It’s bound to happen sooner or later. It’s the accidental spill, not paying attention, or an arm bump and a stain appears on your clothing at the most inconvenient time. Stains come in all forms from mustard and ketchup to drinks to permanent markers and highlighters. To remove a permanent highlighter stain, a few very common household items can be applied. Attack the stain as quickly as possible and you will have your cotton clothing looking like new.

Spray hair spray on the stain to loosen the ink.

Soak cotton garment in a solution of 1 quart warm water, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and a ½ teaspoon of liquid dishwashing detergent for 30 minutes.

Rinse your garment with water and allow to dry.

Place a spare cloth or paper towel inside or underneath your garment beneath the stain to prevent ink from bleeding through the garment.

Apply rubbing alcohol to the stain and cover with an absorbent pad that has been moistened with a small amount of rubbing alcohol. Blot the stain lightly to remove the ink.

Change the absorbent pad as it becomes absorbed with the stain. Ensure stain and absorbent pad are moist with alcohol when removing the stain.

Repeat steps 2 to 6 until the stain comes out.