You hardly come across people that haven’t made use of a sharpie in their entire life. Most people still have them filled up in their desk drawers.
Sharpies are the least expensive inks that write very purely and boldly, coupled with our memories about them.
But are Sharpies Flammable? Is it fire hazardous when anything fire comes close to it? Yes, sharpies are flammable because of the content of alcohol in ink. The plastic can also burn, but it can’t easily catch fire.
We will come back to that later!
Contents
What Are Sharpies?
Sharpie is a brand of writing implements. It is a permanent marker manufactured by Newell Brands, a public company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
The sharpie permanent marker brand has grown primarily that it now comes with different types related to the formerly permanent and non-permanent pens and markers previously marketed under other brands.
Sharpies consist of several tips, one of which is the famous Fine tip. The rest includes Ultra Fine Point, Extra Fine Point, Brush tip, Chisel tip, and Retractable tip.
Other than markers and highlighters, Sharpie has other products like gel and rollerball pens, amongst others.
Sharpie was formerly a name designating a permanent marker released by a company established in 1857, the Sanford Ink Company, and it became the first pen-style permanent marker.
Back to the vital topic question, are Sharpies Flammable or Combustible?
Are Sharpies Flammable?
Well, according to Amazon, Sharpies are currently considered hazardous materials, hence very flammable.
In other words, you need to take extreme caution when handling them. But as we earlier mentioned, Sharpies are volatile due to the content of alcohol in their ink. The plastic will also burn, but it can’t easily catch fire.
Why Are Sharpies Very Flammable?
Even though we’ve accepted Amazon’s view of its inflammability, it’s essential to note the reasons and conditions for Sharpies’ inflammability.
For instance, a Sharpie has plastic that can be resistant to heat because of the presence of thermal insulators. However, it’s not advisable to use Sharpies as any proper insulation.
Also, while Sharpies consist of ink, and ink expands when heated, they can spill everywhere from leakage, even long before the plastic gets destroyed.
In other words, the ink does not require severe heat to sustain a leak. A rollerball is a crucial example of the above postulation.
Therefore, we recommend that you do your best to keep Sharpies away from heat, as you may risk damaging the ink supply.
However, you have nothing to worry about when they are just warm because even though they have leakages, it’s still impossible for them to combust or flame up and cannot result in any lasting implications.
Can Sharpies Be Flammable When Dry?
Dry Sharpies cannot be flammable. We believe that the water content may have evaporated at this stage, but the one left behind is insufficient to make it explosive.
Even if Sharpie decides to produce an alcohol-based marker (although the probability of doing so is low), the alcoholic content would have evaporated by the time the ink dries off also.
Nevertheless, you have to be mindful of the possible combustion of the ink, and it will burn if the ink becomes too hot.
But, there is no need for panic, as we won’t be experiencing such temperatures in our daily use of a Sharpie.
But, generally, the answer to the above question is, NO, Sharpies aren’t flammable when dry, as there is no liquid content left to instigate combustion or flames.
Can Sharpie Ink Be Flammable On Light Bulbs or LEDs?
It is a 50/50 chance, and this is because Sharpies produces industrial Sharpies, widely believed to be highly heat-resistant.
Therefore, since we’re talking about lightbulbs (and lightbulbs can get very hot), we can go for the industrial Sharpie by saying that it is not flammable, given that it (Industrial Sharpie) is heat-resistant.
Again, we also have no proof to show that ordinary Sharpie ink would be flammable.
Talking about LED lighting, given that it generates very little heat under normal conditions and the probability of getting warmer than room temperature is low, it means that Sharpie ink will not be flammable on LED lighting.
Do Sharpies Contain Alcohol?
Indeed, Sharpies contains alcohol, but they are few and far between and of different alcohol kinds.
The various ink ingredients used in making Sharpies include Dyes, Propyl alcohol (N-Propanol) – 200 to 250 PPM, Butyl alcohol (N-Butanol) – 50 to 100 PPM, Diacetone alcohol (4-Hydroxy-4-Methyl-2-Pentanone) – 50 PPM.
Going by the various ingredients above, we can see traces of alcoholic content in Sharpies. In other words, they contain alcohol.
Again, this pen uses ink that contains Isopropyl Alcohol, considered highly flammable, and the same with the Isopropyl Alcohol wash.
Therefore, while it is advisable to store them (Isopropyl) in a cool, dry, well-ventilated spacious area and closed containers, you are free to leave your Sharpies in your desk drawer or your bag, as long as they won’t get too hot, and the ink doesn’t leak.