware and it removes just about everything I have ever tried it on. Good luck!
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J.K. answers from Albuquerque on November 10, 2008
I don't know how a magic eraser works on fabric but it takes permanent marker off hard surfaces. It might be worth a try. Also,I took a textiles class a while back and there is an amway product that takes permanent marker out of fabric. I'm sorry I can't remember the name. I tried to google it and SA8 came up. It could be the same thing but I thought it was called something else of course I took the class 10 years ago so who knows.
Good luck.
1 mom found this helpful
P.T. answers from Phoenix on November 10, 2008
When my daughter used a black Sharpie on my couch I used rubbing alcohol and then liquid Goo Be Gone and it came out. It took some time, but I got it all. You can't even tell which cushions she drew on. Best of luck.
1 mom found this helpful
C.W. answers from Phoenix on November 10, 2008
Rubbing Alcohol works sometimes if you use it first before trying anything else. We used to use it when I worked in a lab because we had to use permanent marker to label and sometimes it would get on our lab coats.
The product that these other two ladies recommended sounds great though. I might have to check that out myself.
1 mom found this helpful
J.M. answers from Flagstaff on November 10, 2008
I don't know if it will work on permanent marker but It worked for me with dry erase markers. I used murphy's oil soap. Good Luck!!
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