A Red Permanent Marker
Looks like we will be getting that IKEA sectional, after all.
I know I can get the marker off the floor (how sad is it that I know that?!) but the Sharpie on the sofa and chair I am not so sure. Luckily, The Mister and I bought the extended care plan which means that if they can’t get the stain out they will replace the item(s). I think the real excitement will start if and when the sofa and chair need to be replaced.
Will Macy’s do it? Will they honor their contract? How long will it take?
All this and more on as the Two Year Old Turns…
p.s. I am trying to surprise The Mister, who is out of town, with some painting around the house. I was pulling tape when (apparently) Nico went in my desk and pulled out the pencil bag I have hidden underneath a calendar, mouse pad, etc. That pencil bag contains the RED SHARPIE OF DEATH. When I noticed an eerie calm in the living room, I came out to check on him and THEN I DIED.
I then rose from the dead and found my pencil bag under the dining room table.
UPDATE: Marker is not covered under the warranty.
OMG! I am speechless. Wow. Oh my. I guess if the other funds don’t pan out we can start the Jules sofa + chair fund;) Oh boy. I do think that they can get this out. There’s all sorts of tricks of trade. I wish I knew what Nico was thinking when he did this, he probably was excited to show off his prowess! I know a modern artists that dips everything in tar and makes a fortune, maybe you can contact his agent?
UPDATE: Marker is not covered under the warranty.
I save cursing for special occasions.
HOLY HELL JULES. What?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t have children and am notorious for not being a huge fan of them, so um.. what goes through a child’s mind when they DO that? I mean seriously, though! ‘Let’s go draw on the sofa!’, instead of yanno, paper.. I love the shape of the furniture, I’m really sorry for your ‘loss’! :(
I’d try Oxy-Clean. I’ve used it to get Sharpie out of slacks and shirts, so I imagine it’d be able to at least make a dent in upholstery.
If all else fails, give him back the sharpie and ask him to fill in the rest and, tadah! Custom furniture!
Whoa. If that were me, I would have to spend some time apart from the child. I bet he felt terrible when he saw your face.
Was the couch “drive-by” just on the cushions, can you just flip them over? I love your couch, ::sad face::
I just walked in the door from buying Ox-Clean and a host of other chemicals. We’ll see.
He did feel terrible and started crying and saying “Sorry, Mama!” but I say he is still very lucky that I have an easy going personality. I can tell you right now that my parents would have drop kicked me into next week if I did something half as bad. ;)
Oh wow Jules. A little Rembrandt you have there? What is Mikey going to say? I can picture him being aghast at that mess! Am I right? You’re gonna surprise the Mister alright. ;) Good luck! (And of course marker isn’t covered. There’s always a clause for whatever it is that is stained on YOUR item–if you remember mine was the carpet w/ stainmaster, etc that didn’t cover vomit. Yeah. Thanks for telling the people with small children that when they are purchasing that plan!!! Argh)
AGH! What is UP with warranty plans that don’t cover the most random things (see: cell phones getting dropped in water), perhaps we can get Obama to sponsor a public option?
Wow! My son did the same thing with a ball point pen on our sofa, I about died (and nearly killed him!). I call Room and Board because I knew the fabric had been treated with some sort of stain repellent. They suggested blotting rubbing alcohol on it and it worked(!), though I did spend about 5 hours blotting the dang sofa. All markers, pens, pencils, crayons, and scissors have been banished to a very high shelf in a locked closet ever since. And I love how you know they’re really up to no good when there’s that eerie silence. Good luck with the aftermath…
Our couch is in a similiar state. Our couch is white, and my daughter constantly finds it and uses it as a blank canvas.
We get it steam cleaned once a year. It turns out nicely. I wonder if a professional can help you?
Your son is lucky that are so patient and kind. I’d hate to think what some parents would do. x
I don’t have kids so I haven’t encountered this situation, but it seems that the Mr Clean’s magic eraser can get a lot of stuff out. Good Luck!!
Does Mr. Clean work on fabric? I’ll have to get some if it does because so far it’s not looking so good for the sofa and chair…
:(
i’m sorry. i have found that the worse the crime the more understanding i am–please don’t ask me why. this will go down in the family history for sure. good luck with the clean-up. the rubbing alcohol thing worked for me when my youngest broke a bottle of red nail polish and promptly spilled it all over the carpet. btw–love your floors, even with the red.
Thanks, Marcy. The floors are rustic red oak planks, which is convenient since the red sharpie kind of bleed a red haze during clean up. Sigh.
