DIY Whiteboard Cleaner
Whiteboards or dry erase boards are popular in schools, offices, and even homes. The idea behind dry erase boards is you can write on them with a dry erase marker and then wipe that marker off to start all over again. The problem is keeping the boards clean; as over time, the whiteboard begins to look dirty thanks to smudges and old ink stains.
Using one of our DIY whiteboard cleaner recipes means that there is no need to buy a new board as you can quickly clean your old one.
Sure you can easily run out and grab one of the ready to go cleaners to clean your whiteboard, EXPO makes a great cleaner, but it is expensive. There are several homemade cleaners you can make with ingredients you already have on hand that provide the same amazing results.
When it comes to choosing a homemade whiteboard cleaner, not all cleansers are for the same purpose.
Some homemade whiteboard cleaners work best on specific stains, while others are more for general cleaning. Know what you need out of your whiteboard cleaner to ensure you choose the best method for the job at hand.
Easy-to-Make Whiteboard Cleaner Tips and Recipes
DIY Whiteboard Cleaner with Rubbing Alcohol
If you want a clean, dry erase board with minimal effort, give rubbing alcohol a try. Rubbing alcohol removes most leftover ink, including permanent marker stains as the inks become soluble.
Recipe for DIY Whiteboard Cleaner with Rubbing Alcohol
Pour isopropyl alcohol directly onto the end of the microfiber cloth. Rub the whiteboard until the ink comes off. For older or stubborn stains, spray the dry erase board with the alcohol, allow to sit until the ink begins to dissolve and then wipe off with a dry rag.
If you don’t have any rubbing alcohol or if it is not cleaning effectively, try using hydrogen peroxide instead. Apply the peroxide in the same manner.
Permanent Marker Remover
If your board has been a victim of permanent ink, getting it off can be a problem. One of the best ways to remove permanent marker is to use a dry erase pen and a dry eraser.
Use the dry erase marker to color over the old ink stains and then immediately wipe away with a whiteboard eraser. This should remove both inks, but if any remains repeat the process.
Toothpaste
Abrasive cleaners may void your warranty, but generic white toothpaste won’t. The generic white toothpaste acts as a mild abrasive cleaner for non-porous surfaces and when used correctly won’t ruin the board.
Squirt toothpaste directly onto the whiteboard; rub the area with a rag until stains are gone. With a clean cloth wipe the entire surface of the board. Ben-Gay can be used in place of toothpaste, plus it contains alcohol, so it has extra cleaning power.
Homemade Whiteboard Vinegar Cleaner
Combine one cup each of water and vinegar to create your own cost-effective, yet powerful whiteboard cleaner. Spray the cleaning solution on the board’s surface and wipe away.
For extremely dirty or stained whiteboards allow the cleaner to sit on the surface of the board for several minutes before wiping with a damp cloth.
Hair Spray Whiteboard Cleaner
The alcohol in hair spray works to remove old ink and dirt from whiteboards when used correctly. If not done the right way you will have a sticky mess that needs further cleaning.
Apply hair spray directly onto the surface of the whiteboard and allow it to sit for two minutes. Dip cloth in warm water and mild soap to wash away any leftover residue.
Homemade Glass Cleaner for Whiteboards
You can use a commercial glass cleaner or one of our natural glass cleaner with vinegar recipes to clean your board effectively. The ingredients found in household glass cleaners dissolve various residues, including ink.
Spray glass cleaner on the surface and wipe with a clean rag. After cleaning use a soft cloth to remove excess glass cleaner so as not to ruin the lubricating layer.
Natural Whiteboard Cleaner
Straight rubbing alcohol is not always needed to get a board clean. This recipe is perfect for when you need a little less cleaning power.
Recipe for Natural Whiteboard Cleaner
Mix liquids inside a spray bottle. Spray your board directly and allow to soak for about a minute, possibly longer depending on how dirty it is. Do not let the cleaner dry. Remove cleaner by wiping with a dry rag.
