It seems like no matter what you do and no matter how hard you try to avoid it, it’s inevitable: pen ink will get on your beautiful leather or fabric car seats. You might forget to cap a pen sticking out of your back pocket, resulting in an impromptu scribbling session on the seat behind you; or your kid in the backseat may sneak a pen from their backpack and draw all over your brand new leather seats. Whatever the reason, it can be frustrating and even scary to see your car seats covered in ink from a pen: but you don’t necessarily have to panic. The following guide will help you remove ink stains from your leather or fabric car seats without having to take them to a car detailing Ottawa company. (Caveat: Some stains may be too tough to tackle on your own, in which case you may seek out the services of an auto detailing Ottawa company for best results.)
Before you begin, it’s important to note that the sooner you can handle the stain, the better. Don’t leave the stain sitting for days before you go about removing it, as this will make it much harder to get good results.
Removing Ink from Leather Seats
Leather is a very soft material, so avoid using anything abrasive and be as gentle as possible while you attempt to remove the ink. The first thing you need to do is dab the ink stain gently; the goal here is to soak up the ink and prevent most of it from settling into the leather. Then, use a leather-friendly stain remover on the remaining stain; baking soda, vinegar, and rubbing alcohol are ideal choices. Once you’ve removed all traces of the stain, you need to wipe up all the stain remover, then apply a leather conditioner afterwards to protect the leather seats.
Removing Ink from Fabric Seats
Fabric is not as sensitive as leather, but you need to be careful not to work too hard, as this may result in the ink stain settling into the fabric. First, you need to dab the ink stain with a towel; again, the goal is to soak up as much loose ink as possible first. Then, you can use a lightly dampened cloth and dab it gently to remove what wasn’t soaked up by the initial towel. If there is still ink left, it’s time to use a stain remover; rubbing alcohol is preferred for fabric seats, but make sure you test it out on a small area first. Use this until the stain is removed, then wipe up the stain remover with cold water. Repeat if necessary.
If you can’t completely remove the ink stains, you will want to consult with one of our car detailing experts at our professional car detailing Ottawa shop to see if there is anything that can be done to remove the stains further. Most of the time our industrial-grade cleaning equipment can get even the toughest and deepest stains out of your car fabrics.