Walls often seem to be the perfect canvases for children to practice their artistic tendencies. For any parent it can be something of a shock to find that their walls are covered in colourful drawings, but as much as a parent may like the creations, it is normally more important to get those walls clean. The cleaning method often depends on the drawing implement used, but one of the most difficult situations is when it comes to removing permanent marker from walls.

If it is a permanent marker that has been used on the walls then there is an instance sense of fear, after all permanent markers are designed to be just that, permanent. Despite that though all is not lost and it is possible to remove permanent marker from walls, although it does depend on the wall surface. If the wall is covered in wallpaper then there is no real solution other than to remove the wallpaper and then repaper the wall.

-How to remove permanent marker from walls

If the damaged walls are painted or acrylic in covering though there are some options when it comes to removing permanent markers from walls.

The favoured method is to make use of rubbing alcohol, sprayed onto the permanent marker, left to soak for a few seconds and then rubbed off.

The other favoured method for removing permanent marker from walls is to make use of nail polish remover liberally applied to the mark. In most cases the ink can then be wiped off using any normal cloth. It is though important that the nail polish used is an acetone based one, as those nail polish removers designed for artificial nails will not work.

There are some other oft quoted solutions to removing permanent marker from walls, including the use of toothpaste or hairspray. Another old cleaning solution is baking soda and in some cases a paste of baking soda can remove permanent marker from a wall.

When trying any method for removing permanent markers from walls it is essential that the solution is tested on an unobserved area of wall before trying on the tested area. Some solutions could damage the wall, and may strip away the paint or other surface of the wall.

Sometimes though it has to be accepted that the permanent marker cannot be removed, and the best that can be achieved is that the mark fades slightly. It could then be a case of moving furniture around the room to cover the mark, or else it might be time to try a bit of redecorating.

Learn more about this author, Tim Harry.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about How to remove permanent marker from walls?
We want to hear your view. Write now!