Old Dryer Sheets
Restoring our dry erase board can be as simple as using an old dryer sheet. Rather than use a dry erase marker, use dryer sheets to wipe your boards daily.
They are also effective at removing older smudges, but you need to scrub a little. Cleaning your whiteboard every day will help prevent future stains.
Nail Polish Remover
Nail polish remover works like rubbing alcohol in cleaning dry erase boards. For it to be a useful cleaning product though, you need to use the right kind.
Non-acetone nail polish remover will not work to clean whiteboard surfaces; only acetone-based will work. Dip a corner of the clean cloth into the polish remover and wipe the entire board.
Household Cleaning Supplies
You can use a variety of household cleaners to clean your whiteboards effectively. One product you can use is LA Totally Awesome. Follow the directions on the label.
After cleansing,apply two coats of car wax and polish by hand. The car wax fully restores your old whiteboards and works to block future stains.
All-purpose cleaners that contain bleach can also work to clean and remove stains from your old boards. Put the cleaner directly onto the surface of the board and wipe with a washcloth dipped in hot water.
Use a clean washcloth dipped in hot, soapy water to remove any cleaner. Rinse and wipe with clean water to get rid of remaining residue.
Disinfectant sprays and other household cleaners should be used sparingly and with caution. The chemicals found in some of these cleaning supplies can erode the top layer of the whiteboard.
Wipes
Ink that has been left on the surface of a dry erase board for a few days is difficult to remove. Wipes, including baby wipes and antibacterial wipes, will work to remove day old ink. Scrub with the moist wipe until all ink has been eliminated, then throw away the used wipe.
WD-40 does much more than clean off old marks on your dry erase board; it can also fully restore it so you can keep writing without the ink drying on the board. Use soft towels or a soft paper towel to remove as many marks as you can.
Spray a little WD-40 directly onto the surface and wipe with a clean cloth. As the marks are removed, the WD-40 will leave the board slick enough to write on.
Hand Sanitizer
Hand sanitizer and paper towels will also work well to clean a dirty whiteboard. Squirt hand sanitizer directly onto the whiteboard surface.
Use the paper towel to spread the sanitizer around the entire board. Leave for thirty seconds, then wipe clean with more paper towels.
Homemade Dry Erase Board Cleaner
Baking soda and water form a thick paste that cleans a variety of things inside your home, so why should whiteboards be any different.
Miro: online whiteboard 4+
RealtimeBoard Inc.
Снимки экрана
Описание
Miro is the online whiteboard for team collaboration. With the magic of Miro, visualizing concepts, ideas, and solutions as a team can happen anywhere — no dry erase markers needed. With Miro’s online whiteboard, teams can sync, flow, and feel the connection of working side by side — even in remote, distributed, and hybrid work environments.
Miro’s whiteboard app for iPad and iPhone gives you the tools to collaborate with boards that put projects and context all in one place.
Our customers love using Miro’s online whiteboard to:
• Run online meetings and team workshops
• Brainstorm new ideas and designs on a limitless whiteboard
• Edit, annotate and mark up documents and PDFs
• Take digital notes with an Apple Pencil (and reduce paper use!)
• Easily collect resources, photos, docs, links, and references
• Plan and manage agile workflows and scrum rituals
• Create user journeys, map processes, and develop personas
• Teach online classes, replacing the classroom blackboard with an online whiteboard
• Create a vision board of ideas and inspiration
Miro’s whiteboard app allows you to create anytime, anywhere. With over 200+ pre-made templates, a drag-and-drop interface, and no limit on collaborators, working on our whiteboard is fast and fun.
