How to Get Pen, Marker, and Crayon Off of Car Seats

What about the things we never even thought of — like how to remove permanent marker from your walls? How to remove fire-engine red Chanel lipstick from a toddler’s face? How to remove gum from your first grader’s hair? Or surprising ways to remove marker and crayon stains from leather car seats? You thought getting Goldfish crackers and Cheerios out of the carpet was hard, you haven’t seen anything yet.

Motherhood is a very learn-as-you-go, on-the-job training situation. None of us are born knowing all the complex intricacies of parenthood. I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve had to Google some things.

Here are ways to clean your car seats after the kids have used their artistic talents all over them. With all of these methods, make sure to test a small area of your car seat surface with the suggested cleaning products to make sure there is no resulting discoloration or damage.

From fabric car seats:

1. Mix 1 tablespoon of dishsoap and 2 teaspoons of white vinegar in a cup of warm water. Dab, do not rub, the solution on the ink stained area using a soft cloth.
2. Let it sit for 10 minutes and then gently rub the stained area to remove ink.
3. Last, wipe area down using soft cloth with cold water.

From leather car seats:

1. Soak up pooling ink.
2. Do not let stain set. Remove the stain quickly before it irreversibly damages your leather car seat.
3. Gently use a soft cloth to dab the stain. This will soak up excess ink without pushing it deeper into the leather.
4. Once excess ink is removed, you can use an ink stain removal product like rubbing alcohol, nail polish remover, baking soda, or vinegar.
5. Once the stain has dried, check to see that all traces of the stain are gone, if not, repeat steps 3 and 4.
6. After getting all of the ink out of the leather car seat, it is imperative that you remove all of the stain remover product so that it doesn’t trash your seats.
7. After all of the signs of the stain are removed, apply leather conditioner to your car seat to prevent stains from setting in later.
8. Another surprising method is to use a Mr. Clean Magic eraser. Bertha Tuskan, mom and homemaker, is a fan. “I use Magic Erasers for all kinds of stain removal. Those things can remove almost anything,” she told Mom.com. Just rub gently because they are powerful.

From fabric car seats:

1. Blot stain with a dry cloth. Do not rub or you will make the marker stain larger.
2. Spray area directly with hairspray or rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball. If you use a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol, rub to remove marker.
3. Allow the hairspray to soak into the stain for 10 minutes.
4. Wipe the stain with a clean, dry cloth. If the stain remains, repeat steps 2 and 3, as needed.

From your leather car seats:

1. Blot stain with dry cloth. Don’t rub.
2. Use spray sunscreen or oil-free hairspray as a marker remover. Spray towel with a little sunscreen and slowly rub, using gentle pressure.
3. Spray distilled white vinegar directly onto leather when stain is fresh. Use clean, dry towel and blot gently until stain is gone.
4. Moms, use baby or makeup wipes to scrub leather until the ink stain is gone. Apply leather conditioner to the stain to prevent further damage to the leather.

From fabric car seats:

1. Use artist mineral spirits (available from an art supply store) to treat crayon. Apply to affected area liberally.
2. Jonathan Scheer, stain removal expert and president of J. Scheer and Company stain removal, also suggested another item from the art supply store. “Use a bone folder (not plastic) for agitating the area to help work out the stain,” he told Martha Stewart Living.
3. Gently work area in a circular motion, as to not snag fabric.
4. Once stain is removed, rinse material with isopropyl rubbing alcohol.

From leather car seats:

1. Pour a little isopropyl alcohol onto a clean cloth and use your finger to apply pressure to the stained area and rub.
2. After stain is removed, wipe area down with damp rag with warm soapy water to remove alcohol and prevent discoloration of leather.