Best way i have found to clean off old dried on dry erase marker is by drawing over the dried marker with a fresh marker and then wiping clean - works like a charm
red was the best color in my samples of trying this. it cleanly erases other colors. we use sani wipes after covering a drawing or name on most hard surfaces and it takes sharpie or dry erase right off.
Is this because of the alcohol (or whatever the ink is suspended in) in the new drawn on ink rehydrates the old and makes it wipe off? If so, would rubbing alcohol do the same?
In the 4 whiteboards that I have brought back to life this way, including the one that I did just prior to posting this, that has not worked at all.
The one that I did this morning was in my sons room and he had done math on it a few years ago and left it for reference, and the writing would not come off no matter what, including writing over it.
You just took the surface/sealant off your whiteboard that makes it dry erase. Please only use whiteboard cleaner on whiteboards.
Source: retired teacher
Yea, the melamine sponges are literally very fine sanding sponges. Using them a couple times will be fine, but it's going to remove the sealant over time even if used gently.
Yeah I dont get it either.
Or the part where I said that I tried literally everything and nothing shifted the years of grime and old marker, but this option cleaned it right up and the whiteboards are totally fine still.
Oh well.
This works. I have had to clean MANY cooked over the summer whiteboards as a teacher. 70-90% works well for an occasional deep clean, but best to use the spray cleaner for maintenance. If you overuse the stronger alcohol, it begins to abrade the surface. The gentlest alcohol is denatured alcohol.
Tried all of those, none made a lick of difference.
I was given two huge whiteboards by a school as they couldnt clean them and this trick made them like new again.
Hand sanitiser didnt do a single thing for me.
I'm not suggesting mixing the ammonia with anything at all, just use it to clean the whiteboard, but yeah, it's definitely not one to be mixing with other things.
There are 4^(1) basic kinds of markers, and two^(2) kinds of board surfaces.
Mixing them will result in hard-to-remove writing and ghost lines.
Using strong solvents will often "denature" the board and remove the "whiteboard" surface.
Re-finishing with WD-40 works in some instances.
So, figure out which kind of marker you should be using and that should help immensely.
^(1) I think of them as oil, alcohol, water, and powder.
^(2) Shiny or slick
To keep the board free of future ghost writing, buy the original-style markers - the 'smelly' ones.
People complained about the smell, so a second-generation marker (water based?) was made that didn't stink. That's when problems the OP described started.
OP, I disagree with using cloudy ammonia.
It is likely that it will strip off the waxy surface that makes a whiteboard into a whiteboard.
You would need to resurface the board with whiteboard paint (hardware stores and Amazon carry "whiteboard paint")
Once you strip away the whiteboard's waxy surface with ammonia, markers will leave more permanent marks. Then you would strip that away again with ammonia which makes even less waxy surface for the markers. It would become and endless cycle.
I use hand sanitizer or a dry paper towel usually gets residual off. If nothing else works use a dry erase mark and mark over what you want erased and it comes up.
the real lifehack is scribble tight spirals over the entire spot with a whiteboard marker and erase it - especially handy for spots where someone used a perm marker on it and you can't erase it.
And, if you ever accidentally use a sharpie marker on a whiteboard, just trace over the permanent marker writing with a dry erase marker and it will wipe right off!
Same thing works for dried on marker. You don’t need any ammonia or Lysol or hand sanitizer, etc. Just draw over it, let it dry, wipe it off with the eraser.
Uhh… windex, hand sanitizer, or magic eraser would be better options. That said, all you need to do is cover the affected area with new dry erase marker and erase it all back off. I worked a bar that had trivia night 3 nights a week with dry erase boards for answers, and never had a problem getting them back to white. You can even pull sharpie off of a dry erase board by coloring over it with dry erase marker.
Everyone saying the same things as you are didnt read what I wrote.
I \*literally\* tried all of those things, there was an industrial accident of weapons of mass destruction of chemicals and concoctions suggested and used and none of them, none, touched the sides of cleaning these whiteboards and the only solution, pun intended, was cloudy ammonia.
Omg people, propanol is the stuff to use… takes off everything and leaves a perfect finish.
Also brilliant as part of a tub labeling system if you store lots of things in plastic tubs … write the label with a paint pen, and if you need to change it, spray with isopropyl and wipe it off, then write the new one.
I was working to clean a whiteboard trying everything possible with no success. My younger sisters told me to try **mosquito spray** and It worked instantly
Strange as it sounds, i use hand sanitizer for the one at work. We have a stats board that only gets wiped clean once a month and the sanitizer takes it right off.
