Easy ways to get biro marks off home furniture

Biro marks can easily ruin your home furniture. With schools closed due to coronavirus and kids at home, they’re even more likely to appear on your favourite cushions and drapes.

The biro may look like your average run-of-the-mill pen, but amazingly they tend to leave marks on just about anything. 

Also, they easily break and leak (especially if they’re left on the floor and trodden on) which can cause ink spillages on wooden desks, leather chairs and more. 

Whether you’re used to working at home, are a professional ink-spiller and cleaner upper, or you’re new to home working and your kids have managed to biro mark your furniture already, here’s a few easy ways to get rid of them in a flash.

Leather Sofas

Leather is a resilient material that has a much longer life-span than fabric. Because of this, very often it’s spillage proof. But there are some substances, such as pen ink, that can even spoil the best quality leather.

Depending on the finish of your sofa or leather chair, there’s a number of solutions which will suit the type – and others which really won’t.

So, always check with the manufacturer online and see if they recommend anything for stain removal, as they’ll probably suggest the best option. In some cases, furniture manufacturers will even sell specific products that remove ink stains from leather, and this should be the option you choose first. 

You definitely don’t want to cause any more damage to your furniture!

If you can’t find anything from the manufacturer to help you, a damp cloth and standard leather cleaner should help to remove the top layer of ink by scrubbing gently and repeatedly until it has disappeared. 

Multi-purpose cleaning wipes may also clean stains off leather if you are removing a new spillage.

Don’t use oil-based products or nail varnish removed on leather, as this can cause further damage to the leather and may even strip its colour.

Wooden tables & chairs 

Most homes have wooden furniture, whether walnut, oak or simple plywood.

A wooden home office desk, can definitely add a little swag to your home office. But, as it’s used daily, there’s a high chance that bumps, scrapes (and biro marks) will come along overtime.

If you’re tackling an ink spillage or mark straight away, blot the stain as soon as possible with a damp cloth. We’d recommend keeping a plentiful supply of cloths and wipes in your home office for times like these!

But the same as with your leather sofa, try to check with the manufacturer to see if they have any specific stain-busting products too. 

If not, then once the stain has been blotted, use an alcohol based product, or a paste made from bicarbonate of soda and water, and gently rub onto the surface. The solution should be wiped away with a damp cloth and left to dry.

Before doing this however, be sure to check first that it won’t remove or discolour any varnish in an inconspicuous area. 

Fabric covers & cushions 

From bed sheets to button ups, any fabric can be easily stained with ballpoint pens and it only takes one mark to make them look scruffy.

Like the above, these stains are best removed by blotting the stained area with a warm, damp cloth. If the ink spillage is quite a large one, soak up the ink with kitchen roll before blotting the area. 

Biro pen marks can often ruin a piece of fabric, so scrubbing away with a damp cloth may take time, but it can work.

Depending on the type of fabric, you may be able to rub nail varnish remover onto the ink without causing further damage, but it is always best to check with the manufacturer if they sell specific stain removing products.

Preventing the stains

Preventing a ballpoint pen stain is a lot simpler than trying to remove a difficult mark. For the leather items in your office, keep a leather cleaning kit handy. 

Most leather furniture should be cleaned once a week by using a specific leather-cleaning solution, and then adding a leather conditioner over the top. 

This helps to protect leather from marks and stains such as biro pen and keeps your leather furniture looking clean and professional.

As for other ways to prevent biro pen marks on your furniture, why not purchase a pen holder or organiser to use instead of leaving your ballpoint pens lying around on your desk? 

It’s a very simple but very helpful tip to stop biro pen marks mysteriously appearing on your home furniture, appliances or clothes!