Removing Iron Gall Ink From Clothing

[inkstainedruth]

I had a slight accident today with a pen -- I had it clipped to the sweater i was wearing for convenience, and i had a bit of trouble recapping it at one point. As a result, I now have some Diamine Registrar's Blue-Black on a pale yellow cotton blend (cotton/nylon/spandex) cardigan.... It's up by the neck between the top two buttons, so while it's only about a 1/4" long it *is* fairly noticeable.

I couldn't do anything about it at the time (I was on my way to a funeral, and when I got back to my hotel room I had to immediately deal with tax stuff and get checks and vouchers into the mail before the deadline). It's now many hours later and I'm finally getting around to asking whether the sweater is a gonner....

I guess I could maybe try to soak the sweater in the sink, but I'm going to be sharing the room with two other people tonight so that may get complicated. I have read that when refilling pens after using an IG ink to flush with water, then vinegar (vinegar-water solution?), then more water, then ammonia-water).

Normally this sweater would get thrown into the washing machine on a cold gentle cycle. I have heard some good things about Amodex here, but don't know how it will react to the fibers, or the IG content of the ink.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. (This is what i get for showing off and using FPs at every opportunity..... ).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[fiberdrunk]

There is a very old Popular Science article (from January 1935, pg. 54-55) that not only shows you how to make the U.S. standard iron gall ink recipe (pg. 54), but tells how to wash it out (pg.55, second and third column). I've never tried it, and yes, my clothing does have iron gall and black walnut stains!! I'm not sure how you'd get the particular chemicals they mention, though. Hopefully someone can chime in.

 

eta: or you can wear those ink stains like a badge of honor! :embarrassed_smile:

Edited April 18, 2012 by fiberdrunk

[inkstainedruth]

I wouldn't particularly mind on other clothing, but this is a fairly nice sweater (and the line of ink *is* pretty noticeable, even if it's just a line and not an actual inkblot).

Hmm. Wonder if i should do some embroidery along the placket or neckline to hide the line....

Thanks for the info. I clicked on the link though, and didn't get to that specific article; I did a search on their website for "iron gall ink" and got a list of other (possibly related) articles, one of which was from 1932. I may try and read it while I'm doing laundry this afternoon, and I may try to do a more detailed search on the PS website for the article you cited.

I may try soaking the sweater in cold water for the time being (I want to actually wait till I get home to wash it). Hope my brother in law and nephew (who are now consolidating into our hotel room) don't mind the wool socks hanging up in the bathroom....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Uncle Red]

Ruth IG inks are sensitive to bleach, try a color safe one.

[inkstainedruth]

Ruth IG inks are sensitive to bleach, try a color safe one.

 

Do you mean something like Clorox II? I'll try that when I get home, thanks.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[fiberdrunk]

pharmacist gave suggestions for cleaning iron gall ink from pens in another thread. Maybe you can try this on clothing, too:

 

 

Remove IG compounds first without precipitation (tap/destilled water or better: 10% diluted white vinegar) and then clean out the dye compund (anything you like, including ammonia/(rubbing) alcohol). (pharmacist)

 

 

So in other words, it's a two-part process. You have to dissolve the iron gall pigment first, then bleach the dye. The dye will probably be the easy part to remove. The vinegar should be safe for fibers.

 

The Popular Science article also described this as a two-part process:

 

Most two-solution ink eradicators consist of a solution of bleaching powder in water and one of oxalic acid. In use, the bleaching powder solution is first daubed on the ink spot, allowed to remain a minute,and the surplus blotted off. Then, the oxalic acid solution is applied. The action of the two solutions is first to bleach the dye used in the ink and then to dissolve the iron compound.

 

Another method of eradicating ink consists of soaking the spot with a one-percent solution of potassium permanganate and then following with sodium thiosulphate or "hypo" solution until the ink is colorless. (Popular Science Jan. 1935, p. 55)

 

Let us know if you find success!

Edited April 19, 2012 by fiberdrunk

[inkstainedruth]

Well, for the moment I'm letting the stain soak for a bit in cold water. I'll eventually have to pull the sweater out of the sink, though -- there was a consolidation of hotel rooms so my brother in law and my other brother in law's son will be in the room with us for at least tonight.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Ghost Plane]

I've had excellent luck removing massive blood stains [don't ask] using Chlorox Oxy-Magic pre-wash stain removal spray. Since iron is the common element and this spray is safe on most clothes and you're likely to have it, try this with a cold water wash.

[Spidy]

There is a very old Popular Science article (from January 1935, pg. 54-55) that not only shows you how to make the U.S. standard iron gall ink recipe (pg. 54), but tells how to wash it out (pg.55, second and third column). I've never tried it, and yes, my clothing does have iron gall and black walnut stains!! I'm not sure how you'd get the particular chemicals they mention, though. Hopefully someone can chime in.

 

eta: or you can wear those ink stains like a badge of honor! :embarrassed_smile:

Hhhhmmm, seems this link is broken. Page Not Found error.

[lambertiana]

Instead of oxalic acid, you could try citric acid. Both are good chelating agents.

 

You would probably also need to find a safe bleach to use for the dye. And, depending on the bleach, it might also take care of the iron.