Whiteboard Woes: Troubleshooting Tips for Erasing Difficulties

[erok81]

How well do they erase?

I just bought one for home use and I don't know if it is defective or I am asking too much from my new whiteboard. It is very hard to erase.

I've two packs of markers, both different makes, and get the same results. With this new pack and the black marker, the actual text erases but leaves a ghost image with a black smear. So now I have a gray cloud with white text inside...if that makes sense.

If I look at the board at a certain angle you can still a lot of the text I've written and erased.

Am I doing something wrong or is this really how they are supposed to be? Maybe different brands are better than others?

Maybe I need to return it and get a chalk board. I know how those are supposed to work.

 

[Moonbear]

They often don't clean well, especially if you rub your hands on the board as you write (i.e. resting your wrist against the board) or use your fingers to erase...you get the oils on your skin onto the board and it interferes with erasing and writing. Plain old rubbing alcohol is a cheap cleaner, and regular window cleaners usually work too. It might even be that it had some oily film on it during packaging/shipping that needs to be cleaned for use.

 

[D H]

They don't erase very well with erasers, but they do erase very nicely with a cleaner. Paper towel and rubbing alcohol or window cleaner works great. You should have cleaned it thoroughly before you used it the first time. If you didn't you might have done some permanent damage.

One downside: The green markers tend stink to high heaven.

 

[DaveC426913]

1] Are the markers dry-erase? I hope you're not using permanent.
2] How are you erasing? A dry-erase, or wet?

 

[lisab]

I just discovered an easy method to clean the one in my office. First, wipe it with a damp-to-wet cloth first (even though nothing will come off). Then, wipe with a dry cloth.

Simply using a dry cloth, I get maybe 80% of the color off. Using my method, I get 100% off.

 

[DaveC426913]

Hey everybody, over here. lisab is taking it all off.

(Missed my Grown-Up pill this morning.)

 

[lisab]

Hey everybody, over here. lisab is taking it all off.

(Missed my Grown-Up pill this morning.)

 

[Newai]

I noticed that if I leave writing on mine for a long time, the writing ghosts. I suspect the quality varies per board and markers. I tend to erase and clean daily.

 

[erok81]

They often don't clean well, especially if you rub your hands on the board as you write (i.e. resting your wrist against the board) or use your fingers to erase...you get the oils on your skin onto the board and it interferes with erasing and writing. Plain old rubbing alcohol is a cheap cleaner, and regular window cleaners usually work too. It might even be that it had some oily film on it during packaging/shipping that needs to be cleaned for use.

I tried the hand-no hand thing but I get the same results. Maybe it's just the marker. They all seem to erase okay except the black.

1] Are the markers dry-erase? I hope you're not using permanent.
2] How are you erasing? A dry-erase, or wet?

They are dry erase, both sets were. And I am erasing with two different dry erasers. One is expo that is fuzzy and the other is like a thick piece of felt glued to a plastic block.

I just discovered an easy method to clean the one in my office. First, wipe it with a damp-to-wet cloth first (even though nothing will come off). Then, wipe with a dry cloth.

Simply using a dry cloth, I get maybe 80% of the color off. Using my method, I get 100% off.

I'll have to try it.


The weird thing is they erase ok now. But it's almost like I have written with a marker that only produces grease the go over it with the marker. So I erase the marker off but there is a greasy looking film where exactly where I wrote if I look at it with the right angle. I can even smear that piece with my finger.

Maybe I am just asking too much from a whiteboard. The only experience I have with them is 20ft from one in a classroom. Perhaps they all work this way but you can't tell sitting that far back.

 

[Evo]

At work we use rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle, works great. Just spray and wipe with dry paper towels.

 

[DaveC426913]

At work we use rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle, works great. Just spray and wipe with dry paper towels.

I tend to do this every once in a while.

Whiteboard cleaner spray bottles are to be had at any fine office equipment store. Milder than rubbing alocohol. And much less stinky.

 

[theJorge551]

If it's any consolation, although your problem seemed to originally lie in the board's material itself (assuming you used different types of markers, which you did), I have found an absolutely marvelous solution to marker stains on whiteboards (or any type of plastic, surprisingly). Permanent stains from dry erase markers, permanent markers, and several other types, can all be removed (albeit with a bit of elbow grease) with a lightly damp paper towel dipped in baking soda. Apply to stained area and you should be good on that note ;)

 

[DaveC426913]

Permanent stains from dry erase markers, permanent markers, and several other types, can all be removed (albeit with a bit of elbow grease) with a lightly damp paper towel dipped in baking soda. Apply to stained area and you should be good on that note ;)

Eeyikes! Only as a last resort I hope! Baking soda is an abrasive. You're literally grinding the surface of the whiteboard off.

