Dry Erase Marker Removal – How to Clean It From Walls Easily

This article lists eight simple methods for removing dry erase marker from clothing. You’ll learn why it’s so challenging to remove this kind of ink from fabric. You will finally discover how to deal with stains that have been embedded in clothing that has already been washed!

How damaging are clothing stains left by pens? How much worse is getting dry erase marker stains on clothing, if that’s already bad enough? I detest getting stains on my favorite shirts that seem impossible to remove. Fortunately, it’s simple to get dry erase marker out of clothes.

I’ve found four simple ways to remove dry erase marker from clothing. But first, let’s talk about why dry erase marker stains on cloth are so challenging to get rid of.

Why Water Can’t Remove Dry Erase Marker Stains?

Dabbing a wet cloth over a dry erase marker stain on clothing may be the most typical remedy. But this is ineffective.

Water cannot dissolve dry erase markers. It differs from wet-erase markers primarily in that way. Water-soluble dyes are used in the production of wet erase markers, which are designed for laminated or porous surfaces.

However, dry erase markers are not water-soluble. Its ink is made up of solvent- and release-agent-containing pigments. These minute colored flecks become tangled in the fabric when they come into contact with it. It’s challenging to extract them.

Does Dry Erase Marker Come Out of Clothes?

When used with the right solvent, dry erase marker ink can be removed from clothing. However, due to the unique oily polymer used in this kind of ink, dry erase marker stains are difficult to remove with soap and water.

The ink in dry erase markers, including those from Crayola and Expo, consists primarily of three components. Similar to permanent markers, this ink contains color pigment particles along with a solvent to carry them and a polymer to aid in their adhesion to a solid surface. Dry-erase ink is distinctive from other types of ink due to the type of polymer used in it.

An exclusive kind of polymer with an oily silicone plastic is used to create the ink for dry erase markers. Unlike the polymers in permanent marker ink, it will rest on surfaces but won’t adhere to or bond with them. On many surfaces, such as smooth glass or a whiteboard’s surface, it will instead effortlessly peel away!

The polymer will not necessarily be simple to remove from fabric, of course. It has the exact opposite result. A dry erase marker’s polymer and solvent cannot dissolve in water because they are not water-soluble. The color pigments in this type of ink adhere to cloth when it comes in contact with it, becoming embedded in the fibers of the fabric and remaining there even after being soaked in water.

Even in water, dry erase marker ink will float! You can observe the ink shapes rising to the surface of the water if you draw on a glass bowl, fill it with water, and then remove the bowl. This occurs because the oily silicone present in the thick dry-erase ink prevents it from dissolving in water like washable marker ink does.

You must use a substance that can actually dissolve the polymer and solvent, like alcohol, to remove this type of ink from fabric. Additionally, you can use items like OxiClean, which will change the pigments’ molecular structure and give the impression that the color has faded.

How to Get Dry Erase Marker Off Fabric

Use Murphy’s Oil Soap to blot the stain for the best results when trying to remove dry erase marker stains from clothing. These stains can also be removed using common household items like hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, or toothpaste. Some commercial cleaning products, such as OxiClean, and stain removers may also be effective.

Using Alcohol

This is possibly the best method for removing dry erase marker stains from clothing. It only needs paper towels, a sponge, and alcohol, items that are common in every home.

Here’s how to do this method:

Step 1: On a level surface, spread out some paper towels.

Step 2: Put the paper towels on top of the stained fabric.

Step 3: Use a sponge to apply rubbing alcohol all over the staining. Patience and gentleness are necessary for this step. An overly vigorous scrub may cause the stain to spread.

Step 4: As soon as they become wet, replace the paper towels. Paper towels ought to remove the stain.

Step 5: When there are no longer any stains visible on the cloth, keep going through the process again.

Step 6: Use clean water to give the fabric a thorough rinse.

Step 7: The fabric should be washed normally.

Why does alcohol function?

Dry erase markers contain pigments and solvents, as I already mentioned. Alcohol is frequently used as a solvent to dissolve color pigments. Alcohol effectively removes the stain from the fabric by dissolving the color pigments embedded in the fibers. The outcomes will be better the more concentrated the rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) is.

Toothpaste and Baking Soda

Try using toothpaste or toothpaste mixed with baking soda on the stain if you don’t have any cleaning supplies on hand! However, it does take some time with this approach.

The fabric can be effectively gritty into and worked out of those minute color pigments using toothpaste and baking soda. In fact, baking soda works well to remove many different kinds of stains.

1. Apply cool water to the stained area of your clothing to dampen it.
2. To remove the stain, apply toothpaste with a cotton ball or clean rag. A half teaspoon of baking soda can be added for extra impact to make the mixture more abrasive.
3. Give it an hour and a half to sit after you have thoroughly rubbed this into the stain.
4. Most toothpaste and baking soda can be removed by wiping with a fresh, damp paper towel.
5. Re-rinse the area with cool water.

