Every important meeting that has ever happened had a silent and powerful participant: the whiteboard. Conference rooms wouldn’t be without a whiteboard. And brainstorming ideas and concepts always seemed more efficient with this simple tool for visualization. 

The household setting also benefits a lot from whiteboards. To-do lists, grocery lists, simple things to be reminded of— these are just some of the many million things we jot down on this hard blank space attached to the wall for our convenience. 

And because whiteboards have bore witness to a thousand handwritings in different colored inks, your whiteboards sustain marker residue or stains from continued use. 

There will come a point when your whiteboard will be too stained or appear discolored or far from white from ink markings. You are either left with the choice between getting a new whiteboard or resorting to the more cost-effective way: clean your whiteboard properly. 

How to clean your whiteboard

Cleaning your whiteboard is actually not that hard. You don’t have to call commercial cleaning services in Tolland County, Connecticut to do this for you, although they do come handy. You just need the basic tools and supplies. But you need to establish a routine. Cleaning your whiteboard regularly is encouraged to prevent it from turning a sort of color gray again. 

Here’s the easiest way to clean your whiteboard:

1. Take a clean cloth or napkin and put a few drops of rubbing alcohol on it. 
2. Work the damp cloth in a circular motion across your board. 
3. Do the above steps however necessary, to get rid of the stains.
4. Take another clean cloth and dampen it with a bit of water. Use it to remove the remaining residue on the surface of the board. 
5. Finally, take a clean dry cloth and wipe it across the board to absorb moisture from the cleaning process. Air drying is also an option, but it’s one that is not recommended since it can leave some streaks that may make their mark over time. 

Now that’s how cleaning your whiteboard works with the most common cleaning tool inside the household and the office: rubbing alcohol. However, you’re not left with a single choice. There are other known cleaning supplies and agents that you can use apart from alcohol. 

Here are a few of the best things you can use to clean your whiteboards:

White vinegar

By now, it’s no secret how white vinegar works wonders when it comes to cleaning. It’s only the most powerful cleaning agent and a natural one at that. It’s been used to control pest infestation, kill weeds, and even as an ingredient in some beauty products. And the best thing about white vinegar? It is cheap. 

As a cleaning agent, white vinegar is often used to remove paint from wood and metal. To clean your whiteboard using vinegar, simply mix one teaspoon of vinegar per cup of water. You can add more vinegar if you need a stronger mixture. 

Dip a clean cloth into the mixture and rub the whiteboard with it in a circular motion. Continue with this technique until all the ink smudges have been cleared. 

Hydrogen peroxide

You may have heard of hydrogen peroxide when it comes to treating simple cuts, scrapes, and wounds. This is because hydrogen peroxide has powerful disinfecting properties. And you might be surprised at how great it can be at cleaning and deodorizing as well.

To clean your whiteboard using hydrogen peroxide, just pour a few drops of the liquid onto a clean cloth. Use this cloth to work on the markings on the board. Do this until the markings are rid of. 

You may encounter stubborn and persistent stains. When this happens, apply a generous amount of hydrogen peroxide to the affected surface. 

Hydrogen peroxide is readily available in nearby drugstores. 

Dry-erase marker

All of us have a story to tell about grabbing the wrong marker aka the permanent one. While this mistake may seem grand at the moment, take it easy. Your whiteboard is not yet ruined. All you have to do is to reverse the damage using a dry erase marker. 

With a dry-erase marker in hand, simply draw over the permanent ink using this tool. Let it sit for a minute or two. Then, use a clean cloth to wipe over the situation. The permanent ink may not easily go away, so you may need to keep going over the permanent writings with the dry erase marker and then wipe every now and then. Once you have gotten rid of the permanent ink, use a clean cloth dampened with a mixture of water and alcohol for a nice clean finish. 

How to prevent whiteboard marker stains

Preventing stains caused by whiteboard markers is quite easy. Just ensure to wipe off the writing completely once you are done with them. It is imperative that you thoroughly clean all of the writing on the whiteboard before you get to write on it again. As much as these markers are made for whiteboard, being left on the whiteboard for too long reacts with the air, solidifying the ink too much and making it hard to remove when left for too long. 

The eraser that comes with your whiteboard is not that much help either. It’s actually worse. Because the eraser is made of felt or foam, it can even contribute to the marks, smudges, and dust that you want to get rid of. Better set this eraser aside and replace it with a microfiber cloth. Microfiber cloth is very useful when it comes to cleaning stuff, and because of its material, the cloth can easily pick up stubborn dirt, and in this case, ink. 

Cleaning your whiteboard does not ask for too much. But, say you’re in a fast-paced working environment or office, you may not have time to do all that cleaning however easy it is. This is where office cleaning services come in. They deal with tidying concerns that you don’t have time to do, so even if it’s just a simple whiteboard cleaning, they can do it for you.