Sharpie Marker vs Mom…. Who Will Win?

I’m a mom of boys. I’m a mom of boys who like to get into everything. My youngest is the king of finding a marker anywhere and drawing on everything including himself.  This is him lol. I still to this day do not know where he got the marker from or how he smuggled it into the car. We were on our way to the doctor’s office. We arrived and this is how I found him. Unfortunately, it was not just any marker. It was a sharpie so baby wipes did not work. After much laughter at the doctor’s office both from parents and the doctor, I made it my mission to know how to get sharpie out of everything. So from someone with experience let me save you the trouble and just tell ya how it’s done.

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Skin

In the above situation skin was obviously the most important thing to clean up.  Soap and water were a no go. Baby wipes were a failure. I even tried my husbands orange mechanic soap thinking it would help. While he did get a 1/2 shade lighter it was not effective. I called a friend and she said sunscreen. And guess what it worked!! I only had a bit but then I figured lotion might be helpful and yeeessss more progress! Thru trial and error, I also saw that hand sanitizer was a great option also. Someone said rubbing alcohol but with it being such a large area and him so young I didn’t want to try that. However, he is older now and I’ve been blessed with the opportunity and yes rubbing alcohol works also.

Clothes/Fabric

Next, I tackled his clothes. Important tip DO NOT RUB!! Always DAB with a clean cloth. Rubbing just spreads the stain.  Products I have found effective in order of effectiveness best to still good but not the best are rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer, aerosol hairspray, nail polish remover, and toothpaste.  I have also heard that lemon juice and WD-40 are effective.My friend swears by it but I’ve never tried it. With all of the ones I listed, there was a little stain left so I used my go-to stain remover. I mixed Dawn dish soap, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda and made a paste. I used a toothbruh to rub it in and then I let it set. After washing good as new.

Walls and Doors

You would think after the situation above he would have had it out of his system but nope. I am also quite good at getting sharpie off walls and doors. When using the method of painted surfaces do small areas to make sure you are not removing the paint also.  I have found rubbing alcohol, lemon essential oil, and nail polish remover to be the most effective. In the pictures below you see my sons latest artwork. 

To show the effects of the different items I cleaned with 1 item in 3 spots. The furthest to the left is Lemon essential oil, the middle is nail polish remover, and all the way to the right is rubbing alcohol

When I was done I mixed toothpaste with some rubbing alcohol and went over it one last time and viola!! 

Leather

We have leather furniture so I have also got to try my hand at this. I’m sure you are seeing the pattern. The kid has drawn on everything. I don’t have pictures of this but aerosol hairspray and white vinegar has worked the best. I was scared to try alcohol or nail polish remover so I went for less harsh things I knew worked on other items. The hairspray worked like a charm and the vinegar helped me clean up the remnants.

White Board or the Refrigerator

With this, the easiest method was to draw over the mark immediately with a regular dry erase marker and then wipe clean.

This is what my son has drawn on. Mom hacks to the rescue and most of it has been able to be salvaged. Hopefully, your kiddo is not as creative as mine but if there are hope this hacks work.

For more on kid messes and how to fix them visit our Kid Messes Page