Murphy’s Oil

Murphy’s Oil is a household name for anyone who takes housekeeping seriously. Any self-respecting homeowner will mention Murphy’s Oil if I were to ask them how they keep their house clean.

Here’s how to use this effective cleaning solution to remove dry erase markers from clothing.

Step 1: Spread out some paper towels on a flat surface.

Step 2: Put some Murphy’s Oil on an old toothbrush or a toothbrush that is not being used. Make certain that the oil is completely soaked into the toothbrush. Use a moist toothbrush to get the best results.

Step 3: Use the toothbrush to gently scrub the stain until suds appear.

Step 4: If more Murphy’s Oil is required, keep adding it.

Step 5: The stain will gradually fade if you continue to rub the cloth with the toothbrush.

Step 6: To remove the remaining stain, use clean water and dish soap. To remove the stain entirely, rub it with a sponge, fresh water, and mild dish soap.

Step 7: To remove the Murphy’s Oil and dishwashing soap, thoroughly rinse the fabric with clean water.

Step 8: Launder the cloth.

Hairspray

Depending on the ingredients in the hairspray, dry erase marker stains on clothing may occasionally be removed with hairspray. Alcohol used to frequently be an ingredient in hairspray in the past, but many contemporary brands no longer do.

Having said that, you can test out this technique in a pinch if you have a small bottle of hairspray in your purse.

1. As usual, you should put something behind the stain before starting this procedure.
2. Hairspray should be applied directly to the stain.
3. Use a damp sponge or wet paper towel to blot at the stain while the hairspray is still wet. The hairspray is working if you see the color smear onto the paper towel! If not, your hairspray might not have enough alcohol in it to function properly.
4. Rinse the stained area with running water after the majority of the color has been removed.

Hand Sanitizers for More Delicate Clothes

Numerous cleaning products and chemicals contain alcohol as an ingredient. Hand sanitizer is among the best at removing dry erase markers from clothing. Most hand sanitizers contain 60% alcohol. But compared to other alcohol-based products, hand sanitizers are kinder because they are designed to be used on hands.

Here’s how to use it to get dry erase marker out of fabric.

Step 1: Take care to dust the fabric. The dust may mix with the hand sanitizer and adhere to the cloth, giving the appearance of being soiled.

Step 2: Over the stain, squeeze some hand sanitizer. If the hand sanitizer is spread, there shouldn’t be more than what is required to cover the stain mark.

Step 3: Hand sanitizer should be applied with a fresh sponge. Be sure to spread it gently in a circular motion.

Step 4: Spend 15 minutes letting the hand sanitizer absorb into the stain.

Step 5: Use cold water to rinse the fabric.

Step 6: Repeat the procedure if the stain is not entirely removed.

Step 7: Wash the fabric as usual.

Hydrogen Peroxide

Any type of ink stain, including those from Expo markers, can frequently be removed with hydrogen peroxide! This common household item can uncolor ink stains but won’t remove the ink from the clothing. One of the primary components of most oxygen-based bleaches, including OxiClean, is hydrogen peroxide.

The chemical makeup of these stains is altered by hydrogen peroxide, which causes them to appear clear or white rather than colorful.

However, if the fabric is not colorfast, peroxide can bleach some types of clothing. As a result, before using peroxide on the stain, you should spot-test it on a hidden area of the garment.

1. Place your clothing in the washing machine after making sure it is colorfast.
2. Make use of your regular detergent, cold water, and a regular wash.
3. One cup of hydrogen peroxide should be poured into your machine’s bleach dispenser before you turn it on.
4. Completely execute the cycle.
5. Check to see if the stain is still there!

Dry Cleaner Fluid

I found that the same chemicals I use to clean my carpets can also be used to get dry erase marks off of clothing.

Step 1: The surface of the stained fabric should be treated with some carpet stain remover or dry cleaning fluid.

Step 2: Give it some time to settle.

Step 3: Use a sponge and clean water to rinse.

Step 4: Repeat if necessary.

Step 5: Wash the item as normal.

Hand Sanitizer

Alcohol, which can remove numerous ink stains, makes up the majority of hand sanitizers. If you spill Expo marker on your clothes while out in public, try removing the stain as soon as possible with a dab of hand sanitizer!

1. Directly on the stain, squirt a small amount of sanitizer. You only need enough to cover the marker ink’s surface.
2. For one minute, rub the sanitizer in circular motions using a fresh paper towel or cotton ball.
3. Give the sanitizer fifteen minutes to sit.
4. Avoid getting black water on other areas of the garment as you rinse the area with cold water.
5. Look to see if any dry erase ink is still present!

Important to Remember!

