Ink stains: 
Nothing but trouble

by Jeff Cross

There's nothing worse than applying a solvent to a tiny ink spot and watching it grow into the size of a golf ball - or larger.

And who is to blame? The person applying the solvent.

Ink stains, because of the "hidden" reservoir of potentially staining materials, are a challenge for carpet and furniture cleaners.

Most beginning cleaners simply look at ink and say: "No problem. All I need is a strong solvent."

Five minutes later they are wishing they chose an easier career, like breaking rock with a sledgehammer for new roads.

Simply having the knowledge that ink spreads faster than bad news means you can prepare yourself and prevent this from happening.

Remember that even the tiniest amount of ink has the potential to grow 100 times its size - and even bigger.

Containment is key

Containing ink from spreading can be compared to your work in water damage restoration.

Water damage restoration technicians know that moisture likes to move to dry areas.

Think of applying a few drops of water to a dry paper towel.

The water hits the towel and immediately spreads out, searching for dry material to contaminate.

That's what ink does. As you "release" the ink, transferring it from a relative solid into a fluid, it searches out dry material: The dry, currently unstained area of fiber around the ink becomes stained.

This is where containment is important.

Here's how to stop this from happening

Surround the ink stain with a barrier.

By doing this, you are creating a surrounding area that doesn't attract the ink. Filling the fibers with moisture means the ink will not spread as easily.

Water will work as a barrier, but even better is a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and ammonia.
 
Most recommend mixing the peroxide and ammonia 50/50, but often only a few drops of ammonia will work.

Remember, the ammonia is the accelerant for the peroxide. It's the peroxide that is going to be doing the work in the ink stain removal.

If you are cleaning a natural fiber — typically found in furniture — then skip the ammonia. The ammonia is a high pH chemical, and can cause damage to natural fibers such as wool, cotton, linen and others.

Once the ink spot is surrounded with a barrier, apply a solvent to dissolve the ink. As the ink wants to spread, don't allow it.

Take an eyedropper and "push" the ink back to the middle with your peroxide barrier.

Extract often.

Keep repeating this process until the ink is gone.