With Miro’s whiteboard mobile app, you can:
• Scan paper post-it notes and convert them into editable digital notes
• Create, view, and edit all your boards
• Capture and organize your ideas on the go
• Share boards publicly or invite team members to edit
• Upload images, pictures, docs, spreadsheets, and more
• Share boards and invite team members to edit
• Review, add and resolve comments
On tablets, you can also use Miro’s whiteboard to:
• Draw concepts and sketch new design ideas with an Apple Pencil
• Convert pencil or stylus drawings into shapes, notes, and diagrams
• Set up your tablet as the second screen with Zoom or Microsoft Teams
Create Mind Maps to visualize your ideas
• Use Lasso to select and move sketches, drawings, or text anywhere on the whiteboard
• Use Highlighter to capture the attention of your team during a meeting
Whiteboard cleaner что это
People have all sorts of different tricks that they use to clean a whiteboard. Some things work well for whiteboard markers. Other methods are better for marks by markers that are not dry erase. I decided to finally put all of the rumors and tips to the test. I sacrificed my large commercial whiteboard and coated it with the following materials:
To make the test really difficult, I let the whiteboard sit for over a month with the test marks on it. I have to say that the dry erase and wet erase marker were usually wiped away without any problem. The permanent markers and UV marker didn’t come off in most tests, and the stamping pad ink seeped into the board and would not come entirely off with anything short of a belt sander. However, if you decide to not let the ink sit as long as I did, then you will likely not have the permanent discoloration when you use the cleaners suggested below.
Our testing procedure for each cleaner was the same. Apply the cleaner, wait two minutes, wipe 20 times with a clean cotton cloth. For cleaners that did not follow the rules, we did our best. The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, dry cloth, and wet cloth were not left on the surface for two minutes before use. The clear tape was left on for two minutes before being pulled off. The markers (dry, wet) were applied, two minutes elapsed, then a dry or wet cloth was used to wipe 20 times.
We used a limited number of wipes because we didn’t want to sit and scrub with each cleaner. One could scratch the finish off if an abrasive cleaner was used, and it would be all nice and white. However, the next time you try to write on it, you wouldn’t be able to erase it. The goal is to find the best cleaner that makes you wipe as little as possible that is completely safe for your board surface. We also mark down scores if the product left a film since we really only want to clean the board once and we don’t want to clean off our cleaner after cleaning it.
Overall Score is how well the cleaner performed on all of the marks that were on the board. Whiteboard Score rates how well just the whiteboard markers were removed. This way you can pick the best cleaner for your particular application.
Acetone :: Klean-Strip
This is in the hardware section of your favorite store. When I purchsed it from Wal-Mart, I was not only carded, but I also apparently had a buying limit. That minor hassle aside, this was one of the better cleaners out there. It didn’t really do much to the ink, but the rest of the marks came off with only a little work.
If you intend to use this as a cleaner indoors, make sure that you do your cleaning away from flame and turn on the fans! The major drawback of this cleaner is that you get a nasty chemical smell. Acetone is also the primary ingredient in nail polish remover.
Alcohol, Isopropyl :: Generic
Rubbing alcohol is cheaper and produces a bit less fumes than acetone, but its cleaning power is nearly the same. It worked marvelously on the whiteboard marker and even removed the dull sheen that a whiteboard may accumulate. I have heard that some brands of marker don’t clean as easily with alcohol and leaving marker on the board for a very long time can make it harder to erase, but the Expo brand of markers apparently use something very similar as a solvent in their markers because it works very well for me.
Baby Oil :: Johnson & Johnson
I got this suggestion from a reader to my web site. This was about the worst thing in the world that you can do to your whiteboard. It removed about as much as water, but it also left an oily film that needed to be cleaned before the board could be used.
I do want to note that I did not want to actually try something like this because I saw no merit in the cleaner. However, I wanted to be very thorough, and that’s the only reason it is included in the test.
Cleaner :: Lift Off 2
This cleaner removed crayon and a couple of the marker streaks, but I feel that it is very ineffective. It is no better than soapy water when it comes to whiteboard marker marks and several other cleaners outperform it when compared on how well it cleaned the other types of marks.
