Help Removing Marker Stain On Carpet

Tiffani asked me this question about removing marker stain from carpet.

Question:

My son decided that it would be more fun to color on the carpet then paper with markers. Any suggestions on what I can use to get it out?

Taylor's Answer:

Tiffani, thanks for your question.

It never seems to fail, does it? You turn your back for just a moment and markers get all over the place. You did not mention whether the markers were permanent or water-based, like Crayola, for instance, but for the sake of this answer I am assuming they are the typical kinds of markers you let your kids play with, water based.

These types of markers are meant to be washable, but of course you can't actually wash your carpet.

The first thing I would do is a patch test on your carpet, in an inconspicuous area, to make sure whatever I suggest below works on your carpet without harming it.

I would get a clean white cloth and blot the carpet stain with rubbing alcohol. You will get a lot of transfer of marker ink onto the white cloth, so you want to keep switching to a clean area of the cloth often so you don't accidentally re-transfer marker ink back onto the carpet.

Once you have removed as much of the marker stain from the carpet using this method you should use a carpet stain remover to spot clean the carpet further. Hopefully this will remove the rest of the stain, and also the rubbing alcohol residue from your carpet.

Follow the instructions on the carpet stain remover thoroughly. Then, make sure to let the area of your carpet dry thoroughly, and only get your carpet as wet as possible to remove the stains. Here is a video on how to use carpet stain removal products that gives some tips and best practices for this process.

Does anyone else have any additional suggestions for Tiffani? If so, you can share your thoughts in the comments.

I have answered this question as part of the stain removal help section of the site. If you have a question, you can submit yours too, or read others I've already answered.

In addition, you can share your own marker removal stain tips here, or read others already submitted.

Photo by stevendepolo

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Taylor

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