I always run a test run with any method I decide to use to remove dry erase marks from my clothes. I check to make sure the chemical I’m using won’t taint or harm the fabric. How do I do this?
For the test run, I use any extra fabric that was used to make the cloth. If I run out of fabric, I use a small, inconspicuous area of the one I have. This typically occurs near the armpit region of shirts. I use the reverse side of the cloth out of safety. I only use a tiny bit of the chemical to treat the area. I waited for it to settle to see if there would be any negative effects. I continue cleaning if there are none.

Laundry Detergent

Expo marker stains are typically not removed by washing your clothes, but occasionally, dabbing laundry detergent directly on a fresh stain will work. For this method, you’ll also need to put in some serious work.

1. Establish a flat surface that can be safely wet first. Perhaps you should work on a clean shower curtain or a plastic tablecloth that has been spread out on the floor or a table.
2. Over this area, spread a used towel.
3. Place your stained item so that the towel is covered by just the one layer of stained fabric.
4. Clean water should be sprayed into a spray bottle to dampen the item.
5. Directly onto the stain, apply about a teaspoon of laundry detergent.
6. Rub the stain vigorously using a clean sponge or cloth. There will be a lot of suds, but keep going!
7. Pause every so often to wipe the suds away and check to see if the ink is fading.
8. Rinse the item in cool water after you can no longer see any ink.
9. This will completely remove any residual detergent, so wash the item as usual.

Is Dry Erase Marker Permanent on Clothing?

If the right solvents are not used, a dry-erase marker will leave a permanent mark on your clothes. Dry erase marker stains will likely always be visible if ignored or simply washed in the washing machine.

However, by following the instructions in this article, you can quite easily get rid of Expo or Crayola dry erase marker stains. Murphy’s Oil Soap is probably the approach that works the quickest and best out of all those mentioned here. If you’re willing to put in the effort, you can successfully remove the marker stains using some other methods, which just require longer soaking times or more scrubbing.

How to Remove Dry Erase Marker from Clothes After Washing

After washing and drying clothes, it becomes much more difficult to remove dry erase marker stains, but you might still find the Murphy’s Oil Soap method to work. Most of the time, OxiClean or an oxygen bleach applied over a prolonged period of time will also remove tough, deeply embedded dry-erase ink stains.

Instead of seeing results right away as you would with a fresh stain, you will likely need to scrub and rinse the Murphy’s Oil Soap several times to remove an old dry-erase marker stain.

If you choose to use OxiClean or another oxygen bleach, you might need to soak the item in a water and bleach solution for one or two hours before you see any results.

These old ink stains probably won’t be removed by using an alcohol-based product like hairspray or hand sanitizer.

How to Get Marker Out of Clothes After Dryer

Using oxygen bleach, hydrogen peroxide, or murphy’s oil soap can sometimes help you remove marker from clothing even after it has been through the dryer.

Dry erase marker stains on clothing become much more difficult to remove once they have been exposed to the heat of the dryer. This is so that the dye can be bonded to the fabric by high heat. After that, many commonly used stain removers won’t work on it.

Even so, you might still find the Murphy’s Oil soap technique useful. Just give the soap a little more time—possibly an hour—to sit on the stain. To remove the stain, you might need to vigorously scrub with a clean brush.

Additionally, in some cases, color-bleaching products like Oxiclean and hydrogen peroxide will also work. Prior to using these items, be sure to test them on a concealed area of your clothing. As opposed to just the marker stain, you could also remove the entire color of the garment!

How to Remove Tough Dry Erase Stains

Use Murphy’s Oil Soap to get rid of tough dry-erase stains for the best results. Although using a floor cleaner to remove stains from clothing may seem strange, it actually works!

The steps for this procedure are listed earlier in this article. Apply soap to the stain, scrub it, and then rinse it out! You might need to let the soap soak into the stain for up to an hour to remove really tough stains.

Alcohol functions as a perfect solvent and is an effective stain remover for the majority of ink stains, including those from permanent markers. A different type of oilier polymer, however, is present in the ink of dry erase markers. This is why Murphy’s Oil Soap’s distinctive oil-based formula is so effective!

How to Remove Dry Erase Marker from Fabric Couch

Rubber alcohol works best to get rid of dry erase marker from a fabric couch.

The challenge with removing marker from upholstery is that most cleaning solutions cannot be rinsed out. Because of this, unless you have a slipcover that you can take off and wash in your washing machine, you shouldn’t use bleach or hydrogen peroxide. Murphy’s Oil Soap is also difficult to use because it might leave an oily residue on your couch.

For the majority of upholstery, you will need to dampen a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and gently blot the stain until the color comes away. Re-blot the area after letting a clean cloth soak in water.

Final Thoughts

I actually have a ton of successful techniques for removing dry erase marker from clothing. However, they all share one thing in common: they all drink. Each of my techniques pits the chemical make-up of dry erase ink against it. For strong fabrics, acetone nail polish and alcohol-based hairspray are additional options. I don’t worry about how I’m going to clean dry erase markers off my favorite clothes as long as I have alcohol.

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