I’ll try the alcohol if the second soaking and ink remover product doesn’t work.
try this…Get a bottle of isopropyl alcohol out with a roll of paper towels. Wet the paper towel and blot the stain. Keep blotting with the alcohol and paper towel until the stain is gone.
I just googled it. I did the same thing to my parents furnature when I was little. All markers were forbidden until I was old enough to know better.
I also marketed the walls too. My mom did not have your reaction though. I think I was grounded until I was 10!
Best of luck. I also emailed my friend to see what she has to say {She works for a furniture company}!
Thank you, Katie!
So many people are recommending the alcohol that I feel stupid for running out and buying something expensive when I could have used something I have here! Oh well.
I will pull them out of the washer once the spin cycle is done and start blotting. I hope doing that didn’t set in the stain! :(
W.O.W. I have no words…..so sorry.
OH. MY. GOD. I could do nothing else but gasp at the horror when I saw these pics. May your sofa RIP (and possibly also your little one). Lots of luck with stain removal. This is one of those times when the internet can be your best friend. If anyone knows how to get sharpie out - it’s the internet!
Ohmy. Well … just remember, someday you’ll look back on this and laugh. It may be a nervous sort of laughter, but laughter all the same … :)
White vinegar is also a miracle cleaning solution. It keeps reds from running and helps lift set in stains (even red wine, crayons, blood). Spray white vinegar directly on the stain; then mix 2 parts vinegar to 3 parts cornstarch and gently rub on the stain. Let it dry before you wash it. Of course, you’ll want to test a piece first to make sure the fabric doesn’t bleach. It shouldn’t, but some fabrics are persnickety. And after this, it might just say enough is enough!!!
Good luck to ya!
OMG! speechless… I really don’t know what to say :S… And know I’m scare about *thinking* on having kids.
Oh. My. God. A little piece of me died when I saw those pics. I’m the mom of a 2 year old also and I feel your pain. Please let me NEVER find that in my living room.
UPDATE #2: I’ve successfully cleaned the left and right cushions. The middle cushion and the chair cushion have, at best, faded to a dark pink.
I haven’t even tackled the arms.
Wow! [as both Mr. Z and I look at this pictures with mouths wide open] Speechless.
I would die, too! D.I.E. I would not raise up from the dead either because my husband would kill me again if I did, so it wouldn’t be worth the effort. Ugh! I’m going around my house right this second and removing any and all markers.
I flagged this post so that I could write a comment later. Well it’s now later and I still have no words.
…
Really. No words. (But I am kind of giggling in a painful parenthood solidarity/thank god it’s not my couch/but then it would probably mean I could get a new couch kind of way. Did I say no words?
…
Oh no. What a shock. My daugther did the same to our couch with pen. I almost cried. Luckily we had the warrantly on the couch and they came out and cleaned it all off. Thank God!!
What do you think about dying the fabric red?
OMG… there are few times that I am speechless and this would be one of them. Showed it to my Mister and all he could say was, “Ohh…” Ummm, ya… we’re both speechless. Good luck on getting those stains out. I guess all I can say is that Nico thought he was Harold from “Harold and The Purple Crayon”, except it’s not a crayon and it wasn’t purple. Oh, I hope those stains come out.
You know, at first glance I thought “Ooo graphic print tufted couch and chair?! I want!” …And then I realized what was really going on. That just…I don’t even know. Can’t suck too much because you get to buy a new sectional, and yay for new sectionals! Then again, you have to buy a new sectional… Little hands may have just as much fun cleaning the marker as drawing with it. Maybe. Or maybe you’ll have a lot of fun making slip covers! Good luck
This is when I’d have to chant to myself “people are more important than things” about a thousand times. I tried it when my sister-in-law decided to potty train at my house with no pullups. It worked about as well as “Hoochie Mama” worked on Seinfeld!
how your head didn’t explode, i don’t know. those pictures are traumatic! i hope you can get the rest out. i will be hiding all the markers tonight. the almost 2 yr old just discovered gel ink pens unfortunately…
I keep coming back Jules to see if you’ve posted an update……I just stare at the pictures in horror and disbelief. I would have had to leave the house to spare the child.
Jules…Iam soo sorry. My younger daughter now 22 and the neighbor girl across the street were playing with chalk on the sidewalk when they were about 6 and decided to draw with the chalk on the neighbors car pool guys car{ brand new car} so that whole side of his car needed to be painted, and as you can imagine chalk has sand in it. And our homeowners covered some of the work.
Anyhow, now that you have cleaned the cushions just flip them over for the time being, you won’t see the left over marks. And I guess that IKEA sofa is coming ;) Honey its cheaper than when they start to drive and start hitting other things like cars etc. I tell you with 3 kids it was craZy. have a great day !!
