Did the kiddos get a little “creative” with their coloring? Cleaning things up isn’t so hard with this tip:
- Try covering the stains with toothpaste then scrub off with a damp cloth (just plain–not the gel kind). I’ve tried this on wood paneling, painted walls and even a porcelain doll face.
Works like a charm for me, but didn’t work out so well for you? No worries, there’s a list of more ideas for removing stubborn marker scribbles below.
First, this is an experiment I tried on a wood table which had old permanent marker stains. Another several years old abuse. I decided to try toothpaste and they lifted quite nicely.
What I Did: I simply rubbed some in, left it for a minute or two and then took a soapy, wet dishcloth (excess water squeezed out) and rubbed out the stains going with the direction of the grain of the wood. I had to apply some pressure, but it worked!
Caution: Be careful about using toothpaste, make sure to choose a regular kind that doesn’t contain any abrasives. Especially when working on items with a fine finish (such as wood furniture) since you don’t want to scratch the surface.
Update:
Here are more helpful tips I’ve organized from readers in the comment area below (for use on wood, walls, floors, clothing–all kinds of things):
- Color over spot with a dry erase marker, wipe it off and it should pull up the ink too.
- Try erasing with a pencil eraser.
- Spray sunscreen over top (don’t leave on wood too long or there may be damage).
- Apply a bit of hair spray.
- Spray insect repellent over the ink.
- Mix 3/4 cup household ammonia with 1 quart water and soak the clothing or laundry item in the solution (tie up the pail of cleaner with the clothing in a plastic garbage bag for 24 hrs).
- Wipe them away with baby wipes.
- Hand sanitizer gel rubbed into the spot then washed away does a nice job.
Have I missed your tried & true remedy? Please share it in the comments section below!
sure did, check out this page for a discussion about that: thriftyfun.com, lots of info there about your problem. Good luck!
I’m freakin’ out right now. My 2 year old just learned how to draw spiders and is so proud of herself. The other day she was drawing and decided the paper was boring and drew spiders all over our expensive maple coffee table with black permanent marker. After reading here I’m gonna’ try the toothpaste but I just discovered that she also drew ALL over our 65 inch big screen on the actual screen. I’m scared to try toothpaste on that. Any tips? Also, for those needing to get marker off of walls, etc. try the Magic Eraser bar in the cleaning aisle at the store. They are incredible and take anything off of walls, no kidding. They’re amazing. Make sure you read the instructions and get it just the right amount of damp.
Mr.Clean magic eraser doesnt work with permanent marker on the walls. Tried it several trys will try the tooth paste though
On the tv screen try spraying on deodorant the rubbing it off with a soft tissue. It totally works!!!!!
My daughter wrote on brand new plastic chair just purchased from IKEA. Sunscreen worked great to remove this permanent marker! Thanks so much for the tip!!
I buy alot of stuff from the local Salvation Army Thrift Store and small appliances(food processors, blenders etc..) and lamps are priced with permanent marker; the sunscreen worked great! I might put a note on the shelves where these things are displayed! Can’t be the only one with the secret (:
Omg thanks sooo much I got permanent marker on the computer desk while my mom was out and I freaked out and I searched for how to get it off, found this, tried it and it came off in seconds, before my mom got home! Thank you soooo much you saved me from getting in ALOT of trouble!
Just tried the spray sunscreen to remove permanent marker from my wood cabinets. Worked perfectly!!
Thanks for that tip.
Thank goodness for the advice on the site! My 3 yr old girl drew with black permanent marker all over our flat screen laptop. Toothpaste and water got it right out. Thanks for the tip!!
i tried every thing and the only thing that worked on that marker stain is sunscreen it might sound stupid but it helps try it.
I tried the toothpaste when my son decided to draw on my wall with a black sharpie….it didn’t work for me. I decided to try Kecia’s idea to use mosquito spray. The marker just dripped right off the wall onto the paper towel, thanks so much. I don’t know what I would have done if I couldn’t have found something that worked (probably would have painted over it). Thanks again.
Had some magic marker on metal and plastic electronic parts. Toothpaste did work but required alot of elbow grease as well. Off skintastic worked like magic, much better. As for the pesticide comment above???? If it is safe enough for your skin it can’t possibly damage your electronics! (ha ha)
I can not believe it. My daughter just covered my laptop and my desk in black sharpie and glass wipes wouldn’t do anything to it some toothpase and a damp rag cleaned both. Amazing!!!!
I used toothpaste on my satin finish kitchen table to remove red marker. The toothpast worked, but I now have a shiny area and it doesn’t match the rest of the finish. I used toothpaste, not gel and without whitening. I tried alcohol to remove any remaining toothpaste. Any suggestions on getting back to the original finish?
