stain removal

i need to remove a ball point pen ink stain from a cotton/polyester blouse.
the usual stain removers don't work. do not want to toss blouse! help. t.

vashti wrote:
i need to remove a ball point pen ink stain from a cotton/polyester blouse.
the usual stain removers don't work. do not want to toss blouse! help. t.



Usually hairspray will remove ball point ink, at least if it's applied
first. I don't know if it will work when other stain removers have
already been tried, but good luck!

Doreen in Alabama

I have always used regular hairspray, the cheaper, the better. While on the
subject of cheap products, I was taught when washing items by hand, use the
least expensive shampoo you can find. Most times, it works better than the
more expensive because it has less additives in it.
BTW, Vashti is a very unusual name. The only time I have heard it before is
reading my family history--that was the name of either a sister or an aunt
of my DGM.
Emily

vashti wrote:
i need to remove a ball point pen ink stain from a cotton/polyester
blouse. the usual stain removers don't work. do not want to toss
blouse! help. t.

Ethanol works brilliantly, if you can get it. If not, try cheap hair spray.

Spread the blouse over a pad of absorbant fabric or kitchen roll and work
from the outside in. Keep changing the pad so the stain doesn't spread and
contaminate a wider area.

--
Sally Holmes
Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England

I've always used cheap hairspray, too. Really saturate the spot and then
BLOT, don't rub with a clean white cloth and another folded under the stain.
Keep refolding and moving both clothes so you aren't decontaminating the
stain. I found out the hard way that some *Rollerball Gel pens have a
different ink than ballpoint pens. I had a white cotton turtle neck that I
just could not get the marks out of (pen in dryer fiasco). I finally cut it
up into hunks for dusting and cleaning and while using Pledge one day I
sprayed (what had been turned into a rag) with Pledge to do my china cabinet
and the stain dissolved. *sigh*

*And a note about gel pens. One check fraud scheme is to "wash away" the
To____ and the Amount______ written and then fill in another name and larger
amount. The chemical used will actually wash away ball point pen and Sharpie
pens and leave no sign on the check that it was done or had been exposed to
any kind of fluid or liquid. Whatever the chemical is in Roller Gel pens, it
won't wash, so to speak. Use a Gel pen for check writing. I heard this from
a detective on the news awhile back when being interviewed about this check
fraud scam going on in our city.

Val


"CypSew" wrote in message
...
I have always used regular hairspray, the cheaper, the better. While on
the subject of cheap products, I was taught when washing items by hand, use
the least expensive shampoo you can find. Most times, it works better than
the more expensive because it has less additives in it.
BTW, Vashti is a very unusual name. The only time I have heard it before
is reading my family history--that was the name of either a sister or an
aunt of my DGM.
Emily

In article , vashti of
UseNetServer.com uttered
i need to remove a ball point pen ink stain from a cotton/polyester blouse.
the usual stain removers don't work. do not want to toss blouse! help. t.


Try "stain devils" - the one for ballpoint pen ink
--
AJH
no email address supplied

plain old rubbing alcohol works, too. do a bit of wet and rub, then flood
it with the isopropol. (nurse's trick for getting pengoop out of uniform
pockets)

vashti wrote:
i need to remove a ball point pen ink stain from a cotton/polyester blouse.
the usual stain removers don't work. do not want to toss blouse! help. t.

Vashti,

I'm sorry to say, from my experience, you may never get this out if you
have a really big thick blob of biro (ball point) ink on your blouse.

I've found that if I catch my blouse with a biro in passing it usually
washes straight out, but a couple of times my DH has had bad biro
accidents. (He always makes more mess than I do!). He's had a couple of
biro's explode in his shirt breast pockets, and I've never managed to
get them completly clean - even over years of washing the same shirt.

Cheap hairspray does remove a lot, and if your blouse is white, once you
have got as much out as possible using hairspray, you may want to try a
drop of bleach to lighten the clour of any remaining, but it may not do
anything. If you have already tried other remedies, and the stain is
'set', you may not get it out.

Why not consider a patch or embroidery over the stain, and add a couple
of extra embellishments at the same time so it looks planned rather than
made-do.

HTH,

Sarah

Hi,
use tea tree oil or Eucalyptus oil. Both are guaranteed to remove anything
yucky (nearly!) I have even removed set acrylic paint from a satin jacket.
Just dab it on, rub it in and pat it off....Amelia in Australia
"vashti" wrote in message
...
i need to remove a ball point pen ink stain from a cotton/polyester
blouse.
the usual stain removers don't work. do not want to toss blouse! help.
t.