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I made a great big batch of Chili the other day and preserved it in my pressure canner. That is what I did, because I do things like that.
Then, I went to an office supply store to buy some labels for my newly jarred chili. This is what I did, because I do things like that.
While at the office supply store, I walked right past the aisle filled with Sharpies and thought to myself “Huh, my Sharpie’s all dried out. I should probably buy another one, ’cause I’ll need it to write my labels.” And then it seemed like the biggest ordeal and expense in the world to buy a Sharpie, so I left the store without one even though I knew the one I had at home was dried up and I really needed to buy one. That is what I did, because I do things like that. All the time.
So when I got home I checked to see if the Sharpie Fairy had visited me, and indeed she had not. My Sharpie was still as dried up as it was the last time I tried to use it. It was not self-lubricating as I had hoped.
So I did this ….
Checked one last time to see if my Sharpie tip was still dried out.
(it’s usually the tip that’s dried out, not the ink that’s gone)
It was. Dried out I mean.
Grabbed a bottle of Rubbing Alcohol.
Poured some into the cap.
Dipped the tip of the Sharpie into the cap filled with Rubbing Alcohol.
I left it until I could see a bit of ink swirling out.
I put the cap back on the Sharpie and left it for 15 minutes.
Pulled my cap off and tried again.
That is what I did, because I do things like that. All the time.
This trick will not revive allllll markers. Sometimes, some things are just too far gone to be revived with a little bit of alcohol.
(For a non permanent marker do the same thing but use water)
You might also be interested in my How to Remove Sharpie from Walls post.
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V
I’m not gonna lie, I think this is pretty genius! Now I know what to do with all the pens I’ve swiped from work…
Leann
SOMETIMES you can heat them reakky fast with a lighter and they’ll write again…
Leann
Opps I meant really
Laura
You are brilliant. Those suckers are expensive, too. I have the sharpies with the retractable tips. That helps but sometimes they still get left open and dry right up.
Sarah B
Whooooa. I really want to find a dried up Sharpie now so I can try this!!
Leann
Yeah me too!!!
Helen
forget the cool sharpie trick – I am DIGGING your nails Karen!
Helen
And thinking about it now, your nails are almost looking like the perfect blank canvas to draw alittle something on. Maybe, with a fine tip Sharpie…
Karen
Helen – Thanks! Yup. I’m into white now. This particular shade is white, made by Joe Fresh. $4. I also bought a bottle of $4 matte topcoat today. So now my shiny white nails, are matte white nails. I never thought I’d ever wear white nailpolish with my ugly manhands, but I love it! Makes me feel fresh and clean. Like I’m in a panty liner commercial. ~ karen
Todd
“Makes me feel fresh and clean. Like I’m in a panty liner commercial” Great, I just spit coffee on my LCD. Got any tips for getting that clean?
Karen
Sorry ’bout that Todd. But seriously … those commercials are ridiculous. ~ karen
bob z
i bought ultra fine sharpies to put a logo on my balls,,,golf balls that is,,,,but now with all this nail talk, i’m not sure how i’ll use them
Inspirational Sketchbook
I’m glad you write this blog. ‘Cause that’s what you do. I’ve got kids. I’ve got dried out Sharpies. I’ve got rubbing alcohol. Guess what I’m gonna do?
Debbie Doodles
You are a hoot! Thanks for the tips! On my Sharpies I mean. So excited about being able to bring my Sharpies back to life.
marilyn
wow good thing alcohol doesnt dry up that bottle has a price sticker on it! how long has that been around! lol good trick with the sharpie.
Beth
Karen – I’m thinking you ought to try stand-up comedy as your new line of work! I’d pay good money to come laugh at (with) you!!
Karen
Beth – I’ve had that suggested to me before. Thanks for the compliment. But I’d rather let an angry rat live in my uterus. Nooooooooo thanks.
~ karen
Eva
Hey, you just saved my business a ton of money! We use Sharpies all time to label thousands of things, and the minions are “always” leaving the caps off! They each get their own bottle of rubbing alcohol now (cause we treat them that well!)
Karen
Eva – You’re a good boss.
~ karen
Ginger
This is great! I must be a Sharpie, because, I too, can be “revived” with alcohol.
cred
Hilarious, Ginger! pretty sure you’re not the only Sharpie in the drawer.
Tiana
When I was a kid I would pull the backs off my crayola markers and put in a few drops of water to get them going again. This is mostly because my parents were super cheap and I knew it would be ages before they would buy me a new set.
