Kids love playing with everything they see inside your home. And highlighters have no exception. Whether you need to accomplish tons of paperwork or you are helping your children with their assignments, you will end up having highlighter pigments on your clothes.
Neon-colored highlighters are very noticeable on white clothes. Wearing stained garments will make you look less organized and messy. To keep your clothes free from different stains, you have probably typed How to get the highlighter out of clothes on Google multiple times.
Although the internet offers you several tips on how to get the highlighter out of clothes, most of them are less effective than others. Fortunately, you can find some of the most effective and practical ways to keep your clothes free from any stains using cleaning solutions readily available in your home.
Among the number of cloth-cleaning tips you can find on the internet, getting rid of highlighter stains on your clothes by using either ink removers, hand sanitizers, or even rubbing alcohol is the most effective.
You can also use dry-cleaning solution or quality laundry detergents to remove the stain. Other certified moms also claim that a combination of the baking solution, vinegar, and saltwater is effective for doing the work.
7 Practical Methods On How To Get Highlighter Out Of Clothes
You can remove any clothing stain using the right washing method and good products. To help you out, listed below are some of the most effective laundry hacks and products to get a highlighter out of your clothes.
Because some clothes may react to certain laundry detergents, you should first determine your clothes’ fabric type. For instance, if your garment is made with wool, rayon, silk, or other similar fabric, using laundry products that contain acetone is not recommended.
To ensure that the product will not cause any further damage to your clothes, make sure to let it sit at the back part of your shirt for a few minutes. If you didn’t notice any damage, you are good to go!
Baking Soda and Vinegar
A combination of baking soda or cornstarch and vinegar is a budget-friendly way to remove highlighter stains on clothes. However, this process may be time-consuming since you need to soak the clothes into the solution for 12 to 24 hours. Despite that, this is still an easy and cost-effective way of cleaning your stained clothes.
Beyond highlighter, you can also use this solution to remove various clothing stains, including grease, blood, and coffee stains.
Rubbing Alcohol
Another effective way of removing highlighter stains on your clothes is rubbing alcohol. This solution can dissolve any stains without causing any damage to the fabric.
You don’t need to soak the entire clothes to the solution compared to the first method. You need a cotton pad soaked in alcohol and placed in the stained area.
It would be best to use the solution in a well-ventilated area. In addition, make sure to wash your hands thoroughly after getting exposed to products with high alcohol content.
This is the best and easiest method of removing highlighter ink out of your clothes or in your couches. You don’t need to pour the entire bottle of alcohol to extract the stains. All you have to do is blot the alcohol and scrub the fabric gently.
Hair Spray
Who would have thought that a simple hairstyling product could be used for stain removal? Did you know that hair sprays can help you make an iconic hairstyle and remove undesirable stains on your clothes?
It would be best to use a hair spray that contains alcohol. This product works in common stains, including bright and very noticeable highlighter inks. Make sure to keep a hairspray handy, as this only works on freshly smeared stains.
Hand Sanitizers
Hand sanitizers are also a great product to eliminate undesirable stains on your clothes, including those caused by blood, ink, hot sauce, or even lipstick. This is a handy ink removal product, especially if you are away from a laundry shop.
Generally, hand sanitizers contain isopropyl and ethyl alcohol as their main ingredient. In line with that, using hand sanitizers to remove ink stains may not work well on some fabric types. So, keep in mind that this ink removal product will not work or damage clothes made with leather, suede, and silk.
Aside from that, using hand sanitizers on light and dark-colored clothes may show noticeable bleach spots.
Lemon Juice
If you want to switch to a more natural stain removal process, you may consider trying lemon juice. The high acidity level in lemon juice makes it ideal for removing some stains, including mildew, sweat, and highlighter ink.
Aside from that, lemon juice is also known for its robust whitening ability. With that in mind, this product is best to use for stained light-colored clothing.
Laundry Detergent
Any laundry detergent is a great way of removing ink stains, especially those water-soluble highlighters. You may be thinking that laundry detergent products may not do the trick. But, if you will directly put undiluted drops of detergent, you may notice that it will gradually lighten the stain.
Ink Remover
Ink remover is the most obvious and sought-after solution to remove highlighter stains. In line with that, it is ideal to use ink removers with soap-like qualities to remove the stain without causing damage to the fabric.
Some ink removal products in the market are cheap, while others are not. Although this is not the most cost-effective stain removal, it is the most effective process among all the tips mentioned. To keep your clothes stain-free, ensure to keep a small ink remover in your bag to be prepared for future ink spillage.
Final Thoughts
Removing highlighters on clothes is the most common question of many parents and office employees. Whether you are a worker or a mom, the ink removal tips listed above are proven effective and will not cause a dent in your pocket.
The next time you find highlighter stains on your clothes, all you have to do is to apply either rubbing alcohol, laundry detergent, hair spray, or hand sanitizer on the inked area.
