10 Ways to Get Highlighter Out of Clothes (Step-By-Step Guide)

It’s far too simple to get highlighter on your clothes whether you’re assisting your children with their schoolwork or reviewing the files you brought home from the office. You end up with a neon-colored stain that appears to be permanent when this occurs. Fortunately, there are simple tools you already have at home that you can use to learn how to remove highlighter from clothes!

You will discover why highlighter ink is so difficult to erase in this article. You will also discover 10 ways to get highlighter out of clothes.

How to Get Highlighter Out of Clothes?

Try one of these simple stain removal techniques the next time you see a highlighter stain on your clothes! When used as cleaning agents, common household items frequently provide astounding effects.

Please take note, however, that different products will cause varied reactions in various fabric kinds. You shouldn’t use any alcohol-containing products, for instance, on wool, silk, acetone, or rayon.

Always test a new cleaning product on a concealed area of your clothing and give it some time to sit before using. You’re good to go if the product does not damage the fabric.

10 Ways to Get Highlighter Out of Clothes

1. Rubbing Alcohol

One of the most widely used household items for stain removal is rubbing alcohol. It successfully removes a wide variety of stains. Try it on stains like grass, ink, or oil!

Even greater results can be obtained by using isopropyl alcohol with a higher alcohol level, such as 70%. Just be sure to operate in a well-ventilated location and thoroughly wash your hands after handling this stronger alcohol.

Steps to follow:

• The stained area should be covered with a pad of folded paper towels. As the alcohol and ink soak through the fabric, this will absorb them, stopping the ink from spreading to the rest of the cloth.
• Soak a cotton ball in the alcohol to remove a minor stain. Gently dab the area. Avoid rubbing at the ink because doing so could easily spread it to portions of your garment that aren’t harmed!
• Try placing the clothing over a sink or bucket if you have a large highlighter stain to deal with, and then pour the alcohol directly onto the stained area.
• Next, use fresh paper towels to blot the stain from both sides. Lots of ink should be visible on the white paper towels.
• To ensure that the highlighter is completely removed, you might need to repeat the cotton ball or alcohol pouring procedure multiple times.
• Run the cloth through the laundry with your regular detergent to complete the process. To locate the stain first, you might wish to insert a safety pin into your garment. This will make it easier for you to determine where to look to see if all the ink has been removed after washing.
• Try the alcohol approach once again if you notice a fading stain remaining on the fabric. Occasionally, you need to repeat the procedure in order to entirely remove a stain.

 

2. Baking Soda and Vinegar

Another simple way for getting rid of highlighter stains is vinegar and either cornstarch or baking soda. This procedure could take a bit longer if you need to let the vinegar/baking soda application set for an overnight period of time. However, it’s inexpensive and simple!

Numerous stains, particularly tough red wine stains, can be removed using vinegar and baking soda.

Why does vinegar erase stains so effectively? Since most stains contain some acidity, vinegar’s higher acidity allows it to breakdown the stain’s components.

Steps to follow:

• Start by giving the affected region a thorough vinegar soak. You might want to spread your clothing over a spotless bucket before applying the vinegar to the discoloration.
• Then, mix 3 tablespoons of vinegar and 1 tablespoon each of cornstarch or baking soda. A thick paste should result from this.
• To incorporate the paste into the highlighter ink, run your fingers or a paper towel over it. The paste should ideally offer a thick coating over the entire damaged region. If you need extra paste, combine a bit more vinegar and baking soda.
• Let the clothing soak all night. The paste should feel dry and crumbly in the morning. Shake off the flakes if you like.
• After that, add your regular detergent to the washing machine and add the cloth.
• Check your clothes thoroughly for any remaining highlighter. Put the clothes in the dryer anyhow if you can’t find any!

 

3. Hand Sanitizer

Lipstick, chilli sauce, ink, and even blood may all be removed with tremendous results using hand sanitizer! This allows you a quick, convenient option to cure stains when you’re away from your laundry room, whether you’re at work or out and about.

Ethyl and isopropyl alcohol are both present in rather high percentages in the majority of hand sanitizers. When applied to a stain, hand sanitizer works in the same way as rubbing alcohol!

Nevertheless, some fabrics’ colors may be bleached by the extremely strong alcohol content. Leather, suede, and silk will all exhibit this bleaching very poorly. In general, light-colored fabric will handle the application of alcohol better than dark-colored fabric.

Steps to follow:

• Apply hand sanitizer with a drop to a tissue, paper towel, or white napkin.
• Place still another tissue against the stained area’s back.
• On the stain, dab the damp tissue. To avoid rubbing or scraping, make careful to blot. You don’t want to amplify the stain.
• To get rid of any leftover ink particles, try to hold the wet area under running water for a minute. If you can’t (you don’t want a huge wet spot on your shirt before a work event, either!), just press the area as much as you can dry between two fresh tissues or paper towels.

 

4. Hair Spray

Not everyone carries hair spray around like they did in the 1980s, but if you do, you can try using this well-known hair product to remove ink if you keep a spray bottle in your purse or bathroom cabinet!

Read the ingredient list on your hairspray before attempting this procedure. This approach ought to be effective if the product contains alcohol!

With that warning in mind, you can try this technique if you use hairspray that contains alcohol! On synthetic materials like polyester, such as, this works very well.

