White Board Cleaner?

'Off'® insect spray works on temporary job site plaques to remove grease pencil and most markers. Probably work on your white board as well.

Stay away from abrasives and solvents.

Mosquitoes are a problem down here. OFF might also keep other office pests away as well.

Hello Bhankiii,

Don't be suprised, try detergent mixed with water in a small bowl or glass cup and with a small towel or rag. I guess you'll like what you'll see on your white board after.

Cheers,

ethobil

Thanks, but this doesn't do much more than the commercial cleaner I used.

Hi Bhankiii

Try Tea Tree Oil. Works a treat! It comes in small bottles like vanilla escence!

Good luck with it!

spray-on window cleaner I have found to be ok but any washing up liquid (diluted) will do the job

I find that the ink stays behind on a whiteboard when there is moisture. If the board has been cleaned previously by anything that might leave a residue (e.g. fingers or soap and water) then it becomes increasingly difficult to erase. I find that the cleaning solution has a tendency to build up a residue as well, because it dissolves the ink which then gets smeared around.

Oddly, the best cleaner for a dry erase board is a dry erase marker. Ever notice that when you write on a dirty board, then erase it, the image can still be seen in white? Use that fact to clean your board: put squiggles all over the board, then vigorously scrub it clean with DRY paper towels.

Always use an eraser specially made for dry erase boards. Do NOT use a chalk eraser, as the ink residue remains trapped in the felt and causes smearing.

Stop using laundry markers.

Acetone

Not a good suggestion! Acetone - we all know how volatile that is, will smear the marker ink across the whiteboard and then evaporate before you can say, 'Jack Robinson'. You'll be left with smears that are even harder to remove than the original stuff you had put on. How about an alcohol solution (70% ethanol) and a soft cloth?

How about an alcohol solution (70% ethanol) and a soft cloth?

This is an effective solution. Use any denatured spirit available in medical shops- I have been able to get rid of even old diagrams made by using permanent markers and get a really clean surface.A vigorous rub down with dry soft tissue paper thereafter leaves the white board invitingly attractive!

Cheers

acetone is the strongest solution you can use, but it works perfectly. the issue about smearing will be avoided if you use cotton.

dab the cotton in acetone and wipe the board briskly. the ink will adhere to the cotton, and not smudge to other parts of the board.

the downside about acetone is its strong odor/fume, so you'll have to ventilate the room to avoid killing yourself.

Safest is detergent.

To ensure board is dry afterwards, go over it with methylated spirits (denatured ethanol). This absorbs the water which is removed as you wipe the meths off. The small residual then evaporates quite quickly.

Be very careful with solvents. They can damage the surface and from there on marks are almost impossible to remove. (I have a couple which were cleaned with mineral turpentine. They are now useless as you can't erase your markings).

Why not try WD-40? It's good for so many tasks, perhaps whiteboards too.

I use isopropyl alcohol on our white boards. We have a couple in the office used for notes & sketches and they clean up perfectly.

I find any good Scotch Whisky works well.....

........two doubles and the old scetches won't bother you any more!!

Simple solution do not use marker ink pens use black or other coloured dust free chalks made by Kores and a duster.

1 part white vinegar

1 part water

1/4 part rubbing alcohol

Great for cleaning glass too. Ideal for windshield wiper as well.

Try adding a bit of detergent such as Sodium L sulfate etc.

By the way ask for Isopropyl alcohol (IPA), the generic name instead of rubbing alcohol.

this is my favorite, i use this all the time on my white boards at work (made my boss this think i was a genius) and we are writing different things all the time with different markers cause people will never use the ones i tell them to.

I started using this recipe at home to clean everything after my daughter was born and wanted to get rid of all the chemicals. It works great on the windows, the bathroom and the TV. It may be a little too acidic for marble.

It's cheap and it works.

Pepsi or Coke works great.

Can't speak for pepsi but Coke is a great cleaner. We once had an ancient linoleum tile floor in an Amateur Radio club that I was a member of. We managed to spill a coke on the floor and once we cleaned it up and removed all the stickiness the floor looked new, all the scratches were gone, all the dirt was gone. Great stuff.

I use Quartet 551 Orange scented Board Cleaner and Conditioner in one. You may be able to purchase through you normal office supplier. If not, just google it. It applies and cleans in a manner much like waxing your car. It works great to get out the ink that rest deep in the board.

OH - That's just bizarre. Kudos to your surprised art director...

I've got a buddy that 'swears' by the gel/paste-type windshield cleaner that comes in a big tube, which would be my suggestion, except that I haven't proven it myself yet to testify. I just keep forgetting to pick one up when I'm at WalMart.

I can't imagine using up a few new markers to scrub the entire board with (it's 5' x 12').

We've tried two different "dry erase board cleaner" products that come in an expensive little spray bottle, and do a good job of getting about 50% of the residue off. Not a final answer.

I have tried the denatured (isopropyl, I think) alchohol, works about as well as the board-cleaner stuff, and is cheaper, so that helped, but not a final answer.

