How to Get Pen Ink Out of Clothes

This page is for fresh or still-untreated pen ink on washable clothing, before a wash or a dryer cycle has set it. If the ink has already been through the laundry, you are on a harder problem, and a different guide handles it.

Already washed, or washed and dried:

Heat and detergent drive ink deeper and set it into the fibers. Removal is still worth trying, but it takes more patient, repeated solvent work. The ink stains after drying guide covers that routine and honest expectations.

A pen went through the load and marked the dryer drum:

Baked-on ink on the drum keeps transferring to clean laundry until it is cleaned off. The ink in the dryer guide covers that cleanup and its appliance-safety rules.

Not all ink behaves the same way, and a trip through the dryer does not automatically make a stain permanent, so it is still worth reading on if you are not sure how set your stain is.

You need:

First, check the care label. If the item is dry-clean only, silk, wool, acetate, or another delicate fabric, do not start with rubbing alcohol. Alcohol can affect dyes, finishes, and some delicate fibers. A professional cleaner is safer for expensive or delicate items.

Before using rubbing alcohol, test it on a hidden area, such as an inside seam or inner hem. Dampen a white cloth with alcohol, press it against the fabric for a few seconds, and check whether color transfers to the cloth. If dye lifts, skip alcohol and use dish soap and cold water only.

If the ink stain is on pants, a shirt pocket, or a thin fabric layer, place a towel behind the stain before treating. Ink can bleed through to the other side of the garment if there is nothing underneath to catch it.

If a pen went through the washer:

If you washed a pen with your clothes, do not put the load in the dryer. Separate the stained items and treat the worst spots first.

For small ink marks, use the rubbing alcohol method above with a towel behind each stain. For many tiny spots across multiple items, work in batches: treat the most visible areas, rinse, then wash the stained items again in cold water.

Also check the washer drum for ink marks before running another load. Wipe any visible ink with rubbing alcohol on a cloth, then run an empty rinse or cleaning cycle if needed.

If the ink already went through the dryer:

Dried or heat-exposed ink is harder to remove, but it may still improve. Use the same rubbing alcohol method, but expect to repeat it several times.

Work slowly: blot with alcohol, move the towel, rinse, and check. If the stain gets lighter but does not disappear, repeat before washing again. Do not keep adding heat until you are satisfied with the result.

Some ink stains that have gone through the dryer may leave a shadow, especially on light fabric.

Pen ink on jeans, khakis, and other pants comes out with the same method as any washable garment: backing cloth behind the stain, small amounts of the right solvent, blot and move. Two things about heavy fabrics deserve extra care.

First, denim's dense weave holds ink deeper than a t-shirt does. Give the solvent a little longer to work, keep swapping to clean sections of the backing cloth, and expect an extra round rather than pressing harder.

Second, indigo and other dark pants dyes can transfer during treatment. Always test rubbing alcohol on a hidden spot first, like the inside hem or a back seam. If blue comes off on the cloth, blot gently instead of working the solvent in, and stop while the fabric still looks even.

If the mark is permanent marker rather than pen ink, the Sharpie on jeans guide covers the denim-specific version of the solvent technique. And if the pants already went through the dryer, start with the ink after drying guide instead; heat-set ink needs the more patient routine.