HOW TO REMOVE PERMANENT MARKER | Parent Cleaning Hack
There are a lot of cleaning hacks out there to help parents survive the messy journey of parenthood. If you have babies or toddlers and haven’t yet dealt with the chaos of little hands roaming the house with a marker in tow, odds are, you will very soon.
How To Remove Permanent Marker
Parenthood is a funny experience in those moments like when your favorite tiny person has wreaked havoc on your beautiful white walls with a permanent marker or other means of creativity. It seems befitting of parenthood to scour the internet looking for cleaning hacks for these messy moments.
It might be why you’re here now, looking for answers to right the mess. And if you’re not here actively looking to learn how to remove clean dry permanent marker off your wall, you can save this hack in a safe place until you need it.
Be sure to share it with other parents, caregivers, and educators. I consider it the Holy Grail of permanent marker hacks!
MY SECRET PERMANENT MARKER REMOVAL HACK
Getting permanent markers off walls can be a bit trickier than crayons, colored pencils, or washable markers because, well, they aren’t…permanent.
Things like crayons, markers, or colored pencils generally come clean with ease. Nothing that some elbow grease can’t get out. Permanent marker stains on our painted walls, though, are a league all their own, especially if there is a lot of it or it is hard to hide.
The elements that make up permanent marker ink make it impervious to simple cleaning solutions. The ink doesn’t break dwn easily, thus making it more difficult to remove.
But I have a secret hack that permanent markers can’t hold up to.
Sunscreen.
Yep. Sunscreen. Crazy right?!
I conducted an experiment where I tested several different well-known cleaning hacks for removing marker stains. I tested hand sanitizer, 70% isopropyl alcohol, hairspray, and magic eraser, and I also tried the dry-erase marker on top of the permanent marker hack.
They did get the permanent marker off of the wall, but at a small price.
The issue we kept finding is that the hand sanitizer, alcohol, hair spray, and even the magic eraser all began removing the actual paint from the wall. We found that as we rubbed away the permanent marker stain, we were rubbing the paint off as well. This is, of course, not ideal for obvious reasons.
So it’s not that all the other ones didn’t work, they did, to some extent. (Minus the dry-erase marker over the permanent marker, that one just made a bigger mess.)
The sunscreen, though, worked magically. It removed the stain but the wall paint remained intact. I had to try it a few times to make sure it wasn’t my mind playing tricks on me. It was amazing!
It was the only method I tested that both removed the marker and kept my walls looking fresh and clean. Here’s all you need to know to take this Holy Grail hack to your home to remove marker stains:
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
Sunscreen. Not all are created equal. Be sure to get one that is sprayable + extra/maximum/sport strength. I tried kids’ and it did not succeed.
A dry clean cloth
A napkin or paper towel
HOW YOU’LL DO IT
Grab your napkin or paper towel, and hold it just below the stained area where you’re going to spray. That way you catch any sunscreen drippings.
Spray the permanent marker spot. You should be able to see it start working fairly quickly.
Wipe the spot away with a dry cloth.
Tip: If you have textured walls or have some stubborn places that won’t lift, spray again, let it soak for a moment, then use your dry cloth in a circular motion to get into the grooves and crevices. It may take a few rounds of spray-then-wipe to clear it all off.
TRADITIONAL HACKS FOR REMOVING PERMANENT MARKER STAINS FROM THE WALLS
There are several more traditional hacks for removing permanent markers. These may work well for you if you’re in a pinch and are removing it from something other than a painted wall, for example.
Here are the ones I tested alongside the sunscreen that removed the permanent marker as well as the paint on the wall, so please test in an inconspicuous area if you’d like to try them on your own.
Hand sanitizer
70% isopropyl alcohol
Hair spray
Magic eraser
If you happen to not have any of those items on hand, here are some other well-known options. I have not personally tested these, so please do so with caution in an area that isn’t noticeable if these also begin to remove paint.
White or gel toothpaste + baking soda
Hydrogen peroxide + white vinegar
Nail polish remover
Lemon oil
Rubbing alcohol
I’ve also seen some people use a damp cloth, microfiber cloth, or cotton ball instead of a dry cloth.
If you want to see the sunscreen hack in action, doing your own experiment with your littles could be a great hands-on activity. You could let them draw on a whiteboard or something similar with a permanent marker, then try out as many methods as you want, and see if the sunscreen hack takes the win for you too!
For this and other hacks and sensory play recipes and ideas, check out the Mothercould in Your Pocket resource, where we encourage learning through play with fun, easy, and accessible play recipes using common household items so you can incorporate sensory play at home, on-the-go, and in the classroom.
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