Customized tees look aesthetic and pleasing to all of us, but doing sublimation at home is a risk. As a beginner, you’ll encounter mistakes, wrong sublimation, faded prints, or distorted results. In that manner, the best way to reduce your loss is to restore the fabric by learning how to remove sublimation ink from shirt. This blog is all about how to get rid of stubborn sublimation ink and fix your garments without investment.
There are various ways you can remove the heat transfer sublimation ink from shirts. But before we move on to the cleaning process, remember to always believe in household items first. There is no need to buy fancy chemicals or expensive stuff when you can go for affordable DIY ways. Those have no side effects, are fun going, and are easy to do.
Remove Sublimation Print From Shirt
Following are some simple methods to remove sublimation print from shirt,
Cold Water – Remove Sublimation Ink From Shirt
Water is the best solvent on this planet and has natural properties of dissolving various chemicals. Likewise, the most basic way to get rid of sublimation print is the use of cold water. In this process, you need to add some cold water to a bucket and soak your sublimated t-shirts in it and wait for some time until the ink freezes. This way the ink will remove faster than you think.
Soda Water– Get Sublimation Ink Out of a Shirt
Water is indeed the best solvent, and soda naturally possesses cleansing properties. Did you know that all cleaning agents like dishwashers, soap, surf, etc have soda as their main ingredient? All you need to do is to prepare soda water in a 6:1 ratio and soak your clothes for at least half an hour. Don’t forget to stir the solution in between, and by 30 minutes your shirt will be sublimation ink free.
Bleaching
Bleach is a potent oxidizer that is used to get rid of stains and chemicals completely. It is available at any nearby departmental store easily and doesn’t cost you much. Apply the bleach all over your shirt and leave it for half an hour until the ink gets completely dissolved. After that, rinse the shirt thoroughly with water, and add some re-freshener or fragrance to nullify the smell of chlorine.
Heating
Heating is another way to remove stains or chemicals from the fabric, but the question is how will you generate that heat? With a DRYER! Yes, a hair dryer or an iron is a perfect option to heat the garment until the ink transforms into liquid form. In chemical explanation, heating breaks the bonding between fabric and ink and helps it melt away from the substrate easily. I have one more process how to remove sublimation ink from shirt.
Steam Cleaner
Steam cleaner is also used for removal of ink. It ejects the ink and looses it grip from the fabric. After that we can washed it. But it can loose the heath of fabric. Before using its good to test it on any small effected area.
Pressure Washer Tank
One of the more economical method to remove sublimation ink from fabric is to use pressure washer tank. Mix regular water with the water in the pressure washer tank. After that wash that fabric. It will completely remove the sublimation ink.
Alcohol
Denatured alcohol can also help you get rid of sublimated ink. In this process, you’ll need an aluminum foil, denatured alcohol or methylated spirit, methyl alcohol, iron, and some paper towels. Set your tabletop with aluminum foil, place the fabric and pour the denatured alcohol over the fabric and leave it for 20-25 minutes. You will see that ink starts removing from the shirt. Now cover the fabric with paper towels and press it gently using flat iron until the shirt gets restored completely.
FAQs
Can you remove sublimation ink from shirts?
Sublimation inks are designed to stick onto the fabric permanently, so it is hard to remove them. You can remove sublimation ink from shirts using bleaching agents, soda water, denatured alcohol, and heating. Among all, I found bleaching the perfect way to remove sublimation ink from shirts for its affordability, fast action, and easy availability.
Will bleach remove sublimation ink?
Yes! Sodium hypochlorite or bleach possesses cleaning properties naturally and is extensively used as the main component of various household cleaning items like soaps, surfs, dishwashers, and more. To remove sublimation ink, soak the fabric in bleach and wait until the ink dissolves completely.
How to get sublimation ink off the heat press?
Heating is another successful way to eliminate sublimation prints from fabric. To generate heat, people use various gadgets like hair dryers, heat presses, and more, while the heat press is the header. You need to set the heat press at 200 degrees and press it over the fabric until the residue gets removed.
How to clean sublimation ink?
There are many ways to clean the sublimation ink from your shirt like heating, bleaching, cleaning with soda water, cleaning with cold water, and so forth. The best answer for how to remove sublimation ink from shirts is bleaching for obvious reasons.
Final Thoughts
As a beginners making mistakes is a part of life. We all begin with doing something wrong. In consideration of that, I have ruined many shirts to customize them or bring my art together until I found some ways how to remove sublimation ink from shirt. In this article, I have discussed the DIY chemicals and solvents. These chemicals naturally remove the ink or stains from your favorite tees and make them new again. You can choose any one way that is more accessible to you. However, I found bleaching the most practically efficient and convenient.
