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Help! My leather sofa has an ink stain! What will I do? Well, worry no more because ink on leather is a common problem and completely solvable. The only question is if it requires professional attention or, can you resolve the issue yourself?

Here are some basic facts about ink stains on leather furnishings:

• Ink is primarily a dye and as such it has recolored the leather and did not harm the leather. The problem is primary aesthetic.
• Use a damp cloth and attempt to transfer as much ink from the leather as you can. This can be done if the stain has not a chance to set in and if you can get to it quickly. gently blot the ink before it can travel into the leather. Don’t rub or you’ll push the ink into the leather. Once ink penetrates into the leather it essentially has recolored the leather. No amount of aggressive rubbing will change that fact.
• After the ibnk has already set in the leather, removing it is not an option because agressive cleaning may pull out the ink, but will also pull out the leather color as well. Besides, chemicals in the cleaning solution will do more harm to the leather than the ink.
• Using ink sticks to remove the ink is risky because the active ingredient is a solvent intended to neutralize the ink and its success will depend on how sensitive your leather is to chemical intervention so be very careful if you attempt this.
• One characteristic of ink is that it migrates meaning an accidental ink stripe may be absorbed into the leather and present a gradually fading reference that dissipates in time. Therefore, as time is not critical, leave it alone for a few weeks and see what happens. It may disappear altogether or become faint enough that it as to no longer be an issue. However, if there is a high concentration of dye or a larger volume (ink spill) then what you see will be there for a long, long time.
• If the ink stain hasn’t dispersed on its own or it did not respond to your gentle cleaning, then it is time to bring in the professional cleaners.

Now that you know, you can keep you calm because at least you have options to choose from. if you do attempt to do the cleaning yourself, remember that the more delicate the leather, the more difficult it will be to extract the ink.

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