We all love our sharpies. They allow us to write on all types of materials like nylons, books, ceramic, wood, plastics and concretes. They work in most weather conditions where other permanent markers will not work. They allow us to write on oily surfaces, wet surfaces, and even dry surfaces! They do not spill out ink. They even allow us to write upside down or vertically.
Most of the time, they are very reliable, except when they dry out!!
And they seem to dry out often, even when we think the ink within should not have run out.
There is a simple explanation for this. More importantly, there is also a simple remedy for a dried out sharpie. And this solution will save you the money that you might have gone to spend on another sharpie when you really did not have to.
Sharpies use a form of alcohol-based ink different from other markers, like kids markers whose ink is water-based. While alcohol-based ink allows you to write on many more surfaces under adverse conditions. It does have a drawback. Alcohol evaporates at a lower temperature than water. And because of this, if you use your sharpie often or do not cap it back after using, the alcohol at the tip of sharpie will evaporate quickly leading to the sharpie drying out.
The remedy is quite simple. You will need a small container filled with rubbing alcohol. Put the sharpie tip down into the alcohol (you might need to rest the sharpie against a vertical surface to keep it upright). Allow the sharpie stay in the alcohol until you see ink running into the alcohol. Remove the sharpie from the alcohol and cap it back. Wait for 15 mins before using it again. The sharpie should be working again after 15 mins.
This method will usually revive a dried out sharpie, but if you use the method several times on a sharpie and the ink keeps drying out, it might be time to get another sharpie from 123ink.ca.