For the detergent people...you didn't mention a brand name; you do realize that if you've had success with that, it may be dependent on the exact type you used, right? I've tried Dawn from the break room/kitchen, which is a dishwashing detergent. didn't work. Did you get a powdered laundry detergent like Tide and make a paste with some water or something? be specific, we're engineers here...;)

Anyway...it's a bit early in the day to try the whiskey and Coke approach, didn't have immediate access to any cigarette ashes, acetone (really?), or WD-40 (which reminded me to pick some up next time since I'm out), but I've got this big bottle of el-cheapo $1-store white hand lotion, well, handy.

IT WORKS! Good grief - the hand lotion works better than the stuff we paid $12 for to 'recondition' the board! Maybe it has "tee tree oil" in it - I don't know. Probably make the office smell better for a day, too - in fact, it may be best to wipe it down afterward with a little of the denatured alchohol to clean off any residue, but the board now has a big WHITE area right in the middle, rest to follow. Awesome.

Anyway - JJB, you-da-man today.

Well I cannot take full credit for it but I will pass on the kudos to the art director.

Now that you mention it, our H.S. art teacher (50 years ago) swore by the stuff to clean up most art residue. Makes me think that a lanolin based lotion or hand cleaner like GO-JO^® would work as well. Someone mentioned Tea Tree Oil. Perhaps anything with a combination of lanolin and a volatile organic oil would work. Ie; Eucalyptus or my favorite, Oil of Wintergreen, (the magic in Marvel Mystery Oil). These contain (chemists, correct me it I'm wrong) smaller molecules that can insinuate themselves between larger molecules and different types of molecules, thus lifting the pigments away from your white-board.

That will be $.02 please.

Hello double j b,

Sorry about any mistake in the spelling of your name. I cannot see the difference sometimes between a 'j' and an 'i'!

=

Though it was a joke initially, it shows that nothing is 'off limits' when you are looking for a practical answer to a very real problem!

ALWAYS think Tangentially!

Take care and well done. This may seem 'small beer' to some but it is a really useful input!

=

Take care.......

Thanks BB and don't worry about the typo, It happens to me all the time.

If there are permanent markings on the board, cigarette ashes mixed with a little bit of water works like magic!

I was sceptical to this odd nasty looking and smelling mixture, but after trying it I was thoroughly surprised!

Just mix some of this paste like gook up, then rub the area and wipe dry with a clean cloth. Takes off any permanent marker from a white board with no damage.

I would imagine the shiny surface of the whiteboard would end up kinda dulled after the application of this "abrasive"?

OP is using non-permanent marking pens.

if it's less shiny, that means non-permanent ink will be absorbed, and thus be hard to remove... again...??

One word.

Shamwow...

Seriously, I have been told that Engine degreaser (kind in a can from the Zone!) works wonders on white boards. I have a big one that I got free because it was stained...

I might just pull it out and give it a try.

Bill12780

I'd be cautious about engine degreaser. They are usually simply a strong solution of caustic soda (NaOH).

bhankill,

when you have had what you decide is the definitive solution I would like to know whether it would be suitable for the now prevalent electronic white boards - or are they what you were talking about all along?

Sleepy

As is obvious just about anything will work. But I have found that any domestic spray on cleaner is suitable, Some of the suggestion are plain dangerous.

If the spray on does not work the board is a piece of junk and needs to be thrown out.

Bhankiii,

Your first choice got to be a temporary marker pen and not permanent markers.

When you use temporary marker pens it is enough you use a flannel cloth duster or eraser which will work without any solvents.

Use reds and royal blues which are easy to clean.

In case of over staining of the board give a wash with peroxide and soap treatment followed by fresh water washing.

Keep the duster periodically cleaned externally.

We use Goof-Off. We have alot of older white boards here and the stain very easy. We found that Goof-Off works very well. The down side is the smell and it does give some people headaches or make them a little dizzy, but think they are covering their nose and mouth with the cleaning rag.

Maybe what remains there in your case is a little paint in the microscopic valleys of the board.

What about using pore-sealing liquid after washing clean the board?

It is regularly used in composite manufacturing to avoid unwanted adhesion and fumes coming through visually perfect but microcopically porous , although shiny surface.

Maybe it would disable the ink to stick/ some remain and would come off easily.

(test on small part of board first)

hi there

ive had the same problem you had but mine wasent cleaned for at least 5 years do you have a can of WD-40 laying around that works all you need is a rag and the spray but a good idea to do it outside as it can be smelly it really clean it up .if it can get something that been on there for 5 years it can get yours off

or orange spray works well little bit nicer smelling then the surgestion above but needs alot more rubbing to remove it

metholated sprits are extreemly strong just soak in a tub or something with it the more the faster it will work after you have soaked it come back then with an old rag just rub it off.

or solvo is great but beware its strong enough to remove tar and other narstys

last of all is industual factory grade bleach
the strongest of them all but if your not careful it can strip your skin and dye off clothes so were all protection

And the winner is...

hand lotion!

Thanks to everyone. Your checks are in the mail.