A pen leaks beside the sofa, or you spot a blue line where someone has been drawing on the floor. The temptation is to scrub it with a wet cloth. With ink, that can turn a narrow mark into a much wider stain.
Start by lifting any fresh liquid with a dry white cloth. Then check what made the mark before choosing a cleaner. A ballpoint pen, a washable marker and a printer cartridge can all leave blue ink, but they don't necessarily respond to the same treatment.
If it's still nearby, keep it. The name on the barrel or packaging is more useful than the colour of the stain. “Washable” on a child's marker also doesn't guarantee it will wash out of your particular carpet.
The steps below are for a small liquid-ink mark, with ballpoint ink as the main example. A leaking inkjet cartridge can leave much more liquid in the carpet than a pen stroke. Blot the loose ink from a larger spill and ask for advice before adding a cleaner.
If you've spilled powder from a laser printer, that's toner. Skip the wet-cleaning steps and read the toner section below.
The Carpet and Rug Institute suggests 70% isopropyl alcohol applied to a cloth for ballpoint ink. Its ink-removal guidance specifically says not to pour the alcohol onto the carpet.
Check your carpet manufacturer's advice before using it. The backing beneath the fibres matters too: keeping a solvent on the surface is different from letting it soak through. If you have wool, a delicate rug or no way to identify the carpet, call for advice before the solvent step. You can still blot fresh ink while you find out.
Have several white cloths ready, plus cotton swabs if you're treating a thin pen line. White makes it easier to see the ink coming out. Keep the room ventilated and follow the alcohol label's precautions, including keeping it away from flames and other ignition sources.
Touch a dry white cloth to the mark and lift it straight up. Fold to a clean patch each time ink transfers. A sideways wipe can carry that ink onto the carpet beside it, so take your time with this first step.
If your carpet's care guidance allows the treatment, try a little on a spare offcut or a hidden area first. Check for carpet dye on the cloth, a lighter patch or a change in feel. Let the test dry before deciding it looks unchanged.
Put a little of the permitted treatment on a clean cloth or cotton swab. Dab at the outside of the mark and work inward. For a pen line, follow the line itself rather than wetting a whole circle around it.
Ink on the cloth tells you something is coming out. Keep switching to a clean patch while the mark improves. If the stain starts widening, or you've stopped picking up ink, stop adding liquid. More solvent at that point can leave you with a bigger area to deal with.
Use the finishing or rinsing method specified for your carpet and treatment. Where a water rinse is allowed, use a lightly dampened cloth and blot the moisture back out with a dry towel. Let the spot dry before judging the remaining colour. Never put a solvent into a household carpet cleaner or use the machine to pick up flammable liquid.
Stop adding cleaner and call Harry. Tell us what made the mark and what you've already put on it, even if it was only water. That helps us work out what to try next.
Perhaps you've moved a chair and found an old pen mark underneath. It may still respond to treatment; age alone doesn't tell you whether it will come out. If you know the ink type and the carpet permits the cleaner, use the same small test and careful dabbing process.
A faint blue or grey shadow is a reason to reassess, especially if nothing more is transferring to the cloth. It may need a different specialist treatment, or some colour may remain. Scrubbing harder can damage the pile without removing that last trace.
Don't assume the ballpoint method will work equally well on these. Keep the marker or cartridge details and describe the size of the spill when you call a cleaner. A few pen strokes on the tips of the fibres present a different problem from a cartridge that has emptied into the carpet.
Avoid reaching for paint thinner or a general hardware-store solvent because it dissolves ink on another surface. It also needs to be suitable for the carpet's fibres, dyes and backing.
Leave the powder dry, keep people from walking through it and don't scrub or use a household vacuum. Brother warns that vacuuming spilled toner can cause a fire inside the vacuum. Check the printer manufacturer's spill instructions and contact a cleaner who can handle toner on carpet.
Guide published by First Class Carpet Cleaning. Website & local SEO by LeadLocal SEO.
For a spreading ink stain or a mark that won't improve, contact First Class in Vancouver. Tell us what made the mark, when it happened and what you've used on it. We can assess the carpet and explain the treatment options.
IICRC Certified
Master Textile Cleaner
Eco-Friendly
WoolSafe ApprovedFirst Class Cleaning … The First Time!