They never even knew, lucky bastards!
Karen
Tiana – I think beyond 10 or 15 years ago, every parent was that cheap. I remember going out for dinner (like once or twice my entire childhood) and not being allowed to order a beverage! Water only. ~ karen
Dana
i sat here for almost 3 minutes trying to figure out what kind of statue you’re testing your sharpies on. until i realized it’s just an out of the ordinary notepad. because you do things like that.
Karen
Dana – Yup. Just a notepad. I love my swirly notepad. You can bend it to whatever shape you want! ~ karen
Melanie
When we were in elementary school we used to suck the markers until they would start working again. There was usually at least one kid with a blue mouth! When I saw the title- I was hoping this was your technique.
Karen
Melanie ~ HAHAHAH! I remember that kid!
~ karen
Christina
Genius! And I agree, the white nails are lovely. I wish I could wear nail polish but one of my jobs requires me to occasionally handle food products and therefore no chippy nail polish for me.
And I have nice nails too! *pouts*
Karen
Christina – I’m jealous of your nice nails. I do NOT have nice nails. ~ karen
TLC_Designs @ Passport2Design
You know what I love more than using a sharpie? Using a REVIVED sharpie. I’m going to throw a sharpie-revival party for myself tomorrow.
Kudos for so many great tips
*Tania @ Passport2Design.com
Karen
Tania – Thanks! I hope the Sharpie party works out for you! Remember, there are a few Sharpies that are too far gone to be revived. ~ karen
Heather
WoW too cool!!! I have a few Sharpie pens that I need to try this with, thanks for the tip!
Jen A
“Sometimes, some things are just too far gone to be revived with a little bit of alcohol”
Ain’t that the truth!
Karen
Jen – Oh … you bet it’s true!
~ karen
Jessi
Dang! You’re a genius! Now I gotta go gather all my dried up Sharpies and give it a try!! Amazing!
Lita
I can’t believe that you only own one sharpie.
Karen
Lita – Ah ha. Only one *Fine Tip Sharpie*.
~ karen
Lita
*Phew*
I was beginning to think I didn’t know you at all
Amy
Genius! Pure Genius!
My son can’t seem to remember to put the cap back on the Sharpies. I am forever having to replace our supply. I am definitely going to give this a try.
Ran
Oh this is just brilliant! It also works very well. I do not know why I have rubbing alcohol at work but I do, and we have a large supply of sharpies that have dried up yet we still keep them at our desks and then become angry when they no longer work.
Unfortunately this trick did not work on our highlighters. I request a highlighter reviver tip next!
Evalyn
Can’t help but mention that the white nail polish bears a likeness to White-out. Just sayin’, because I’m a fool for office supplies.
You need to start buying your rubbing alcohol at the Dollar Store!
“some things are just too far gone to be revived with a little bit of alcohol.” Gospel.
Karen
Evalyn – I know! You should see it now that I’ve put a coat of Matte finish on it. Total white out!
~ karen
blake
your timing is flippy delicious…working on a floorplan for a client yesterday I was throwing Sharpies across the studio because every one I pulled out of the old soup can I keep them in were dried out…We all must have known, somehow, that someday we would have a tip for fixing dead, dried Sharpies…why else would we keep them close?…hmmmphhf!
I adore you!
Stephanie
Karen,
Have you ever bought the 12 lb box of sharpies and assorted pens on Woot? I got a bazillion Sharpies for less than $10 and I brag about it every chance I get!
Karen
Stephanie – What is this Woot? ~ karen
Stacey
Woot (http://www.woot.com/) is a site that posts daily deals. A few months ago, I got some BuckyBalls – rare earth magnets – two for the price of one! Some of the stuff is total crap, but sometimes you can find a great deal.
Ana
When I was little, we would open dried up markers and put a few drops of vinegar in the felty part. They smelled like vinegar but they worked!
Melissa
I realise you, and most (all !?) of your readers are far too sophisticated and modern to still use gel pens… but let’s just say someone wasn’t… and still had some… and they kept dying when there WAS STILL INK IN THE PEN!!!!!!! what would one do about that(hypothetically, of course)?