 

[theJorge551]

Eeyikes! Only as a last resort I hope! Baking soda is an abrasive. You're literally grinding the surface of the whiteboard off.

Well then I have yet to find any sort of downside, lol. I've used it quite a bit on whiteboards (and not enough baking soda to cause a direct visual effect on the integrity of the board). I simply damp the cloth and carefully allow a small amount of the soda to stick and dissolve onto it, and no negative effects have come from it so far, lol.

 

[lisab]

Eeyikes! Only as a last resort I hope! Baking soda is an abrasive. You're literally grinding the surface of the whiteboard off.

Maybe it would be just as good to simply buy a can of white spray paint, and just paint over it.

 

[DaveC426913]

Maybe it would be just as good to simply buy a can of white spray paint, and just paint over it.

Somehow, spraying over it is not nearly as interesting as taking it off...

"Hello boys! I've got a can of white paint here with your name on it..."

 

[erok81]

Somehow, spraying over it is not nearly as interesting as taking it off...

"Hello boys! I've got a can of white paint here with your name on it..."

 

[theneedtoknow]

Well I definitely don't think erasing a whiteboard should be this much of a challenge... I have a 15 dollar whiteboard from Walmart and I use an old pair of undies for an eraser and it erases perfectly every time...I do use it daily though which helps

 

[DaveC426913]

...I use an old pair of undies for an eraser...

Well give em back to lisab! Can't you see she's freezing?

 

[diazona]

Huh... I have a couple of whiteboards at home that I got partially because of the ease of erasing. All it takes for me is a light sweep of the eraser.

Although I do notice that it gets a little harder to erase anything that's been up there for a week or two...

erok81, don't give into the chalkboard crowd Whiteboards are so much nicer and easier to work with

 

[Dembadon]

I'd advise against using anything with isopropanol (rubbing alcohol) in it. Even though companies like Expo sell cleaning products for whiteboards which contain this form of alcohol, I do not feel it is the best solution as it will (over time) damage the surface of your board.

Isopropanol is a solvent and will eat into the surface of your whiteboard. Eventually, you'll find that everytime you go to erase something you'll need to use the water + rubbing alcohol combo to avoid having the ink just smear across what is now essentially an etched surface created by exposure to the solution. If this doesn't bother you, then by all means go ahead; but when I simply need to correct a small error on the board, which is often surrounded by things I want to remain unmolested, it is difficult to use the spray with the needed precision.

Water and a paper towel will work as long as the ink has not been left on the board for too long. If needed, every few days, I'll rewrite things that need to be left on the board for long periods of time to avoid having the ink "set in."

I've also considered the notion that I am entirely too meticulous with regards to whiteboard care.

Edit: Whiteboards are made of different materials. My experiences have been with boards that are adversly affected by alcohol. Realize that boards made with laquered or enamel steel may not be affected as much by solvents, but will probably be more expensive.

 

[dlgoff]

Check out what this person did regarding what works best:
http://rumkin.com/reference/whiteboard/cleaners.php"

 

[AverageJoe]

I found that Windex works best, doesn't harm the board and gets all the nasty off. Plus leaves that fresh blue scent!

 

[turbo]

'Way cheaper solution is 50:50 mix of 90% isopropynol and water. My wife and I keep several spray-bottle loaded with this solution, and it is the best window/mirror/shiny surface cleaner around. Both water and the rubbing alcohol are solvents, and often, whatever contamination one doesn't clean, the other will. It is the only cleaning solution that I ever used in my optical lab. Safe for all lens materials, coatings, etc.

Commercial glass cleaners have added dyes, perfumes, and a bit of detergent. You don't need any of that stuff.

 

[AverageJoe]

is that distilled or tap water?

 

[turbo]

is that distilled or tap water?

I use tap water.

 

[erok81]

Well I am selling out...I returned the whiteboard and am going to get a chalkboard instead. I like them better anyway.

Now - have any of you had luck with that paint on chalk board surface? I was thinking of buying a piece of 1/4" masonite (since it's pretty smooth) and just painting it with chalk board paint.

I was going to just buy a chalkboard, but it's only for home use and I don't want to spend 200 bucks on it.