A few months ago I tweeted and googled like crazy searching for a remedy for permanent marker on carpeting. Aidan had gotten ahold of a blue Sharpie permanent marker and drew smiley faces, his name, and lines all over our beige carpeting! It was of course in a spot that was in front of window and we couldn’t cover it up with furniture. So the only solution was to live with it, rip up the carpeting, or try to get rid of the stain. I read and got feedback from others on so many different ways, but nothing was working.
Then I tried Rubbing Alcohol and it worked! I used up what I had on the big mess but there was still a line left on the other end of the room that I kept forgeting to buy more rubbing alcohol for. So here are my Before and After pictures of the line:
All I did was pour the rubbing alcohol on the carpeting and let it sit for a few minutes then wiped it up with a washcloth. The rubbing alcohol dissolved the marker like MAGIC! Now of course if you are going to try this then spot test it on your carpeting just in case, but it worked for mine and honestly anything was better than the blue marker all over!
BEFORE
(I wish I would have gotten a picture of the big spot, but just imagine this line times 30!)
AFTER
karen M says
I will, it is leather seats! so will try on a smaller spot in the 3 rd row seats.
karen M says
Woot!! Thanks for sharing, will try to remember this.. I have marker on the car seats, someone left one out of their backpack and going to give it a try.
Cher says
Good luck! Remember to do a test spot first in case it messes with your fabric.
Kat Meller says
Congratulations on getting rid of the blue market “spot” although I don’t have little oes around, I will keep this in mind when I’m looking for something to remove stains – never thought of rubbing alcohol
Cher says
Worked like magic – although I would test it first if you ever have to use it because my carpeting was light beige so I don’t know if it would mess with the color of darker carpeting.
Betty Baez says
omg wow im glad i saw this my son has done the same to an area rug, but i’ve already replaced it. Good to know now
Cher says
I was desperate as it wasn’t carpeting we could replace!
Danielle S says
This is super! I wonder if this would work with Kool-Aid stains?
Shannon Wieneke says
Thanks for this great tip!!
Cher says
No problem, it was a lifesaver for us!