How to Get Highlighter Out of Sheets
It’s not hard to end up with highlighter stains on your sheets. Whether you’re an avid reader that loves notating your favorite book passages or you’re studying in bed, it’s pretty much inevitable. Before you know it, you’ve dozed off, and now you have to get stubborn highlighter out of your sheets.
Rubbing alcohol is an effective way to remove highlighter from sheets. You can also use a commercial ink stain remover, hand sanitizer, or a combination of baking soda and vinegar. After treating the stain, wash your sheets in cold water, and don’t dry the sheets until the stain is gone. After tackling the stain, you can wash in warm water if necessary.
Even when you’re careful, accidents happen. If you end up with highlighter on your favorite sheets, don’t despair. You have several options to make your sheets as good as new.
Four Ways to Get Rid of Highlighter Stains on Your Sheets
Of course, you could avoid staining your sheets with highlighter by keeping the study sessions at your desk. But, realistically, you’re not likely to change your habits, especially when kicking back with a book in bed is so cozy.
Instead, you can familiarize yourself with some of the best ways to get highlighter out of sheets. Then, when you end up with neon yellow, pink, and green spots on your bedding, you’re prepared.
Tips Before Starting to Tackle Stains
Place a safety pin in your sheets near the stain. It will make it a lot easier to locate the stain and ensure it’s gone after your stain-fighting efforts.
Test whatever product you choose for stain removal on an inconspicuous spot of the fabric first. You should spot-check any type of stain remover you use to test the color fastness of your sheets. For example, some products work better on light-colored fabrics because they tend to bleach the color out of darker materials.
Do not wash your sheets in warm or hot water until you’ve completely removed the stain. Yes, washing in hot water is usually best to get rid of dust mites and other allergens. But it can also cause the stains to set, making them tougher to impossible to remove.
Therefore, only use cold water as you’re working on stain removal. Verify you’ve eradicated the stain before putting your sheets in the dryer.
1. Use Rubbing Alcohol to Get Highlighter Out of Sheets
Rubbing alcohol is an effective way to remove highlighter from fabric. Place a paper towel underneath the stain to prevent it from bleeding through. Put some rubbing alcohol on another paper towel or a cotton ball and gently dab it onto the stain.
The stain will come out of the sheet and transfer onto the paper towel. If the stain is particularly stubborn, you can pour some rubbing alcohol directly onto the stain.
After removing as much of the stain as possible, wash your sheets in cold water with your laundry detergent of choice. Check the sheets after washing to ensure the stain is gone (this is where that paper clip comes in handy). If some highlighter remains, repeat the whole process.
You might need to repeat the process once or twice to remove the stain completely. Once it’s gone, you can wash your sheets in warm water and dry them as usual.
2. Use a Commercial Ink Stain Remover
You can also purchase commercial products that target specific stains. For example, the Carbona🄬 Stain Devils🄬 line of stain removers features products for wine, nail polish, and many more common stains.
There is also one for ink, marker, and crayon stains. The latter is what you would need for your highlighter problem. Simply follow the directions on the product’s label.
3. Try Baking Soda and Vinegar to Get Highlighter Out of Sheets
Baking soda and vinegar tend to pop up a lot when it comes to cleaning tips. It’s no surprise. Baking soda acts as a deodorizer, whitening agent, and more, while the acidity in vinegar can conquer many stains.
For stains on your sheets, soak the stained area with vinegar. Then, create a paste using one tablespoon of vinegar and three tablespoons of baking soda. Apply the paste to the stain and let it sit and dry overnight.
Use a plastic knife or credit card to scrape away the dried paste the next day. Then launder your sheets as usual (in cold water). Repeat if necessary, and once the stain has disappeared, you can dry the sheets.
4. Use Hand Sanitizer
If you’re in a pinch, grab some hand sanitizer to tackle the highlighter stain. This method works because of the alcohol content in the sanitizer. (Remember the rubbing alcohol?)
Place a paper towel behind the stain and dab the stain with a cotton ball or towel soaked in hand sanitizer. Wash the sheets and repeat the process until the stain is gone.
How Can I Get Highlighter Stains Off My Mattress?
Getting stains out of your mattress is a little more challenging than your sheets. After all, you can’t toss your mattress into the washing machine.
If you end up with a highlighter stain on your mattress, you’ll need to spot clean the stain. You can use the substances you used on your sheets to treat the stain on your mattress.
Simply place your remover of choice on a paper towel or cotton ball and dab the affected area. If you don’t have a commercial stain remover handy, your best bet is to use rubbing alcohol. It seems the most effective household item for conquering highlighter stains.
As more of the stain comes off your mattress onto the cotton ball or towel, replace it with a new one. Keep repeating this process until the stain is gone. Afterward, dip a clean rag in hot water and blot the area to remove the cleaning product.
Let your mattress dry thoroughly before putting the sheets back. Or you can use a hair dryer on a low setting to speed up the process.
Dropped your highlighter on the rug? You can find out how to get highlighter stains out of carpet here.
Prevent Future Mattress Stains
Your best course of action is to purchase a top-quality mattress protector to safeguard your mattress from stains. Mattress protectors fit over your mattress and provide a barrier between the mattress and any unwanted substances. It keeps your mattress clean, helps prolong its lifespan, and makes cleaning much easier.
Most mattress protectors are machine-washable, so you can handle stains on them just as you would your sheets. Note that “most” mattress protectors are machine-washable, which means some can’t go in the wash.
Make sure you check the label before you purchase a mattress cover to ensure it fits the bill. Otherwise, you would only be able to spot-clean it. But it would still protect your mattress all the same.
Wrapping Up How to Get Highlighter Out of Sheets
It’s not a total loss if you get highlighter on your sheets. You can remove the stain with some persistence and a commercial ink stain remover. You could also use rubbing alcohol, which tends to be very effective at removing highlighter from fabric.
Other options to get highlighter stains out of sheets are baking soda and hand sanitizer. But no matter what solution you choose, only use cold water to wash your sheets until you’ve banished the stain. Using hot water or putting the sheets in the dryer before total stain removal can set the stain into the fabric.
Stacy Randall is a wife, mother, and freelance writer from NOLA that has always had a love for DIY projects, home organization, and making spaces beautiful. Together with her husband, she has been spending the last several years lovingly renovating her grandparent's former home, making it their own and learning a lot about life along the way.
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