Try some mineral oil Margo, rubbing that in might just do the trick.
How can I get permanent marker off of carpet?
My boyfriend’s nephew accidentally got permanent marker on our new table. [wood] My boyfriend looked up how to remove it on this website and we didn’t believe that the toothpaste would work. We tried it just as a joke and I can’t believe that it REALLY came off!!! I agree with April…Toothpaste really is my new best friend! lol
Vindictive ex-boyfriend used permanent marker all over computer screen and mousepad. Toothpaste worked for monitor, but not mousepad. I also tried nail polish remover, no luck. THANKS FOR ANY HELP!
I saw something on Utube about removing permanent marker..I couldnt believe it, aerosal hairspray took the marker off, Ipods, cell phones, etc.. I tried it on my lighswitch plate my son decided to “decorate” and it sprayed right off!!!!
Vandals used a permanent marker on my car’s tinted window’s. Any safe ideas to remove?
Thanks
Wow! That’s amazing! I just bought a new wood desk and I was circling things in a catalogue with a permanent marker and I dropped it! I was so upset! But then I saw this and I tried it and now my desk looks brand new again!! I am so happy! Thanks!!!!!
My two year old called my name to show me her “artwork.” I was greeted with black sharpie on wooden french doors, on our tan dog, her shirt, on my classic acoustic guitar and on cream colored carpet. Of most concern was my guitar. I tried with a damp rag and nothing. Then found this site and tadah! with Aquafresh white toothpaste it worked like a charm on the two surfaces. Now I need to try the carpet. And later we can give the dog a bath. Wish me luck!
I tried everytyhing I could possibly think of today to get blue permanent marker off of my walls, desk, wood floor, kitchen cabinents, etc. Nothing worked better that Cutter Mosquitoe Spray…it did not get the3 marker off of my interior trim though…any suggestions
My son colored on our brand new table with permanent marker, i was worried and the toothpaste worked like a charm! Im so relieved!
Actually, my brother drew all over the table with sharpie, and we used crest toothpaste to get it out with a wet damp rag, it works perfectly! Thank you so much!
How do I remove black permenant marker from concrete? Having an open house in 2 days!!! Help!!!!!!!!!!!! Melissa
just keep drawing with the marker until it turns into a beautiful work of art!
It WORKED!!!!
My 4 year old wrote in marker all over my Mac computer & I couldn’t get it out. The toothpaste did the trick- whoever posted that tip- THANK YOU!!
My 2 yo daughter discovered our hiding place for sharpie markers and colored all over our new oak kitchen table. My husband FREAKED! I immediately found your website and tried the toothpaste. It worked taking off the initial black marks but still the shadow of the marker was left. So then I saw the posts about spray sunscreen and insect repellent. I used both and now you can’t see anything at all. My husband thanks all of you!
My 13 year old daughter had alittle attitude problem and wrote all over my deep freezer with permenant marker. Tried paint thinner and alcohol, nothing worked. Found this website and tried it with toothpaste. It took a little while to come off, but it worked. Thanks
While I was putting my son to bed, my 3 year old daughter found a permanent marker and colored on my brand new dark wood night stand! My husband is going to kill me. I tried the toothpaste but it did nothing, now I have permanent marker and looks almost oily where I tried rubbing it. Any suggestions. PLEASE HELP!!!
OH my! I’m the director of a daycare center and one of the kids got a hold of a permanent marker and had a blast all over our white cabinets. We just so happened to have spray on sunscreen and it worked WONDERS!!! Took it off with practically no effort! I’m sharing this tip with all the parents 🙂
I had my apartment broken into and “tagged” by some lame ass wanna be “gangstas”. They took permanent marker to my 19″ flat lcd computer screen. Before going out and buying a new screen i thought i’d do a quick search. tooth paste? What do i have to lose right? Saved me at least $100 in buying a used monitor.
Toothpaste worked like a charm on my computer desk, computer monitor, and entertainment stand. Spray sunscreen worked perfect on the walls!!!! (My two year old went on a sharpie rampage!)
THANK YOU!!
We (probably me, truth be told) decorated my kids wood dresser with one of those gel decals designed for glass. The color has stained the wood. (nice black skeleton head.) I have tried the toothpaste and sunscreen tips above (and bleach, and magic eraser, and softscrub w/ bleach) to to avail.
Any additional ideas? Thanks.
Mr Clean Magic Eraser works great to take sharpie pen off walls. I tried bleach, toothpaste, sunscreen etc but as soon as I used the Magic Eraser it came off. Just wet the eraser and it works!!! Yay!