Wow. I’m crossing my fingers that some of the tips above work out for you!
I know this sounds awful, but if all else fails - try brake cleaner, just make sure to open some windows.
WOW! You poor thing! I love the bones of your furniture though, if all else fails, why not have them reupholstered??? :)
omg. I saw this and audibly gasped.
Yikes! I hope my kids never do something like that. I hope some of the tips help you
If you can find Blue Magic, it works like a charm…my dh used it to remove an old red wine stain from carpeting.
I’ve only been able to find it at Wal-Mart.
http://bluemagicusa.com/index.php/blue_magic/products/89
Good luck!
are your arms tired yet? just checking back in to see how the cleanup is going. glad to hear the cushions are clean! i’m guessing this isn’t going to make it as a ‘favorite moment’ post? i’m keeping the good thought for you and the couch. and the chair.
i couldn’t see the photos at work.
and then i just looked and did that big inhale thing you do when something is truly awful.
wow.
best of luck to you, jules. and lots of happy and *clean* thoughts.
I had to laugh because Logan had a similar experience, only with food coloring. He was having a “pouring contest” (not kidding, that’s what he called it) and my entire downstairs was a technicolor nightmare. Fortunately, the only thing I couldn’t get out were his green hands prints on the fireplace bricks. So much for our security deposit.
A pouring contest. Where do they come up with these ideas? Can we assume that he won the contest?
p.s. The hand prints on the brick–how very Paleolithic period of him. :)
There is a product that is made to take Sharpie off of fabric specifically! Google it. I had friends whose son did some (ahem) similar damage and they got it all out!!!
OMG! I just happened across your blog and I must say those top two pics had me giggle out loud. Although I must add I thought that just couldn’t be! And because it was not ME! OH my, one creative little fellow there… maybe you should do one room in his wall with the chalkboard paint and give him chalk and then he could draw draw draw create just on that wall and know it was ok… LOL.. I paint murals so I just laugh because I paint on people’s walls all the time. I use to take my 3 year old and would always come home and think he probably thinks it is ok to just draw and paint on walls because mommy does it all the time in other’s homes.. LOL.. but he never was THAT creative!! Oh man, I just can’t imagine walking in and viewing it at the first viewing… ((hand on head falling backwards to the gournd)) who was in charge of watching him while he was being so creative, I imagine it took a little bit of time to create such an artistic masterpiece! :O) That’s why God makes toddles so stinkin cute! so you don’t kill them in instances like this!! Good luck with getting the remaining out!!
Wow. When I first glanced at it I thought “where did she find such an awesome modern couch with a unique design?” I kid you not. Then I realized….
Maybe you could get some red throw pillows and accents and work it into the room for now :)
Side question: I’ve been eyeing that very sofa @ Macys for some time now. Love the retro look of it. It got mixed reviews on the website, though. Do you like it? Do you use it a lot? Would you get it again? Just curious!
I think my head would have exploded. It almost did just looking at the photos! Can’t wait to hear all about your patent pending process in case the unthinkable every happens here… (I don’t have kids so it’s unlikely, thank goodness. I don’t think I’m capable of that easy going).
Oh my. I must have envisioned that this could happen. And so all permanent markers were stored in a cabinet high up near the wine glasses, while all the washable ones were at kid level. Ditto the superglue and the epoxy. Funny thing is, the kid is in college now but those Sharpies are still up by the wine glasses!
Oh my gosh seems to be the theme here and those are the words that came out of my mouth when I saw your pics. How you even pulled it together to take the pics. amazes me. Wishing you lots of calm and luck trying to get it out- I hope you are successful.
[...] a bit more. I’ve already tackled one project, my kitchen back splash, which resulted in THE RED SHARPIE OF DEATH. At first I hated it because every time I walked into the kitchen I thought SHARPIE!! But since [...]
[...] to life when I painted it almost black a couple of weeks ago. Oh yes, I did. It was during the Red Sharpie of Death incident, so it was all very [...]
[...] thought I would share the project I was working on so diligently while Rembrandt was working on the sofa and chair. But first, a back [...]
Ugggggghhh.
Yes, due to experiences like these, Sharpie is now a four letter word in my house. My three year old son and I had a few battles of our own [like this] last summer. I completely advocate Mr. Clean eraser sponges.
What ever made that sweet little soul choose red of all colors? Perhaps he was channeling his inner-designer? I give him a 10 for bold color choice. I cannot believe you actually got this out!