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You might think that an ugly ink stain is the kiss of death for a leather handbag. Ink is notoriously hard to remove and leather is easily ruined. Not a great combination. However, depending on the type of leather, there might be hope. There are few different methods for cleaning ink-stained leather. But which one works best? I decided to give three different methods a try so you don’t have to put your leather handbag at risk. Check out the results below:
Hairspray: Spray the tip of a cotton swab with hairspray. Once it is wet, rub the tip of the cotton swab on the stain. Wipe clean and repeat as needed.
Rubbing Alcohol: Grab a cotton pad and put a little rubbing alcohol on it. Then, gently rub the ink stain in a circular motion. The ink stain should gradually disappear. However, I found that this method only faded the ink stain.
Magic Eraser: Wet the tip of the magic eraser and gently rub it into the ink mark. Magic erasers contain a material called melamine foam, which helps get rid of stains on most surfaces. Unfortunately, the magic eraser had almost no effect on the in stain.
The Result: Hairspray was the clear winner. It immediately got rid of the ink with very little effort. However, be warned that hairspray contains alcohol which can dry out the leather. I would recommend using a leather conditioner after you treat the spot to prevent the leather from cracking.
From right to left: hairspray, rubbing alcohol, magic eraser
For more hacks, check out how to get mascara stains out of fabric and how to fix a broken zipper.