Is there a way to get permanent marker off of plastic?
I got some marker on a pair of fake glasses on accident.
i have white semi gloss paint on the walls, which has now been decorated with a black sharpie. unfortunately, none of your wonderful ideas have worked!!!
please, any chance you have one more tip that you have not shared yet? i will be very grateful!
necessity is the mother of invention. since i did not hear back from you with a tip that would work, i had to figure out something…
thus, i combined everything that was mentioned…i first applied toothpaste and let it sit for a couple of hours. then i took nail polish remover combined with cleanser and scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed even harder. then i took the mr. clean eraser to get the fine black marks that were left.
each one of these things alone did not work, but in consort, they did the job. it is amazing how many people have been faced with the same challenge.
if any one is reading this, i did want to know what you did after you put on all these things and cleaned up the marker. as i said above, i used many things to get it off, and now i smell toothpaste. should i just use water to try to wash off all the products?
thanks in advance for any suggestions
I’ve used a mild detergent with water to wash off all the toothpaste and have never had any troube with the smell or any residue Dr. J.
i am doing a science project for school and i have to find out which products remove permanent marker the best what 3 products r the best to use on egg shell painted walls and semi-gloss painted walls???
the toothpaste is awesome. my 22mounth old got a bold tip blue sharpee & drew all over my white desk & Apple flat LCD screen. I used Colgate Total white paste toothpaste NO RUBBING. I gobbed it on thick, waited 10min & used 50 wet paper towels so that if it smuges I only wiped gently. My screen is fine– no residue no marks & he really drew all over the screen & side panels & keyboard. Whew, I am at total falt, no more makers in this house.
Just wondering if you had any ideas on how to remove marker pen from the interior dash of a car. Im pretty sure its vinyl (black) but it has a pattern through it(not entirely flat). Will toothpaste do the trick or will it do more damage?
Quinton I *think* it would be ok to use on vinyl, but you should test on a hidden spot first just to make sure.
Ok, just tried toothpaste on my flatscreen computer moniter, my 1yr old did a little sharpie scribbling!! It worked!!! Thank you, I’ve been living with it for weeks because I was too scared to try anything on it. Thanks again.
After using everything in my house to try to get out a sharpie all over my microfiber couch, I resorted to looking on the internet on how to remove magic marker and the tips were great. I thought about going to Walmart to try to find something before the stain set in but I tried the insect repellent and it worked. Some spots I had to use some muscle and scrub and I am sure if I let some spots soak I wouldn’t of had to tried so hard. My couch, the ottomen and chair almost look better than when I first bought them. The insect repellent also worked on an ink pen spot that has been on the couch for months and I couldn’t get out. With the ink, no scrubing at all, it just came out.
Thanks so much, I am going to refer this site to all of my friends.
Hello,
Just a tip: AXE brand deoderant spray gets sharpie marker RIGHT OFF. My brother had drawn all over his dresser, and then my mom sprayed it on the sharpie spot, and it was gone! Also, it takes sharpie right off mirrors as well.
If anyone gets Ball point pen on Microfiber furniture, make sure to use Hand Sanitizer, found at most Grocery stores, as it worked awesome.
Be careful with Hand Sanitizer, though! My kids squirted some in my living room and it took the finish off my coffee table and my fake stone fireplace hearth! It does work to remove stains from fabrics and carpets, but make sure you test in an inconspicuous place first!
TOOTHPASTE!?!? Who’d a thought! Thanx SO much! My 2 yr. old drew on my brand new $700 coffee tables with a blue sharpie! I was panicked! My husband would have FLIPPED! Now he’ll never have to know…
Hand sanitizers, those little bottles of gel like Purell or the kind from Bath & Body Works, are freakin’ MIRACULOUS for removing permanent ink/ sharpies— it practically melts right off! Kinda scary how well this works . . .
wrote a pc code down on paper with a red sharpie which bled through the paper… sensodyne toothpaste removed it like a charm…thanks.
I’ve been housesitting and my son accidently got permanent black marker all over my Uncles beautiful wooden desk. I did the toothpaste trick and thought, this isn’t going to work.So I waited 2 minutes then rubbed it with the soapy cloth, without too much effort and it came off. Thank goodness, he’s back tomorrow.
So thanks for the tip. Brilliant!!
I fell asleep for like a second. My 4 yr old nephew wrote all over the walls, refrig, my coffee table my son just made for me, the doggie door, and the carpet. The toothpaste worked great on most of it…now what do I do about the carpet? He said he wanted to “name” everything.