Karen
Melissa – Hah! I have no idea how to fix one of these “gel pens” you speak of. However, I looked it up and apparently there’s not a whole lot you can do. The ink dries up quickly in those suckers. The only advice I found was to roll the ball over and over and over again until it starts to roll and pick up ink again. ?? Worth a shot I suppose! ~ karen
Pam'a
Come sit by me, gel pen sistah. I hate that too. I have had *some* success with tap-tapping the point on a hard surface a bit until the ink is forced down. If that doesn’t work, I try holding the tip near (not IN) a flame for just long enough to heat it a bit, then tapping it.
Swearing doesn’t seem to work, but does make me feel better.
Karen
Melissa/Pam’a – Be careful with the tapping. The reason I didn’t mention tapping is because gel pens apparently have a “delicate” mechanism. People are advised against tapping them. I’d try the flame first (good idea to melt the gel ink and get it going) and resort to tapping the ball last just so you don’t completely ruin the pen. Although I guess that doesn’t really matter since it’s broken anyway … Uch. Do whatever you want.
~ karen
Pam'a
I haven’t had a gel pen turn on me yet, but like you said, at that point it’s kind of moot. No matter what happens, it can’t hold a candle to my fifth grade mortification when, after idly sucking on the end of my Bic pen, it decided to fwoosh out the end and into my mouth, and on my face…and onto the dress I had on for picture day.
Nicole
Karen, I’m amazed. Not because you’ve done something very clever but oh so simple yet AGAIN, but 1) because you only have one sharpie in your house, and 2) because you’ve had it long enough for it to dry out!
Clearly you and I have different lives but I like the peek into yours.
Karen
Nicole – One “fine tip” Sharpie.
~ karen
Sandra
Love your stuff! Thanks for the great ideas & giggles along the way.
On a Sharpie related point ~ do you know that hand sanitizer will take Sharpie off hard surfaces?(except purple – that one’s alittle tougher to get off) One of the coolest things I have learned as a preschool teacher! Laminate counter tops & desktops are sharpie-free in my classroom!
Karen
Sandra – Thanks so much! I had heard that tip but I’ve never tried it! Maybe I’ll do a little comparison with my usual remedy. I did a post several months ago on how to remove Sharpie from a pure white wall. Great results! http://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/karen-answers-how-to-remove-sharpie-from-white-walls ~ karen!
Alissa
Also, hair spray will remove Sharpie! I had a teacher who was always accidentally writing on the overhead projector with Sharpies, and it was the 80s so everyone carried hairspray. I guess in the 2000s everyone carries Purell now, though.
Karen
Alissa – Actually, hairspray doesn’t work! Sorry, I had to say that. I experimented with a few things on my wall, and hair spray definitely did NOT work. It might work for removing Sharpie from a slippery surface, but not on anything else. EEP. Just warning people before they make a mess of their walls, LOL. ~ karen
Chris Graham
Can I use tequila to bring back my sharpie’s mojo?
Karen
Chris – Duh. ~ karen
Whitney
Thanks so much for posting this! I just reposted your tips onto the Sharpie blog (http://blog.sharpie.com) – giving you 100% of the credit of course
Great work. Love your blog!
-Whitney
Stacey
You were just featured on the Sharpie Facebook feed! I love it when my internet worlds collide!
Pam'a
That’s very cool, and kind of weird, when I think about it– Wouldn’t the Sharpie people prefer that everyone just keep throwing the dried-out ones across the room so we’ll buy more new ones?
Discuss.
Rebecca
Thank you. You just saved my highlighter! I need it for work, and it’s the only one I have right now! I can’t believe I actually remembered this post!
Rebecca
Nope, it’s dead again! Oh well, worth a shot!
Karen
Rebecca – LOL. You can try it again. Sometimes it takes a couple of shots to work. ~ karen
DLT II
‘Sometimes it takes a couple of shots to work” – This is true of many things.
Thanks for the tip – we used to do this with our ginormous chisel tip markers in middle and high school – We didn’t have extra fine tip sharpies back then.
Katie
GENIUS! I think I just fell in love with you… thank you for solving all the worlds problems. It seems to always be alcohol that does it, lol.
Lilly
Is that a pad of paper you’re writing on? If it is, I want one. Where dya get it?
Karen
Lilly – It *is* a pad of paper. It’s the “Mighty Morph Pad”. A Canadian product. Google it to see if it’s available around you. Basically you can twist and move and wiggle it into any shape you want. ~karen!
Anonna
Now, can you revive a glue stick? I hate buying a glue stick, opening it up and finding out that it’s dried and hard and no longer a glue stick and is –
– just a stick.
dicobalt
I wonder if this works for dry erase markers? You know the kind used on white boards?
