10 Clever Hacks to Remove Permanent Marker from Any Surface

Using permanent marker can be risky—one small slip up and something gets ruined. Wrong! Here, you'll find 10 effective ways to remove permanent marker when it ends up on unintended surfaces in your home.

Laminate Countertop

To carefully remove permanent marker from laminate surfaces without harming the finish or leaving a cloudy residue, just reach into your pantry! Regular vegetable oil works perfectly. 

Clothing

Before tossing your permanent marker-stained clothes into the trash, try dabbing the spot with hairspray that contains alcohol. It will help to break down the stain more aggressively than your normal laundry detergent. Let the hairspray sit on the stain for several minutes before washing in the washing machine.

Couch & Chair Cushions

Accidentally getting permanent marker on your upholstery may seem like a disaster, but sprinkling some baking soda on the mark and scrubbing it with a toothbrush will do the trick. Repeat this simple process until the stain is fully removed. 

Walls

Lemon is a well-known natural cleaner for your home, and lemon essential oil is great for removing permanent marker on painted walls. The acidic lemon and oil work together to gently coax the stain off of the surface without removing the paint. Plus it smells great!

Leather

Permanent marker can be easily removed from leather surfaces using distilled white vinegar. Let the vinegar sit on the stain for a few minutes to ensure that it penetrates. Then wipe off the stain with a damp cloth and circular motions. 

Whiteboard

Accidentally using a permanent marker on a whiteboard is a common mistake, and it’s actually easy to fix. To remove the stain, color over the permanent marker stain with a whiteboard marker, and it should easily wipe away with a whiteboard eraser. Bonus tip: This trick also works to remove permanent marker from stainless steel appliances!

Skin

Ever have a Sharpie leak on your hands while writing? It’s frustrating, for sure, but it’s also easy to erase with makeup remover wipes. Simply rub the wipes in a circular motion over the stain to lift the stain off of the skin. Another option is standard rubbing alcohol, but that may irritate sensitive skin.

Carpet

Removing permanent marker from carpet is simple with a little nail polish remover. Be sure to dab (not smear) it over the stained area, and swap out for a clean cloth as you go so you don’t put marker back into the carpet you have just cleaned. 

Kitchen Cabinets

Save your kitchen cabinets from permanent marker doodles with vegetable oil. Use a cotton ball to apply it to the stain and scrub it off with circular motions. Repeat as needed until the marker is gone; then wipe off the excess oil with a damp cloth.

Plastic

Go ahead and label your plastic containers with a permanent marker. When you want to remove it, just reach for some hand sanitizer. A small squirt of hand sanitizer rubbed over the stain with a paper towel should take it right off.