Cleaning Permanent Marker off Walls

My renter's little boy wrote with permanent marker all over the walls. It has been about a month and I'm now finding out about it. Is there something extremely good I can use to get it off?

Faith from Nortonville, KY

Answers:

Cleaning Permanent Marker off Walls

Some permanent markers can be totally removed with plain rubbing alcohol and some just fade a bit. It depends on the brand of the marker and the finish of the paint. (of course flat paint is harder to clean and eggshell is much easier) Rubbing Alcohol has worked for me. I put some in a well marked spray bottle and squirted it on to the wall, then waited several seconds then wiped it off.

At Boeing they use Ketone to remove permanent marker, so I understand people saying that fingernail polish remover works because it's usually made with acetone. But what they fail to say it that you need to use the type that does "not" say "for artificial fingernails", because the kind made for fake nails has no acetone in it. (09/11/2008)

By Cyinda

Cleaning Permanent Marker off Walls

Amodex (09/12/2008)

By Graycrab

Cleaning Permanent Marker off Walls

Purell Instant Hand Sanitizer all the way, invisible in seconds. Takes a little unnoticeable paint off, but works like magic. (11/05/2008)

By Chrissy

Cleaning Permanent Marker off Walls

Lava soap. I tried the alcohol and nail polish remover on small test patches, but they seemed to start removing the paint from the wall. The toothpaste was working, but took a lot of elbow grease. Then suddenly I remembered that I'd used Lava soap to remove ink and grease from clothing before. It worked like a charm.

Granted, I'd already lightened the marks with the toothpaste, but the soap finished the job with a lot less scrubbing. My sister swears by the Mr. Clean erasers (used one to clean a "mural" of marker off a full wall), but I didn't have one on hand and didn't want the stain to set. (12/06/2008)

By Tired Mom

Cleaning Permanent Marker off Walls

Got black marker pen on the walls, doors? No worries. Just get a special sponge called,"White Magic" and your troubles are over. No chemicals, or detergents just add water and a bit of rub a dub dub. I got my "White Magic" from Howard's Storage World, but who knows where else you could find it. (12/16/2008)

Cleaning Permanent Marker off Walls

While I was doing the dishes my 2 year old decorated the walls with a big Sharpie. I used Ammonia (straight from the bottle). It took it off of all the surfaces, except the one that is done with flat paint and the papered wall. I'll get back to you on that when I figure something out (12/21/2008)

By Jeniffer

Cleaning Permanent Marker off Walls

An organic cleaner with Citrol works wonders. (02/05/2009)

By Randall P.

Cleaning Permanent Marker off Walls

I used alcohol and a toothbrush. The toothbrush worked to get into the different texture of the wall. However, it works a lot better if it is a fresh marking, But I used it on a old marking to it just took a little more scrubbing. (02/08/2009)

Cleaning Permanent Marker off Walls

I tried Magic Erasers, it took the shine off the paint and left the marker. I tried hand sanitizer, took the paint off of the wall. I'm no longer using this stuff on our hands. Dr. Bronner's All in One soaps are miracle workers. Takes permanent marker off with ease. It works on any and all surfaces. Fantastic stuff. You can buy online or health food stores. My 2 year old hit various surfaces just today. Dr. Bronner's saves the day, again. (02/24/2009)

By Jennie