Ideas for getting ink off hands?

My Mom took a new job at a printing factory. She prints barcodes and lot numbers on paper sleeves. Her hands aren't terribly inky, but it's driving her crazy...and she's driving me crazy asking what she can do about it!

She's tried bleach, alcohol, numerous soaps like Lava and fingernail polish remover. Nothing seems to make this stuff budge.

Any ideas or suggestions? TIA!

You might try hairspray. It works on clothes.

A friend of mine worked with printer's ink. His hands were always stained.....

My father worked in the newspaper industry in the printroom, and always got newspaper ink on his hands. In the 60's, they gave them something to clean their hands with, it worked great. Too bad it was carbon tetrachloride, a carcinogen. He and 95% of the guys he worked with are all dead of cancer.

In later times, he used some of that stuff mechanics use, Goop I think it is called. You can get it at places like Pep Boys or Auto Zone. It is a cleaner with some gritty stuff in it to scrub.

I just sent her into the bathroom with a big can of Hairspray. We'll see if that helps...um..she just yelled out and said it didn't work.

So, Deb...I'm assuming he never found the magical potion to remove ink either?

Sue, that's what the factory people told her to use and she claims it didn't work either. It's probably not the product, but the USER!

I'm not kidding guys...she's freakin' driving me crazy about this! I finally told her "Well, the only solution I've got for ya is to cut your hands off. At least then you'll have a REAL reason to b*tch!". She didn't like that comment much....

But I got a kick out of it!

LOL Shell! You are too funny!

Try some GOOP. It is for getting grease off, and you should be able to find it in the automotive section at Wal-Mart. It gets tattoo ink off, but I don't know about printer's ink. It's worth a try. Can't they wear gloves?

She tried the Goop and no luck. They wear gloves, but it leaks through. She's so freaking worried about staining her fingernails and her cuticles! Jeez...I swear!

I did just have a thought...maybe she could wear latex gloves underneath her work gloves. Do you think that would work?

It couldn't hurt. Have her soak her hands in warm water and dawn dishwashing liquid for 15 minutes, then apply the goop and wrap her hands in plastic wrap. Let this soak on her hands for 30 minutes. Rince well and soak in 50% warm water and 50% lemon juice for 15 minutes. It could work and is worth a try. If nothing else it will get her off your back for an hour. LOL It should work though.

Thanks Teresa! I'll have her try that tomorrow...she just headed to bed! Thank God! She's lucky that I love her...even though she can drive me batty at times!

Did you see this thread?

yeah, but I didn't see anything about ink on skin. I seen that you can use PB for ink on doll faces. Maybe it'd work for skin too? What the hell...we'll give it a shot!

Originally posted by Shell
Sue, that's what the factory people told her to use and she claims it didn't work either. It's probably not the product, but the USER!

I'm not kidding guys...she's freakin' driving me crazy about this! I finally told her "Well, the only solution I've got for ya is to cut your hands off. At least then you'll have a REAL reason to b*tch!". She didn't like that comment much....

But I got a kick out of it!

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Shell, you're funny! You've reached that turning point where mother/daughter roles begin to reverse!

Even when I was little I was the "Mom" it kinds sucks when you have to be the adult and you are 10.

Oh yeah...that time has come! It's funny because she asks me why I'm bossing her around like a child and I tell her I learned ALL my Motherly Skills from her!

Originally posted by Shell
Oh yeah...that time has come! It's funny because she asks me why I'm bossing her around like a child and I tell her I learned ALL my Motherly Skills from her!

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That's a good one! I'll have to remember that! And it's absolutely true!

Originally posted by DragonLady
Even when I was little I was the "Mom" it kinds sucks when you have to be the adult and you are 10.

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Yeah Teresa, I understand. I had to be grown up since I was 4 years old. When I was 7 I and my siblings ended up in an orphange for a year and a half. But that's for another thread!

Have you tried rubbing alcohol swabs? Whenever we get permanent marker on our hands at work, it works really well to just rub it off with one of those little swabs, also works for pen ink too!

If your mom ever gets that ink off to her satisfaction, she could try latex gloves like someone mentioned. Another thing that may or may not work to prevent the stains in the first place is barrier cream. It should be available to her at work, or she should be able to find it at an automotive, or industrial type store. I used to use it for some types of jobs when I worked at a natural gas compressor station. I don't know how well it would work against ink though.