Welcome to the digital age, where everything we do, everything we read and everything we put down is in a digital form. However, some fields of bureaucracy haven’t been digitalized yet and even through my sincerest hopes nothing good has come to pass in the way of getting rink of ink altogether. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t care too much about the trees (I would prefer it if we didn’t cut them down to make useless paper outside the bathroom, but that’s not really a cause I would fight for) but I really like the idea of just digitalizing everything. This would solve many problems our society currently faces (again originating from pointless and mindless illogical bureaucracy) including but not limited to running around to gather documents for everything, really, because the requested documents can easily be sent to you; wasting time on filling out papers (when you sum it all up, you’ve wasted several years of your life waiting in lines, traffic jams and filling up papers) and, of course, ink stains. Boy, do I hate ink stains. However, I’m not here to talk about my hatred toward ink stains. I’m here to tell you how to remove them. And so, if you suffer an accident of sorts that involves ink, here’s what you need to do.

Water-based Ink

Getting an ink stain on your favourite shirt right before you talk to the boss about that promotion you’ve been hoping for for the last 6 months can ruin your day in ways only coffee, ketchup and mayonnaise can. However, if the ink is water-based, then you’re in luck. There is a huge difference between different types of ink, and water-based ink is what you get when it’s your lucky day (well, aside from the getting stained part). This type of ink is insanely easy to remove. All you need to do is put a cloth or a towel under the stained piece of clothing. After that, pour some warm water on top of the stain and blot it with another cloth or towel. As most of the ink transfers to the towel, you will begin to notice an improvement right away. Do not rejoice yet, though, because your work has only begun. Apply water several time, until you start getting very little (or none at all) of the ink on the towel. Pour some liquid detergent on the stain and let it sit for about 5 minutes. After that, wash the piece of attire normally (using the highest temperature the fabric can withstand). If you’re lucky, the stain will be gone. If it’s not, repeat the process until it is. Under no circumstances let it dry. If you do, your piece of clothing will be lost forever.

Ballpoint Ink

If you’ve run out of luck and the ink stain you want to remove is of the ballpoint variety, then don’t despair – the battle is not over yet. It will be much harder to remove but it’s not impossible. Like in the case of water-based ink, lay down the fabric on a cloth. This time, though, don’t pour water, but rather rub it with rubbing alcohol. Keep in mind that the risk of getting the stain out without harming the fabric is pretty low, but we will do everything in our power to achieve it. After rubbing, blot with a clean cloth and repeat until no ink remains. Rinse with warm water and pour some laundry detergent on top of the stain. Wash in the hottest water the fabric would allow and hope for the best. If the stain remains, repeat the process, but use nail polish instead of rubbing alcohol this time. Good luck!

Author Bio: July Minor has experience in stain removing because she works as home upholstery cleaner.

Image Source : http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Black_Sharpie.jpg