Using a ballpoint pen is an integrated part of everyone’s daily life. However, using a ballpoint regularly means that eventually some of the ink from that pen will make it onto the clothing that you wear. When this occurs, there are several way that the ink can be taken out of the fabric in order for a cleaner, more attractive article of clothing.
Because t-shirts are made from cotton, the ink is easily absorbed into the t-shirt. But, cotton is also easy to wash and it’s possible to get just about any stain out of it. Ballpoint pen ink is generally fairly easy to wash out of a garment. If you want to get the ink out quickly and easily, try washing it along with the other laundry as usual. Use a fast washing speed to make sure to get out as much ink as possible.
After the washing machine cycle is over, take out the t-shirt and check it thoroughly. If there are still any signs of the ink on the t-shirt, either wash it again or find another method to get rid of the ballpoint ink. Don’t put it into a dryer yet, as this will set the remaining ink into the fabric and make it much more difficult to wash the ink out.
Try to remove the ink by hand if the washing machine isn’t effective. This can by done by putting the ink-stained portion of the t-shirt under hot water and letting the water run through the stain for a few minutes. This should loosen up the remaining ink from the fabric. If it doesn’t, try rubbing the ink-stained area back and forth against itself while holding it under the running hot water. After a minute or two, the ink should have disappeared.
Sometimes using some type of soap can help the stain to come out of the fabric faster. You might try a little bit of liquid laundry detergent while using this rubbing method. Liquid hand soap or liquid dishwashing detergent has also been known to help with this type of ink stain.
If the ink stain is older and you’re still having trouble getting it out, try spraying a little hairspray on the stain. Let het hairspray sit on the stain for a few minutes and then try the rubbing method to get it out of the t-shirt. Then, just wash the t-shirt as you normally would in order to get the hairspray out of the fabric.
With a white t-shirt, using a little bit of nail polish remover can also be effective. It is a strong substance, however, and it can stain even a white t-shirt if too much is used. If the ink stain is on a white shirt, using a small amount of bleach from a bleach pen should take out any ink that has remained from the other methods. A bleach pen lets you to apply bleach with precision and to avoid having to wash the entire garment with it.