Cleaner :: Lysol Kitchen Cleaner
Though it is not designed for whiteboards nor for the types of marks we were trying, this cleaner still performed adequately. I was disappointed that the whiteboard didn’t glisten when we were done cleaning it, and it left a thin film of cleaner on the surface.
Cleaner :: Oil Eater
Of course, her «champion» of cleaners did quite well. It did not seem to really take away all of the whiteboard markers, but it made up for that with the permanent marker, ink, and other things.
Cloth, Dry :: Generic
Worked as well as expected. Mostly wiped away the markers that were designed to be wiped away.
Cloth, Wet (Water) :: Generic
One should not hope that just water will remove ink, crayon, and the other things with which I coated my board. Worked as well as we thought it would.
Sorry about the lack of a picture. Just look at the one for vinegar instead; they have the exact same cleaning power.
Dish Soap :: Dawn
It worked about the same as plain water. Well, just a tiny bit better, but the difference was minimal.
Eraser Pad :: Mr. Clean
It was advertised to remove crayon, marker, and a slew of other things. We had to throw it away because it smeared the ink and it got into the sponge. Don’t waste your money on this product.
Hair Spray :: Suave Naturals
This did pull up some of the permanent marks, but also was very ineffective on other marks. The sticky residue brought the score down for whiteboard markers, plus you can find many better ways to remove the marks. I would not suggest this one.
Lacquer Thinner :: Kleen-Strip
Most of the marks were removed or lightened, but the ink was smeared around and there was this residue; a glossy substance that didn’t let the whiteboard markers work again.
Water Displacer :: WD-40
I thought that this would be down there with Baby Oil and it basically ended up there. It did remove some more of the marks, but it didn’t remove the ink nor really work well on the permanent marker. This is made as a lubricant, though not that good of one. It is not a cleaning product but many have found «alternate» uses for this substance.
I did get a comment that said WD-40 successfully removed a residue that built up on his whiteboard. Spraying it on and wiping it off with a towel produced a clean board. So, if your board has a dull sheen, maybe this will work for you too.
Marker, Dry Erase :: Expo 2
The marker did almost nothing to the marks that were on the board, and I would suggest you try any cleaner instead of a marker. It did pick up most of the dry erase marker that was difficult to remove, but it also is not something that I would use to clean an entire board. If you need to get rid of small whiteboard marks from a whiteboard surface, this may be a good option for you.
Marker, Wet Erase :: Vis-A-Vis
I ruined a marker in order to show everyone that it worked just as well as a wet cloth. You don’t need to replicate this particular cleaning experiment.
MB10W Whiteboard Cleaner :: Solutions MB
I am unable to say enough good things about this product. The older version caused a lot of irritation if you breathed it in, but now it is completely transformed. If you need a serious whiteboard cleaner, you need to go check this out.
Solutions MB contacted me and let me know about a whiteboard paint that they produce, and they told me about this cleaner. After sending me a sample, I thought it would fail because it smelled only like soapy water. When it came time to do the test, we waited a bit before testing this product. I sprayed the whiteboard, waited the full amount of time, and I didn’t see much change in the marks. I was still skeptical before I started wiping, but after the very first wipe, a good portion of the square was already clean. Three or four more wipes, and I was done.
My testing partner let out a «Wow» and I wanted to test it again. A couple spritz over on another section of the board, wait five seconds, then wiped. Again, almost everything came off immediately.
If you are going to buy a product to clean your board, I strongly suggest this one! After the test, we cleaned the whole 4′ x 8′ board with just a few tablespoons of the cleaner and it removed the baby oil, Lysol Kitchen Cleaner film, and other residues that remained from the other cleaners we were testing.
