Friday, March 1, 2013

RED Sharpie vs Light Tan Couch

Okay, you know that thing where you are happily (ummmm...) cleaning away, maybe humming a tune, maybe dancing with your Swiffer Wet Jet?

No?

Oh, that's just me.

But that isn't all.  You know when you're doing all that and you suddenly realize that it's very quiet?  Which for most people would be just another day, but for you spells sudden and immediate doom for any number of things in your house, including but not limited to kids, pets, furniture, pictures, vases, flooring, mirrors, baking ingredients, small appliances, and walls.  So you run to the last place your 3 year old Nugget was known to be seen and are greeted with a serene picture of him quietly drawing a masterpiece.  With a bright red Sharpie.

On your sofa.

Your light tan fabric sofa.

And then you cry, but maybe not before you snatch the Sharpie out of his surprised hands, deep breathing for all you are worth to control the rage/despair that is threatening to come spewing from your mouth in obscenities.

No?  Just me again, huh?  I think you are lying.

That was the scene that unfolded in my house a few days ago.  Good times!



Here is what my sofa looked like with it's new decoration.  Okay, this is just a small part of it's new decoration, because as I started scrubbing at it like a mad woman, that tiny part of my mind that is all the time thinking was screaming in it's loudest voice, "BLOG POST YOU IDIOT!!"  So I stopped scrubbing and grabbed a camera (or a phone with a camera, more likely) and started snapping.

Turns out that rubbing alcohol is the recommended method for getting pen, Sharpie or otherwise, out of your couch.  And I have to tell you that I was pretty sure they were wrong, because after many minutes of maniacal scrubbing I was rewarded with this:




Which was none too reassuring, let me tell you.  It just sort of started smearing, and turning from a lovely red to a truly hideous orange.  But after many more minutes of scrubbing that awful orange faded away and I was left with this:



I know, right?!  It was pretty impressive.  And just to give you an idea of how well it worked, Mr. T has no idea to this day that bright red Sharpie and our couch ever had a run in.  And I didn't have to get artful with the throw pillows or anything.

Here is what the entire cushion looked like when I finished with it:



Yeah, maybe just ignore that Candyland game piece that photobombed my picture.

So, to make a long story even longer, a friend of mine informed me that rubbing alcohol isn't the only thing that gets out pen.  Lemon essential oil does too.  Hmmmmm, I think I see an experiment in my future...

I linked this post at the following amazing blogs:
 Flamingo Toes
Nifty Thrifty Things 
Keeping It Simple
Sugar Bee Crafts
Crafty Confessions
Gingersnap Crafts
Lil Luna
Lady Behind The Curtain
High Heels & Grills


3 comments:

  1. This is great to know! I craft a lot of times on my couch. This is great to know for carpets too, when you drop a sharpie!

    FrozenFairytale

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  2. Most excellent! I know that rubbing alcohol removes dried latex paint, too. I used it to remove huge streaks of white latex house paint from my blue jeans and you can't even tell they were ever stained. It also works for craft paints, which are acrylic latex, also. Haven't tried the lemon oil but then wouldn't you have to contend with the oil stain? Hmmmm.

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  3. I actually tried the lemon oil on something else, and it worked great! No stain, and it smelled fantastic. I have the line on another natural product that cleans pretty much anything, including Sharpie, but I want to try it out before I mention it on here. I'll keep you posted! :-)

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