Getting the Meeting Room Whiteboard Looking Good as New

whiteboardIf you’ve been to a meeting in the last few years you’ve likely noticed that whiteboards are becoming critical parts of the process. In fact, whiteboards are one of the best tools to have in a meeting room. They’re easy to clean, portable, relatively inexpensive, and definitely help to keep meetings focused, organized, and on track.

With that said, whiteboards do get dirty, especially if you own one of the cheaper ones that tend to stain easily and get covered in old streaks that don’t seem to come off. Fortunately this is a problem that can be remedied once you know how to clean a whiteboard the right way.

How to Clean a Whiteboard – Step by Step

If you have never used a whiteboard before, you might not know that they need to be cleaned on occasion, but they are much easier to clean than chalkboards, and they need to be maintained less regularly than chalkboards too. However, this does not mean that they do not need to be cleaned every now and again.

Let’s go through a step-by-step process on how to clean your whiteboard. We will start off with basic cleaning, and then, if you have stains on the board that won’t come off, we will move on to some more intensive cleaning options.

The very first thing is to use your whiteboard eraser. Preferably you will want to use a new, as older and used erasers will already have some ink on them, which can make things harder. Either way, use the whiteboard eraser to get rid of as much staining and marker on the board as you can.

The next step is to use a soft sponge, cloth, or paper towel to wipe the whiteboard down. Use a bit of non-abrasive soap and warm water, soak the sponge or paper towel, and then wipe it down, using circular motions, just like brushing your teeth. You can give it a few passes if you like. Afterwards, wipe it down with a dry cloth or paper towel to get rid of any residue.

If this hasn’t done the trick yet, you will want to move on to some more intensive methods,  like using vinegar to clean with. It sounds counterintuitive, but what you will do here is use a dry erase marker and write over the stains, making sure to saturate the new stains with fresh ink. It sounds odd, but this new ink will actually work to dissolve the old stains. Leave it for a few minutes for maximum effect, but not long enough so the new ink will dry.

After you have covered the stains in marker, use the whiteboard eraser to remove it all. It should remove most of the staining. However, if permanent marker or something else like that was used, you might have to move on to the next step.

If there are still stains remaining, it is time to move on to the rubbing alcohol option. You will need to use rubbing alcohol that is over 90% alcohol. The stronger the better, so the 99% option is the best to go with.

Use a cloth, paper towel, or sponge soaked in the rubbing alcohol and really scrub away at the whiteboard. The rubbing alcohol should be more than enough to remove any remaining stains. If this doesn’t work too well, you can then use hydrogen peroxide, either after the alcohol, or in place of it. Both options tend to be quite effective.

If none of this does the trick, you can try using toothpaste. Toothpaste has compounds in it which can also dissolve ink on a whiteboard. Apply the toothpaste liberally and use a sponge to work it into the surface. You will need to use a wet cloth afterwards to wipe it off again; you don’t want to leave a film of toothpaste on the whiteboard because it will end up sticky.

Conclusion

There you have it, the best way to clean your whiteboard the right way. The first few steps should get the job done, but if the staining is more severe, you might have to move on to the latter steps. If none of this works, you might either just have to deal with the stains being there or invest in a new whiteboard.

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