Steps to follow:

• Apply a few good spritz of hairspray to the stain, just enough to make the cloth’s reverse feel damp.
• Allow the clothing to rest for five to ten minutes. The hairspray will start to stiffen and crackle all around at this point.
• After that, take your clothing to a sink and run lukewarm water over the ink stain. Ideally, the hairspray will have dislodged the highlighter ink flecks so that the water will flush them away.
• Repeat the procedure from the beginning if the stain’s rim is still visible after rinsing.

 

5. Salt Water

There are two ways to utilize salt as a stain remover. Both are effective against oil, blood, and ink!

1^st method

Steps to follow:

• Prepare a thick paste by combining 12 cup salt with just enough cold water for the first procedure.
• On the ink-stained area of your clothing, apply the paste.
• Give this combination ten to twenty minutes to rest.
• Remove the salt by rinsing with cool running water.
• Using standard laundry soap, wash the cloth.

2^nd Method

Steps to follow:

On a fresh stain, the second method performs better.

• Rub some dry salt into the highlighter ink for the second procedure.
• Give the salt 10 minutes to sit.
• Place the stained area in a small bowl of milk, and let it sit there all night.
• Rinse the milk thoroughly with cold water.
• Utilizing standard washing detergent, wash the garment.

 

6. Lemon Juice

Some stains, such as sweat, ink, and even mildew, can be naturally removed by lemon juice. If you’ve ever considered switching from using commercial cleaning solutions in your home to only using natural cleaning and laundry products, you’re undoubtedly already familiar with lemon juice.

Steps to follow:

• Slice a lemon in half, then vigorously rub the stain with the cut side down.
• Connect a portable steamer or an iron that has a steam setting.
• Hold the steamer close to the cloth so that the harmed area is thoroughly saturated with steam.
• Much of the discoloration should disintegrate and wash away if you rinse the area with lukewarm water.

 

7. Ink Remover

Using a certified ink remover is an obvious technique to get rid of ink! Amodex and other well-known products may remove ink stains from clothing without causing any harm to the fabric because to their soap-like properties.

The ink from highlighters, Sharpies, and regular ballpoint pens should all be removed by this type of ink remover!

Steps to follow:

• To examine for colorfastness, apply a tiny amount of the ink remover onto a discrete area of the clothing. Some soaps and stain removers have the potential to harm delicate materials.
• Underneath the ink stain on the incorrect side of the clothing, place a folded paper towel. In this way, your shirt, pants, or dress won’t get inked on the back!
• If the bottle instructs you to, shake the solution then.
• Directly onto the area, squirt the ink remover. Many stain removers work better on dry cloth; you don’t need to wet the fabric.
• To thoroughly work the ink remover into the stain, use a brush or a different paper towel.
• You might need to let the remover rest on the stain for a number of hours, depending on the kind you buy. Observe the timing recommendations on the packaging.
• After that, rinse the stain remover from the fabric and wash it as usual.

 

8. Laundary Detergent

Some highlighter stains can also be removed with laundry detergent, especially if the ink is water-soluble.

However, immediately using laundry detergent that hasn’t been diluted might work.

Steps to follow:

• When blotting an ink stain, use two clean, white cloths or paper towels to gently push the stain against each other. There should be some ink transfer to the cloths.
• Next, dab the stain with about one teaspoon of washing detergent. While making sure the detergent covers the entire damaged area, avoid rubbing the spot.
• Give the detergent roughly five minutes to settle.
• Finally, place the cloth by itself in the washer and wash it as usual. You shouldn’t add any other clothing because the ink can transfer to them throughout the wash cycle.
• Ensure that the ink has vanished by inspecting the garment carefully. If it didn’t, try again rather than putting the clothes in the dryer.

 

9. Dry Cleaning Liquid

You might want to try using a dry cleaning solution to get the highlighter ink off of an expensive piece of clothing that is meant to be dry cleaned only.

Tetrachloroethylene, usually referred to as perchloroethylene or “perc,” is a chemical that is commonly found in dry cleaning solvent; it is highly dangerous and combustible, so treat with caution!

Steps to follow:

• First, dab a little of the solvent onto a piece of clean, white cloth. Simply dip the cloth into the powder, which is normally in powder form.
• To ensure that the solvent won’t ruin the fabric, try it on a hidden portion of the garment.
• After that, dab the ink with the solvent-covered towel. You ought to notice the ink transferring to the rag.
• To remove the stain, repeat the procedure using a different area of the cleaning cloth and a tiny quantity of solvent each time.
• After this procedure, don’t forget to hand wash, rinse, and let the clothing air dry.

 

10. Using a Vitamin C tablet

Try soaking the damaged area in a bowl of cold water with a vitamin C tablet if the aforementioned remedies fail to remove the stain. If you’re worried about a highlighter staining your clothes, you can also use lemon juice, but vitamin C is kind to fabrics and will stop color fading!

Wrapping Up!

When you next notice highlighter on your clothes, don’t freak out! You now have 10 quick ways to get highlighter out of clothes.

The stain can be readily removed by using laundry detergent, rubbing alcohol, vinegar, hand sanitizer, or hair spray. Additionally, useful are natural products like salt water or lemon juice. Optional commercial supplies include an ink remover and dry cleaning solution.