May
10
For years my husband has used these black ink pens, we call them Uni-Ball pens because that’s what is written on the cap but not sure you can see that in this pic. For some reason I have never liked them. Don loves them though and he keeps them with him at all times. But he has a bad habit of keeping them in his shirt pocket; not such a bad thing if you remember to put the cap back on BEFORE putting it in your pocket! He’ll get involved doing something at work, invariably forget and into his pocket it goes….he never notices until he comes home and I point it out. It leaves a big black ink spot on the pocket that I’ve never EVER been able to get out! About a month or so ago we bought him several new pairs of khaki pants. While paying we noticed that one pair was considerably higher priced than the others even though they were all the same brand. I wanted to put those back and keep looking but the chances of going to another store after we had been in that one so long were just about nil! Plus he wanted them because they were such a nice pair. Recently he came home from work after wearing the expensive ones and showed them to me with a spot on them……he said it was one of those ink stains from his pen! I’m ashamed to say I was not very nice about it. 😥
I fussed, I ranted, I over reacted (which is a bad habit), threw his pen away and told him he was never allowed to use them again! (Yeah I acted like such a grown up!). I dreaded all the time I’d spend soaking & scrubbing, trying in vain to get the spot out. The next morning I looked at them and found that the “ink spot” was a black piece of fuzz plastered to his pants! He never rubbed it and neither did I.
I felt really bad, ashamed of how I had reacted. So I took his pen out of the garbage, wrote a note apologizing and left it for him on his dresser. Also wrote that I STILL thought he should throw all those pens away and never use them again, but that it was his decision! He kept that pen and is still using them.
Alas, this is what happened a couple of weeks after the pants incident:
Yep, on the shirt pocket & it was really a spot this time. I didn’t say anything, he knew I wasn’t happy about it. He told me to just throw the shirt away and not fool with trying to get it out but something in me wants to beat it just once in my life! I put it aside until now and really don’t have time to fool with it……but I hate to toss it without trying! I’ve tried everything I can think of in the past and have heard to use rubbing alcohol or hairspray but those have never worked. Soooo, I’m trying to decide whether to give it a shot and see if this time I could actually get it out. If you have a miracle product, something you know would work be sure to tell me post-haste! Or tell me if I should just forget about it!
I’d love to know if you could actually get these spots out.
May 10th, 2007 at 11:25 am
Oh Gail…I don’t have any spot remover advice (sorry!) but I loved this post because I could so relate. I am a “reactor” also…and then, feel guilty about it.
I hope you find something that works on those stains…I had a pen from hubby’s pocket go into the wash and put blots on about five pieces of clothing, so if you find something, let me know! 😉
May 10th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
hmmm. annoying. I bought some cleaner from dollar general that my friend mendy says has yet to fail her at a stain…
May 10th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
I don’t have a cleaner to tell you but I have to admit…I’m not sure if I would have given the pen back 🙂 I would have acted a lot worst than you 🙂 I know what pen you’re talking about and I can’t stand them. Oh also I don’t know how to help you forget about it either, since I usually will go on and on. Ok now that I can’t help you with the cleaner problem and don’t know any words of wisdom to get over it…I do hope your day gets better 🙂
good luck!
May 10th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
Well, now. I’m not the only one who throws tantrums! That was EXACTLY what brought on the time out a few weeks back 🙂
As far as stain removal, I don’t have anything to give ya. Have you tried Shout, OxyClean, or Color safe bleach? That’s the extent of my knowledge. Best of luck!
May 10th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
Good post! We’ve had this discussion before, and let me just say, I’m glad Tim doesn’t do this! I would rant and rave and overreact the same way. I do believe we’re cut from the same cloth when it comes to things like that. I have no idea on what to use, but you might want to get one of those Tide Pens or Oxyclean. I use Shout and it’s just ok, I don’t think it would get this out. Any chance you’ve googled “ink stain” or something like that?
I’m glad his pants were spared, but sorry about the shirt 🙁
P.S. Good thing Father’s Day is just around the corner – buy him a POCKET PROTECTOR for his pens! 🙂
May 10th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
I’m hoping someone comes up with a solutin for you because I have the same problem with my. He puts those roller pens in his khaki uniform pockets. I have tried the hair spray, special ink-stain removers — nothing has helped. The ink is totally absorbed into the fabric. Don’t be so hard on yourself! It is infuriating!
May 10th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
I’m glad to know others have had this happen before too! Still no solution but it’s just nice to know I’m not the only one. 🙂
May 10th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Fels-Naptha laundry soap! I found this a while back. It’s actually a very old product and hard to find, but our Kroger carries it. It’s just a bar of soap, but made for laundry. You wet the area with the stain, rub the bar around on it, let it sit for one minute, then wash as usual. It’s taken royal blue marker out of Delaney’s clothes twice now(once was just today). I had gotten blood on a white shirt at Disney (scratched a mosquito bite too much) on day one of our trip. It dried and stayed on the shirt for the next 10 days until we returned home. Fels Naptha took it out! If you can’t find it there, let me know and I’ll mail you a bar of it. It’s dirt cheap, too!
May 11th, 2007 at 9:41 am
Being an over-reactor is a thing with me too! I go through the guilt on a regular basis. Can’t think of what to tell you for stain removal except maybe oxyclean, but I’ve never used it for that so I don’t really know. But can you not get the Uni-Ball pen in a clicker type pen rather than a lidded pen? Maybe that’ll help avoid the prob in the first place? Good luck!
May 11th, 2007 at 11:06 am
What a problem… and I would have reacted the very same way. I am sorry to say that I have no advice on the stain. Maybe the solution would be to buy several similar pens that would not leave a stain and see if he would switch. I hope something works for you.
We live about 2 hours from Charlotte. When you go visit your daughter maybe we could meet for lunch. Let me know.
Have a great weekend!
Nancy
May 11th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who over-reacts from time to time. I try so hard not to, and do a really good job most of the time. But every once in a while, I just lose it. Luckily for me, Rich is patient and understanding.
I’ve heard great things about Fels-Naptha, too, but never tried it myself. Good luck!
May 11th, 2007 at 8:49 pm
Hmmm, I’ve done the same thing and it really infuriates me! I use the same pens *but they must be color!) and have ruined tan skirts b/c I leave it in the pocket. 🙁 Good luck with your spots!!!