How to Remove Ink From a Leather Sofa

Leather is virtually maintenance-free as a furniture covering, but ink from a ballpoint pen can be particularly hard to remove. Ink marks are certainly easier to remove than a rip, however. Follow these steps to remove those pesky stains various upholstery.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Leather Master brand Leather Cleaner
• Shampoos For Normal Hair
• Cotton Swabs
• Soft Cloth

1. Work on removing the stain as soon as you discover it. Dried ink is especially difficult to get out, unless you act quickly.

2. Blot the stain with a soft dry cloth or cotton ball.

3. Moisten another cloth and clean lightly with circular movements. Dry the surface with a soft cloth.

4. Try a little saddle soap or another leather cleaner, but first read the label regarding its safety for use on your particular kind of leather. You may also try removing the stain with lukewarm water and shampoo.

5. Contact the manufacturer for a remedy for the type of ink used - the company may sell its own solvent.

Tips & Warnings

• Traditional wisdom recommends treating ink stains with milk or tomato. Cover the stain with a little milk or rub it with the cut side of a half a tomato. Take more care with the tomato remedy, as tomatoes contain some acidity. Rinse either treatment well.
• Avoid any kind of cleaner or detergent, unless it's specified for the particular sofa or particular leather, as it could harm the leather.

[sqeakyK30]

on 12/21/2008 My son scribbled black ink on my beige leather couch, I was so upset. I scrubed the stains with dishwashing liquid it didn't come clean. So I took a washcloth put some rubbing alcohol on the stains what do you know, Im happy to say there are nomore ink stains on the couch, Talk about relived

[POBOLYCWM]

on 5/24/2008 I JUST NOTICED INK MARKS ON MY BRAND NEW SOFA AND TRIED ALL SORTS TO GET IT OFF. THE ONLY THING THAT SEEMED TO WORK WAS MY SONS JEAN PAUL GAUTIER COLOGNE. IM SO PLEASED IT CAME OFF

[DIVA1970]

on 5/4/2008 WELL MY 4 YEAR OLD SCRIBBLED ON HERSELF INCLUDING MY WHITE LEATHER SOFA I WAS VERY UPSET. SO I TOOK HER A BATH AND NOTICED AFTER THE BATH THE INK WAS STILL ON HER SKIN. SO AFTER SEVERL BATHS LATER THE INK FINALLY WAS REMOVED FROM HER SKIN. AS FOR MY COUCH I USED A MIXURE OF BAKING SODA AND WATER AND BEGAN TO CLEAN AND NOTICED THE INK WAS STILL THERE SO IT TOOK ME 4 DAYS 10 MINUTES EACH DAY TO REMOVE THOSE INK STAINS FROM MY COUCH. MY POINT IS LEATHER IS LIKE SKIN, IT CAN TAKE SEVERAL DAYS TO REMOVE THE INK FROM YOUR LEATHER.

[Grangejonesy]

on 12/8/2007 Tried various of these methods but still did not remove. However,used ordinary ladies hair spray. Hey presto it came off on to a clean cloth

[valdan16]

on 11/1/2007 hair spray did the trick beautifully