How To Get Tattoo Ink Out of Clothes – 8 Easy Method In 2023

When you are out getting a tattoo or doing the tattoo yourself, there might be times that the tattoo ink gets spilled on your clothes. It could be as the tattoo ink drips from the needles and it spills on your clothes. Or it spills when you are moving the tattoo ink cups. Even a new tattoo will leak and it gets on your clothes as a result.

So how to get tattoo ink out of clothes? There are many ways that you can do this. Easy homemade remedies such as baking soda, vinegar, water, and soap can be used. Weird methods using beauty products like nail polish remover and hairspray are viable too. Of course, commercial household cleaners can be used. It is important to know how to use them to remove tattoo ink from your clothes.

Key Takeaways

• You can spill tattoo ink on your clothes in many ways. For example, spilling the ink cups or a new tattoo leaking.
• 8 methods of using everyday products that you can easily find in your household to help remove tattoo ink from your clothes.
• Synthetic and natural fibers have differences in how they stain, but the pigments in tattoo ink are able to stain them both.

8 ways To Get Tattoo Ink Out of Clothes

1. Isopropyl Alcohol

Isopropyl alcohol is probably the best method of action against spilled tattoo ink. It acts as a solvent and mixes with the ink, making it easier to separate from your clothes. Remember when you use isopropyl alcohol you only blot the stain. Do not rub the ink stain or you will risk making it worse.

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Steps to follow

1. Wash your stained clothes in warm water (follow instructions on the garment for machine washing)
2. Dampen a rag with the isopropyl alcohol
3. Blot the ink stain, don’t rub the stain
4. Repeat step 2 until the ink fades (this could take about 10 to 15 minutes)
5. After getting the tattoo ink off, wipe with a clean rag to remove traces of alcohol

Pros and Cons

2. Nail Polish Remover

The acetone present in nail polish is what makes it a good stain remover. It works to break down the physical components in the tattoo ink and make a suspension that is easier to remove than the actual tattoo ink itself.

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Steps to follow

1. Wash your stained clothes in warm water (follow instructions on the garment for machine washing)
2. Slightly soak a cotton ball with the acetone-based nail polish remover. Do not completely soak it
3. Cover the ink stain with a few soaked cotton balls. Use as many as required to cover the ink spill
4. After a couple of minutes, gently rub the area with the soaked cotton balls. Do not squeeze it and drip acetone on the carpet
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until the tattoo ink is removed
6. Wipe the area with a warm damp cloth. You could also wash your cloth again in a cold wash to remove traces of acetone

Pros and Cons

3. Baking Soda and Vinegar

Vinegar and baking soda are your go-to home remedies for ink stains. When it comes to tattoo ink, the quicker you use this combination the better! Baking soda is made of sodium bicarbonate that reacts with the ink and creates a clear solution that can be easily removed.

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Steps to follow

1. Wash your stained clothes in warm water (follow instructions on the garment for machine washing)
2. Mix baking soda and white vinegar until they form a paste.
3. Smear the paste on the ink stain with a toothbrush. Let it sit until it dries
4. Wash your clothes in lukewarm water

Pros and Cons

4. Spot Stain Remover

Spot stain removers like OxiClean are what you want to remove stains. It uses non-bleaching ingredients to help remove the stain from your carpet. The key is to pre-treat the garments and then wash them to remove the tattoo ink.

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Steps to follow

1. Apply the spot remover on the stain with the spray and let it sit there for 5 minutes
2. Wipe the stained area with a wash sponge
3. Wash your pre-treated stained clothes in warm water (follow instructions on the garment for machine washing)
4. Use a machine dryer (as per instruction on the cloth) or air/hang dry

Pros and Cons

5. Detergent + Water

When in doubt, a soap and water combination is your best friend. It gets to the root of the ink stain and works to slowly break it down to remove it.

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Steps to follow

1. Mix detergent and warm water together in a large bowl. Use a detergent appropriate for your clothes’ fabric
2. Soak your stained cloth in the bowl for 15 to 30 minutes. Regularly swirl your cloth in the water
3. Inspect the ink stain and use a cloth brush to rub it
4. Air dry after the ink has faded

Pros and Cons

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6. Hair Spray

This is another unconventional method but a hair spray will work, I promise! The alcohol in most hair spray is just like isopropyl alcohol so it works similarly to remove the tattoo stain.

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Steps to follow

1. Spray the area with your hair spray and leave it there for up to 10 minutes. Make sure to completely cover the stain
2. Start blotting the stain
3. Once the stain fades, wash your pre-treated stained clothes in warm water (follow instructions on the garment for machine washing)

Pros and Cons

7. Bleaching Products

Saving the best for last, bleaching products can remove everything. It is especially good for leaked ink from your new tattoo which has plasma, blood, and tattoo ink combined.

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Steps to follow

1. Mix 2 tablespoons of bleach for every half liter of water inside the spray bottle
2. Apply the mixture on the stain with the spray and let it sit there for 5 minutes
3. Wipe off using the cloth.
4. After it is removed, rinse the area with cold water and let it air dry.
5. Thoroughly wash your cloth before wearing them again

Pros and Cons

8. Hydrogen Peroxide

When all hope fails, there is one last resort you can try: hydrogen peroxide. It can work to remove almost any ink from any surface. But is very damaging as a result.

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Steps to follow

1. Add a tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide solution to the spray bottle and mix it with water
2. Spray the area of the stain and leave it there for 5 minutes
3. When the ink is removed, wipe the area with a cloth and cold water
4. Wash the cloth thoroughly before wearing it again

Pros and Cons

Tattoo Ink on Synthetic Vs Natural Fibers

When tattoo ink touches your clothes, it often stains them with the heavy metals present. These get into your clothes and stay there. What you see as the stain is basically the metallic pigments such as iron or titanium oxides. These cause heavy stains and are harder to remove. The difference lies in what type of cloth fiber is being stained: synthetic or natural fibers.

Synthetic fibers are more stain-resistant and water-resistant than natural fibers. This makes them harder to stain, but the pigments will more than likely leave a stain behind anyways. The fact that synthetic fibers are water-resistant means that most of the water-based methods mentioned might not be the best. They need stronger remedies but that also has the potential to harm them!

Unlike synthetic fibers, natural fibers are easier to clean and are not damaged by heat. This makes cleaning tattoo ink off natural fiber clothes easier than synthetic fibers. So if you get tattoo ink on your synthetic fiber clothes, then make sure you act fast and remove the stain as quickly as possible!

FAQs

Which tattoo ink is the hardest to remove from clothes?

It depends on how what pigments are made of. If they are made with inert and non-soluble materials like titanium oxide (found in green and white ink) will be much harder to remove than others.

How do you get ink out of clothes that have been dried?

For tattoo ink stains that are dried, you will need stronger chemicals found in commercial products to help remove them. But make sure that the ingredients are safe to use on your clothes as they can either discolor, weaken, or completely damage the fiber.

Can hand sanitizers help in removing tattoo ink from my clothes?

The primary ingredient in most hand sanitizers is either ethanol or isopropyl alcohol. So yes, you could use hand sanitizer to remove tattoo ink from clothes. However, the concentration might not be high enough to completely remove the tattoo ink.

Final Thoughts

The key to tattoo ink removal from your clothes is all about swiftness. The faster you act the easier it is to help remove the ink. Once it dries up, it will become even harder to remove the stain, requiring stronger chemicals to do so. But these stronger chemicals might end up weakening the fabric, possibly even destroying your clothes in the process! It is important to know which method will work best and I hope the ones that I have listed can help you when tattoo ink does spill on your clothes!

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