Since the testing, they have worked furiously to improve the product. It now doesn’t have any downsides! The new version of the cleaner no longer causes any inhalation irritation and it seems to work exactly the same as the old formula. This cleaner is able to make the whiteboards at work sparkle. My testing whiteboards had some marks I believed were actually staining the board and would be impossible to remove. I simply sprayed this stuff on, grabbed a paper towel and wiped gently. Presto, those spots were gone too. Simply remarkable and worth using.
Mineral Spirits :: Klean-Strip
The permanent marker was lightened, the ink was removed instead of being smeared, and a few of the marks came up. Although this was not the best option for cleaning off the non-whiteboard tests, it did do a pretty good job with whiteboard markers.
Mixture :: Vinegar & Fantastik
This acted just like a slightly stronger vinegar. The amount removed was minimal.
Mixture :: Vinegar & Orange Glow
After scrubbing on the marks, they were barely lightened. I am not even sure that the wet-erase marks were removed properly.
Nail Polish Remover :: Generic
When I say «acetone,» people think it is a nasty chemical. When I say «nail polish remover,» people get a different impression and they think it isn’t as harsh. Well, nail polish remover is basically acetone, and the two performed similarly. Nail polish remover is a bit easier to find, and they both removed most of the marks and slightly smeared the ink. They also both evaporated away, leaving a clean whiteboard surface. It did completely remove the dull sheen that whiteboard markers can leave on the surface.
Orange Cleaner :: Fantastik
This orange cleaner did do its best when it came to cleaning, but my test was more stubborn and the marks persisted. You can see the streaks left by the globs of ink that was on the board. Out of the three orange cleaners I tested, this one performed the best.
Orange Cleaner :: Goo Gone
When I added this to my list of cleaners, I initially had very high hopes for it. I have had some amazing results with Goo Gone, but today it failed me. It did smear the ink the least of the three orange cleaners, but that was the end of it’s powers.
Orange Cleaner :: Orange Glow
I am not sure if rubbing an orange on the table would have been better, but it certainly would not have been worse. As far as cleaners go, this one was pleasant to work with and very average in results.
Paint Stripper :: Klean-Strip
If you are looking at the picture and you see a white board, you might ask yourself why I ranked this cleaner so poorly. If you are ranking this product solely on the ability to remove ink, marker, and the rest of the substances, then this one is one of the best. The ink smeared a little, but it is probable that further applications would make the rest of the ink come right off the board.
What you do not see is that this damaged the board. If left on, even for a minute, the board surface started to bubble up and could have been wiped away with the cloth I was using. I’m sure that it dissolved some of the board in my brief test and that makes me wonder how many times I could «clean» the board with paint stripper before the board could no longer be cleaned. As if that is not enough, this stuff is not nice to your hands. Avoid use if at all possible. Be very careful if you have no other option besides paint stripper.
Stain Remover :: Greased Lightning
Nearly everything was removed by this stain remover. My mom uses it to get stains (oil, pizza, tar, etc.) off of clothing. It looks like you can use it nicely on the board as well. It did not have instant results like the paint stripper or MB10W, but we didn’t need to work too hard to make most of the marks come off the board.
Stain Remover :: Tech
This worked for whiteboard marker and dry erase marker, but merely lightened the rest of the stuff. It did work better than soapy water, and it may do what you need if this cleaner is available in your house.
It was suggested that clear tape could remove stubborn marks. That may be true, but it only works for dry erase marker, and the stubborn ones may not be removed unless you keep the tape on the board for a week or more. Plus, pulling off the tape could damage the board.
Vinegar :: Heinz
As you can see, it only lightened the marks and really didn’t remove anything except the dry and wet erase marker. Unless you really like the smell of vinegar, use soapy water instead.
Whiteboard Cleaner :: Expo
I was hoping for more. Here is a cleaner that is designed for whiteboards by a company that made some of the markers that I was using. While it did actually work better than water, it did not remove the dull sheen, nor did it remove all of the stubborn whiteboard marks. It really didn’t touch the rest of the marks I had on the board. Use it if you have it, but I threw mine away after this test.