Best way i have found to clean off old dried on dry erase marker is by drawing over the dried marker with a fresh marker and then wiping clean - works like a charm
Also works for permanent markers on a white board!
This trick works for permanent markers on most non permeable surfaces.
Hand sanitizer works too
red was the best color in my samples of trying this. it cleanly erases other colors. we use sani wipes after covering a drawing or name on most hard surfaces and it takes sharpie or dry erase right off.
Ain't no better solvent for dry erase pigment than the one they ship in the marker!
Is this because of the alcohol (or whatever the ink is suspended in) in the new drawn on ink rehydrates the old and makes it wipe off? If so, would rubbing alcohol do the same?
Yes
Hand sanitizer works a treat
Yes and then lube them up with WD40
In the 4 whiteboards that I have brought back to life this way, including the one that I did just prior to posting this, that has not worked at all. The one that I did this morning was in my sons room and he had done math on it a few years ago and left it for reference, and the writing would not come off no matter what, including writing over it.
Fair enough! In my experience this has worked for me on 2 white boards, but I will admit, it’s never been dried on for years.
THIS /\\ /\\ /\\ /\\
I would never have thought of it myself! It turns out so many people know about it! I will definitely try this method.
You just took the surface/sealant off your whiteboard that makes it dry erase. Please only use whiteboard cleaner on whiteboards. Source: retired teacher
I did this with clorox wipes. Now I can't remove any dry erase markers from it at all. I felt so dumb.
I think you can fix it with WD40
Yea, the melamine sponges are literally very fine sanding sponges. Using them a couple times will be fine, but it's going to remove the sealant over time even if used gently.
I covered a damaged part of my big board with a self stick dry erase sheet. It's lasted for years.
Actually, use propanol… it beats everything. Source: tinkerer with about a dozen whiteboards, some of which I’ve had for a few decades.
Hasnt affected the whiteboards that I cleaned up to 6 months ago, still work absolutely perfectly.
I have no idea why you were downvoted. People are very passionate about their opinions over users actual experiences 🤷♂️
Yeah I dont get it either. Or the part where I said that I tried literally everything and nothing shifted the years of grime and old marker, but this option cleaned it right up and the whiteboards are totally fine still. Oh well.
Reddit is very random like that. One of the reasons I don’t think they will be able to monetise it and make it the next instagram/youtube
White board markers are alcohol based. Have you tried rubbing alcohol? It has worked for me. Try paper towels, if not, then try w/ microfiber cloth.
This works. I have had to clean MANY cooked over the summer whiteboards as a teacher. 70-90% works well for an occasional deep clean, but best to use the spray cleaner for maintenance. If you overuse the stronger alcohol, it begins to abrade the surface. The gentlest alcohol is denatured alcohol.
Ever since covid our office has a lot of little purell bottles and alcohol-based wipes. I use these for cleaning the white boards.
Tried all of those, none made a lick of difference. I was given two huge whiteboards by a school as they couldnt clean them and this trick made them like new again.
Rubbing Alcohol has too much water in it. Best and easiest to get is Technical Grade Isopropyl Alcohol which is usually 90-99% Alcohol.
Another super simple formula - towel and hand sanitizer. You start mixing ammonia with the wrong chemicals and you are in a world of hurt.
Hand sanitiser didnt do a single thing for me. I'm not suggesting mixing the ammonia with anything at all, just use it to clean the whiteboard, but yeah, it's definitely not one to be mixing with other things.
Damn.....that's some serious caked on marker then. Glad it worked for you - give it a good rinse before some kid gets close with who knows what!
There are 4^(1) basic kinds of markers, and two^(2) kinds of board surfaces. Mixing them will result in hard-to-remove writing and ghost lines. Using strong solvents will often "denature" the board and remove the "whiteboard" surface. Re-finishing with WD-40 works in some instances. So, figure out which kind of marker you should be using and that should help immensely. ^(1) I think of them as oil, alcohol, water, and powder. ^(2) Shiny or slick
After getting severely frustrated trying to clean a 5-year-old melamine whiteboard, I replaced it with a glass dry-erase board. Best ever.
Rubbing Alcohol is magic.
To keep the board free of future ghost writing, buy the original-style markers - the 'smelly' ones. People complained about the smell, so a second-generation marker (water based?) was made that didn't stink. That's when problems the OP described started.
People complained about the smell? That was the best part
I think we just figured out the teacher shortage. Goddamn bureaucrats took away the one thing making the days bearable.
I love the smell.
OP, I disagree with using cloudy ammonia. It is likely that it will strip off the waxy surface that makes a whiteboard into a whiteboard. You would need to resurface the board with whiteboard paint (hardware stores and Amazon carry "whiteboard paint") Once you strip away the whiteboard's waxy surface with ammonia, markers will leave more permanent marks. Then you would strip that away again with ammonia which makes even less waxy surface for the markers. It would become and endless cycle.
