whiteboardsUSA.com

Preparing & Cleaning

Must I prepare my whiteboards before use?

During the manufacturing process dust is generated and it clings to the whiteboards. While we do clean our whiteboards before shipping, they probably can still use a good going over before initial use. Dust with a clean damp cloth; avoid soaking the board (especially the back) to avoid staining.

Can I prepare the white marking surface to make erasing easier?

Several of our customers indicate that they polish the white surface of their boards with car wax to enhance erasability. If you would like to try this, experiment with a single whiteboard first. We make no warranties that this will improve erasibility.

How can I remove hard-to-erase markings on a whiteboard?

While commercial products can be purchased for cleaning whiteboards after use, it’s just as easy to prepare and use your own solutions for pennies on the dollar. A safe solution consisting of 1 part store-bought 70% isopropyl rubbing alcohol or 100% ethyl alcohol (ethanol) to 4 parts water by volume will do the trick. Start with a whiteboard that has been thoroughly erased. Then, put your solution into a spray bottle, mist the whiteboard, and wipe the whiteboard dry with a clean, non-abrasive cloth. This will take care of ordinary smudges that result from the day-to-day use of a whiteboard.

A more thorough cleaning can be done using undiluted 70% isopropyl alcohol or 100% ethyl alcohol. You will want to be careful using undiluted alcohol as both are highly flammable. Also, it is probably best to give your whiteboards a thorough cleaning in a location with good fresh airflow.

Failure to start with a reasonably clean board and cleaning rag in either of the two above situations is likely to result in marker ink being spread all over the whiteboard by the cleaning rag. This can be a problem especially when using stronger cleaning solutions.

What about permanent markers?

Sometimes permanent markers are inadvertently used on whiteboards. Our experience has shown that permanent marks often can be removed by going over them with a standard dry erase marker and then erasing as usual. The solvents contained within the dry erase marker can sometimes dissolve the permanent markings, though there is no guarantee that this will always be the case.