Karen
Dicobalt – I’m not sure … never tried it. Give it a shot! ~ karen
Sara
I’m an elementary art teacher who is constantly spending my own money on about a billion sharpies a year just to watch them dry out after about two class uses. I’m so going to try this right now! Does it work for
colored sharpies too?
Karen
Sara – Yup. As long as they aren’t too far gone. ~ karen
GJD
For about 20 years I use a needle and a syringe to sloooowly soak the innards of water-base calligraphic pens. This I did, and I still do several times. Lately, the ink gets lighter, sure… watered, flushed to the utmost.
But it is still good for Christmas cards.
As for the fountain pens with cartridges, I do the same, for about 10 years now. So I buy cheap ink in a bottle (please send me yours, unused…) and write with about 5 pens. Each with different color, naturally. This helps me with differentiation of entries in my business notebook (I use computer Word file as well, sure…). Notebook does not need battery, the only thing is to keep it out of water or fire.
Regarding other markers, I use alcohol as well. While typing this I think about using a special diluter for certain stamp inks, which stick to any surface.
Than I may tinker with more decisive solvents.
Stanford, Markall and other manufacturers should divulge chemicals they use – if clearly asked.
Theo
will this work with gin?
Karen
Theo – Mmm. I have no idea. I highly doubt it. But pour yourself a tumbler and give it a shot. ~ karen!
Theo
Well I tried gin and it didnt work.. Then I tried another idea that I found on another blog.. I made a short comic about it just now – http://9gag.com/gag/3874697/?add_post=success as you can see that didnt work either
Kathleen
any idea if metallic sharpies work the same way?
Karen
Kathleen – Not a clue, sadly. Give it a shot! Lemme know if it works. ~ karen
Kathleen
will do! thanks so much for the response…
Jenn k
I will have to try this with my backup markers I use at work. I buy thedollar tree permanent markers as we go though marker every 2 to 3 days. This may help get another day or 2 of use out of them.
Karen
You go through a marker every 2 to 3 days? Wow! Are you some kind of marker graffiti artist?
~ karen
Jenn k
Lol no I work in a book warehouse we have to mark books if they are damaged for resale.
David B
I came here looking for a fix for my dry high-lighters. I had tried just plain water before and it didn’t work very well. I had a flash of incite and thought maybe what I needed was an emulsifier. I put 2 drops of dish washing liquid in about an ounce of water stirred it around gently so it wouldn’t foam up and tried that instead of just plain water. Worked great right off the bat. The soap helps devolve (emulsifies) the ink into the water . I think it will take a few treatment to get the moisture up into the reservoir of dried ink to really repair it though.
Matt
You ruined my Sharpie, asshole.
Karen
Hi Matt – Well, #1 I’m a girl. Generally speaking you wouldn’t call a girl an asshole. Maybe bitch would be better for you. #2. If you were trying to fix your Sharpie chances are it was ruined to begin with. #3. If you’re so hard up that a wonky Sharpie is enough to send you into fits of swearing at a perfect stranger that was only trying to help you out (clearly you did something wrong, which is a horrifying thought since this was such a simple task) then I will send you the $3 to buy yourself a new Sharpie. All I need from you is your address. ~ karen
Linda
Normally I would respond to a person like that by calling him a “tool”. He’s too much of a simpleton to be granted the honor of being called a tool….Obviously he doesn’t know how to use his tool….he’s a little short on know how in that department….
Pati Gulat
So, Karen,you ruined his sharpie butthole….what was he doing with a sharpie butthole to begin with ??? LOLOLOL !
courtney
works great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Karen
Excellent! ~ karen
Kenny Hendrick
That was a good read. I loved the way you wrote that…very cute and informative.
Thanks for taking the time to share this with us (our company has thrown out about 20+ permanent markers in the past couple of months; they are relatively new!).
No kidding, there’s two in the waste basket next to me and if I check the umpteen trash cans around our building I’m sure to see more of these new markers that fail to make their mark.
Whew…it’s people like you that keep corporate fascism/profiteering/mass manipulation via the media, curriculum, etc. to a minimum.
Now THIS is news I can use!
Thanks again.
Thanks again.
Karen
Kenny – You’re very welcome. You’re very welcome.
~ karen
Vicky
I’d really like to know what the gorgeous shape is that you are using to test the pen? and where you got it?