How do you get an ink stain out of wood?

How do you get an ink stain out of wood?

A pen that runs on a wooden table or an ugly ink stain on another piece of furniture or parquet can be « very » difficult to completely remove, because the ink becomes embedded in the wood.

Here are some tips and tricks that I have already tested at home for removing ink from wood!

1. Soapy water to remove an ink stain from wood

If you notice a still recent ink stain on wood, it must be cleaned quickly and one solution to achieve this is soapy water.

1. Mix some warm water with liquid dish soap.
2. Use a rag and gently rub the ink stain on the wood.
3. Change cloth when stained and repeat until ink is completely gone.

This tip is only effective for cleaning a recent, « fresh » ink stain on the wood.

2. Remove an ink stain from waxed wood

If the ink stain is on waxed wooden furniture or flooring then there are a few tips and tricks that work really well!

Clean the ink stain with 70° alcohol:

1. Soak a cloth or cotton ball in 70° alcohol and dab the ink-stained wood.
2. Change the cloth if it is too stained and repeat until the ink is gone.
3. Wipe the wood quickly with a slightly damp cloth, dry and re-wax the wood.

Run a cork over the ink stain:

Another grandma’s trick that works really well against ink stains, but also for removing white stains from wood is the cork stopper.

1. Gently rub the ink stain on the wood with a cork cut in half.
2. Rub in the direction of the grain of the wood to avoid marking the wood.
3. Wipe with a damp cloth, dry and wax the wood as needed.

3. Remove ink from wood with baking soda

Another old-fashioned remedy for getting ink off a wooden floor or piece of furniture is baking soda. Here’s how to do this trick well:

1. In a container, add baking soda and water.
2. Mix and add water or baking soda as needed to form a paste.
3. Apply the paste to the ink stain (covering the entire stain well) and leave to act on the wood for 10 minutes.
4. Remove the paste with a damp cloth and repeat if there is still a trace of ink on the wood.

4. Remove an ink stain from raw wood

Removing a pen stain from raw wood can be difficult and even impossible without sanding the surface unfortunately.

Sanding the wood to remove an ink stain:

1. Sand the pen stain with sandpaper and dust with a dry cloth.
2. Then wipe the wood with a damp cloth and sand again if the stain is still visible.

Depending on the surface, it may be necessary to sand the entire wooden furniture to avoid a different color and texture of the wood.

If you sand painted or varnished wood then it will be necessary to recolor or varnish the wood with the right shade and color of course.

5. Lemon and vinegar to clean ink from wood

2 other natural products or rather 2 other ingredients that can be used to remove ink stained wood are lemon juice and white vinegar.

You can use these ingredients on varnished and waxed wood:

1. Dampen a cloth with lemon juice or white vinegar and rub the ink stain.
2. Quickly wipe the wood with a new damp cloth and dry to finish.

You can also use a lemon cut in half to rub and remove ink naturally from wood.