Got dry erase marker on some clothing or a piece of furniture? No worries! It’s not ruined! I’ll show you how to get dry erase marker out of clothes or other fabric easily!
I was chatting with one of my friends after church the other Sunday when my daughter came running over to tell me something. As I turned to answer her, I was horrified to discover bright red spots of marker several places on the front of the cream colored sweater dress that she was wearing.
Apparently, she and some of her friends were playing in a side room and were using the Expo dry erase markers to draw on the whiteboard. And bless her heart, she didn’t think about where all that marker went as she was moving around and her beautiful dress showed the results.
I know that often the longer a stain sets, the harder it is to treat. So as soon as we got home, I got to work trying to figure out if there was any chance of saving the dress. With little hope, I tried Fels Naptha, my favorite inexpensive stain treater that typically will remove almost any stain, but of course, it did nothing.
Then just in case, I also experimented with Shout and some Fuller Brush stain remover that I had on hand. Neither did a thing.
Thankfully, one of my mom friends heard about the dilemma and came to my rescue! Her daughter had recently gotten dry erase marker on their white couch, and after trying different things, she discovered that Murphy’s Oil Soap did the trick!
Who would have known, right?! I figured if it did the trick on their white couch, then I had a pretty good chance of it working on my daughter’s sweater dress too.
And hurray, hurray! It did the trick! I could hardly believe it, but it removed every trace of dry erase marker on that dress. It almost felt like I was performing a magic trick as I watched it lift it away from the fabric.
I didn’t think to take pictures of the process when I treated the original dress but decided to write on another dress with dry erase markers and show you how Murphy’s Oil took it out. Because I’d love if I can help another person that feel desperate because they fear a piece of clothing (or a couch!) is ruined by dry erase marker!
How to Get Dry Erase Marker Out of Clothes
1. You’ve probably already tried this, but before doing anything else, try seeing if scrubbing the marker stain with just water will remove any of the marker. In this particular piece of clothing, a lot of the marker actually came out (probably because it was a washable dry erase marker). What you see in the picture above is the only stain that was left.
But in the case of my daughter’s white sweater dress that I mentioned earlier, running it under water did nothing. The stain didn’t even lighten slightly.
2. Dab a tiny bit of Murphy’s Oil Soap onto the marker stain and use your fingernail to gently rub it into the stain. If you want, you can let it set a little bit to allow the soap to really penetrate the stain.
3. Rinse well and if the stain is still visible at all. Repeat step 2 again.
With this dress, I only had to do two applications of Murphy’s Oil. With the stain my daughter’s first dress, I had to do more like three or four on a couple of the dry erase marker stains before they were gone.
4. Wash as you normally would and enjoy feeling like a magician! 🙂
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Tracy
Lydia,
Thank you so much. I bought a new dress for church and got so many compliments on it. On Sunday I usually don’t change out of my dress. I like to stay dressed more formally to remember why I worship on this day. For a family activity the Sunday wearing this dress we were using dry eraser markers. I didn’t notice until I went to wash it that there was a mark I didn’t notice. I tried all the methods you did and even used hair spray. I decided to look on Pinterest for any suggestions and found yours. I was skeptical at first, but decided I didn’t have anything to lose. After three tries the mark was out. Thank you , Thank you, Thank you. Tell your mom’s friend thank you also
Lydia Beiler
So happy that this hack was able to help remove the dry erase marker from your dress and save it, Tracy! I hope you can enjoy many more Sundays wearing it.
Tina
Hi, are there any alternatives to Murphy’s Oil Soap? This product is unavailable where we are located. I’ve tried alcohol, vinegar, nail polish remover, Vanish, practically everything I can find my hands on but the dry erase marker stain still wouldn’t budge on my boy’s uniform. Appreciate any advice!
Lydia Beiler
I’m sorry, but this is the only thing that I’ve found that worked…and I tried numerous other things too! I wish there was a solution that was more readily available in other parts of the world. (
Tracy
Just an idea, maybe you could use a product that has the same chemical composition as Murphy’s oil like a generic brand. Or order it online. It will defiantly save your boy’s uniform and other clothes for the future. I know this comment is months after it was posted, so you probably have found a solution. I just wanted to give you an idea.
Lisa
This is amazing! I’m shocked at how well it worked. I had two tops stained with dry erase. On one top the stain came out in one try and minimal scrubbing but that stain was fresh so I wasn’t surprised. The 2nd top needed 3 tries but completely came out. I’m blown away because it’s been stained for over a year and I tried everything I found online. I’ve washed and dried that top over and over again for a year. That stain was set in. I wish I tried Murphy’s oil from the start but I was always worried it would leave an oil stain. IT DID NOT!
Thank you so much for sharing this tip and saving my kids clothing!
Lydia Beiler
Lisa, I have no idea why I missed this comment earlier! But I am SO happy that this helped take care of the dry erase marker stains on your kid’s tops. I find it especially amazing that it worked on the old stain that was “set”. That’s incredible! Thanks for the feedback and for taking the time to comment and help let others know that this truly does work!
Amanda
I was skeptical, but murphy’s oil soap worked wondered on dry erase marker!! Thank you!
Lydia Beiler
You are welcome! So glad that it helped you.