OK, not really a Mac question, although I have three iMacs and two iPads, but a question of domestic housekeeping!

Unbeknown to me, my trusty (at least so far) and aged HP DeskJet 840C printer has been leaking ink. When it became apparent that this was happening and I thus moved it prior to cleaning the printer and ditching tho offending black cartridge, I discovered that the ink had seeped through to the white desk below.

I now want to clean the desk so have searched the interweb for answers - and came there none!

The closest that I can find is HP's own site which deals with hands and fabric and it repeats many times the exhortation "IMMEDIATELY rinse the stained area ... "

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/bpa00317/

Well, immediately isn't an option any longer and, in any event, their instructions do not deal with furniture, so have any of you any recommendations as to how I can remove the stains without damaging the desk?

Thanks in advance!

Tough luck!

To enable us to entertain your question, please tell us what your desk surface is made of.

Well, there's a question! if I could upload a picture to this august and highly esteemed forum then I would - but I can't see how.

The desk is wood and has a white staining on it (as well as the "new" black and it is not what I might call traditional paint with a glossy surface) so the appearance is wood grain with a thin white semi-transparent coating.

I apologise for this highly technical description, which of course can only be understood by Master-Craftsmen in the Noble Art of Cheap Woodwork, but it's been there for thirty or more years so I cannot recall how the installers described it at the time.

It may even be a form of chipboard with a surface designed to look like wood!

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After reading your description, though, I doubt that the effort will contribute much to the discussion.

Particularly because it sounds like the printer ink is absorbed by porous materials, the best stain removal procedure may be to arrange your work surface to remove it from sight, but if you're lucky, the desk's surface is non-porous and you'll be able to wipe it off easily.

Can't help you with the stain question, but...

I had this problem with a Canon printer. Turns out that there is a lot of leakage and overspray in inkjet printers. I presume that HP is the same as Canon in having a felt pad in the base of the printer housing to absorb the overspill. Thing is, especially in an old printer, the felt pad can become over saturated and the ink just dribbles onto your desk.

I bought a new felt pad and replaced the old one. I couldn't believe how much the pad weighed! There was probably hundreds of £££ ($$$) of ink in that pad.

It was a horribly dirty job, but I extended the life of the printer. I wouldn't do it again...

Before you look - and recoil - I would like to place on record my firm belief in the adage that "A tidy desk is the sign of a sick mind".

You ain't seen the half of it!

Printer spill

I tried to clean it but, with arthritis in my fingers, I couldn't reach inside th affected part of the casing. I took it to my local cartridge shop and he completely cleaned it, replacing the old pads, etc. for only £15.00, much cheaper than buying a new printer with, no doubt, a significantly shorter life.

What he did recommend, though, was that when leaving the printer for an "extended period" (undefined, but I don't print much any more) the cartridge carrier should be moved to the centre of the printer away from the parking place.

His reasoning is that the heads rest on the absorbent pads and that can start a capillary action which sucks the ink out of the cartridges.

Whether that is a good idea or a bad one I have yet to determine.

well, it's INK so I don't expect you will have any luck short of sanding and refinishing it

unless you want to bleach it.

That is, alas, what i thought, but I was living in the probably vain hope that some Einstein of the Printing Ink World would come up with a simple solution!

I may just somehow "mop up" what I can and then place something over the top to hide the stains - most of which will be under the printer when I set it back up.

It will then be up to my Heirs and Executors to sort it out when I have snuffed it and shuffled off this mortal coil!

It's been many years since I've had an inkjet printer, but I DO remember seeing that caveat, but with no reason attached to it, back when I had one.

Much of your damage looks like it can be scraped off with a razor blade, and the rest will probably have to be the beginnings of "your new black desk."

I am not a finish expert but I do a lot of woodwork and of course that does entail finishing the resulting projects.

There are products such as lacquer thinner, acetone, and wood bleaches available at your nearby hardware or paint store that might be able to remove the ink stain. The downside of those is you do not want to use them inside because the fumes can be hazardous to your health in a variety of different ways and there is a strong possibility they might strip off all of the finish as well as the stain.

I would try using denatured alcohol (I like to use the alcohol swabs or "prep pads" for this kind of work) to soften and remove as much of the stain as possible and after that has dried thoroughly (it shouldn't take long) soak the remainder using paper towels wet in a chlorine bleach solution laid on the desktop to bleach out any remaining ink color. CAUTION: Use protective gloves, clothing, and protection for your floors and be sure there is plenty of ventilation.

Thanks, one and all.

I blotted up the worst and then wiped down the area with dry kitchen towel. Surprisingly, this actually got rid on most of it and almost restored the surface.

I then went over the affected area with kitchen towel soaked in isopropyl alcohol and I reckon 99% of the stain has gone.

The only evidence left is where the ink had seeped into a slit in the grain and I'm going to try a few more isopropyl alcohol rubs to see if that removes the rest.