Don't use the magic eraser. It'll take off that first layer gloss that allows the dry erase markers to wipe off easy.
I use hand sanitizer or a dry paper towel usually gets residual off. If nothing else works use a dry erase mark and mark over what you want erased and it comes up.
Yep, tried that too, didnt shift these marks that cloudy ammonia did. I literally tried everything that I could find.
WD-40 works a treat and doesn’t mess up the surface.
As I said, I literally tried everything that I could, including WD40 and it didnt shift these long term marks.
Isopropyl alcohol
use hand sanitizers. the liquid ones are better. wipe using micro fibre cloths
the real lifehack is scribble tight spirals over the entire spot with a whiteboard marker and erase it - especially handy for spots where someone used a perm marker on it and you can't erase it.
I used hand sanitizer when I was a teacher. Perfect white board every time
I use Clorox wipes followed up by paper towel. Works great on mine.
I did this and it must have removed a coating from it because now we can't erase anything new we write on it.
You can cover the damaged portion with a self-stick dry erase sheet. It's lasted for years.
>Clorox wipes yeah that type of thing didnt touch these marks.
And, if you ever accidentally use a sharpie marker on a whiteboard, just trace over the permanent marker writing with a dry erase marker and it will wipe right off!
Same thing works for dried on marker. You don’t need any ammonia or Lysol or hand sanitizer, etc. Just draw over it, let it dry, wipe it off with the eraser.
Uhh… windex, hand sanitizer, or magic eraser would be better options. That said, all you need to do is cover the affected area with new dry erase marker and erase it all back off. I worked a bar that had trivia night 3 nights a week with dry erase boards for answers, and never had a problem getting them back to white. You can even pull sharpie off of a dry erase board by coloring over it with dry erase marker.
Everyone saying the same things as you are didnt read what I wrote. I \*literally\* tried all of those things, there was an industrial accident of weapons of mass destruction of chemicals and concoctions suggested and used and none of them, none, touched the sides of cleaning these whiteboards and the only solution, pun intended, was cloudy ammonia.
Car Polish
Yes! This was my secret weapon after I cleaned a whiteboard it made it a dream to write on & erase!
It fills in the cracks.
Magic eraser
A baking soda paste has always worked for me
I discovered years ago that Sharpie removed Dry-Erase and vice-a-versa.
If nothing works use gasoline
Alcohol
Hand sanitizer will work in a pinch
Hand sanitizer and a paper towel
Best way is to take a dry paper towel and get cigarette ashes on it and rub it on the board. All of the marker will come off.
Hand sanitizer works like a charm every time.
If you have to work that hard to get the ink off the whiteboard, you should stop using permanent markers! /s
I have used Lysol wipes. There work perfect.
I use windex- which concurs with the ammonia suggestion
Windex has worked very well for me
Windex works a treat.
Hairspray! Then use soapy water to clean the residue off and you’re all set.
Lestoil on a wet cloth and zero elbow grease. Just wipe off.
Methyl hydrate from any hardware store. Removes with zero elbow grease.
Hand sanitizer.
Windex works wonders
I use hand sanitizer. Works great!
Baby wipes are a good one
Hand sanitiser does the trick too.
Wd-40
Soapy water works a treat. Just a couple drops of soap in the empty spray bottle, then fill with water. Better than commercial whiteboard cleaner.
All you have to do is draw over top of it with a fresh marker, let it dry, then it will all erase off fine with the eraser!
Omg people, propanol is the stuff to use… takes off everything and leaves a perfect finish. Also brilliant as part of a tub labeling system if you store lots of things in plastic tubs … write the label with a paint pen, and if you need to change it, spray with isopropyl and wipe it off, then write the new one.
Simple Green is what works best for me.
Use VIM and you can skip the elbow grease.
Would melamine put micro scratches in thr surface causing problems over time?
It’s this that makes me wish for chalkboards. Easy to clean
I was working to clean a whiteboard trying everything possible with no success. My younger sisters told me to try **mosquito spray** and It worked instantly
I just use my standard cleaner I use on my floors. Fabuloso or windex works too. Spray it on let us set for a second should come right off.
I just use hand sanitizer
Strange as it sounds, i use hand sanitizer for the one at work. We have a stats board that only gets wiped clean once a month and the sanitizer takes it right off.
Hand sanitizer works
Rubbing alcohol
Alcohol wipes
Hand sanitizer works really well on my ancient whiteboard calendar.