Message Boards

I teach GED classes 2 nights a week and our program is a "guest" in a high school... we get to use their space. SOMETHING happened to white boards?? Seems to be in every room? They weren't the best when we ended up our spring groups in April, but highly suspect something really WRONG was used on them during the typical summer cleaning that goes on in schools all over. Have 3 large white boards and all have fairly significant areas that just will NOT erase (completely)?? One is about half just a big smear. One teacher tried one of those "magic" erasers and it only worked on fresh marker and even that left a faint impression. No amount of elbow grease is budging the stuff?

SInce it's NOT our building or equipment, we really can't complain... I'm sure FT teachers have done enough of that already.

I know the spray/wipes you can buy to clean these boards is mostly just alcohol. Thinking of just buying a bottle rom $ store and giving that a try.

Any other suggestions?

Maybe try nail polish remove in a inconspicuous spot and see if it works?

Sometimes window cleaner will take care of it.

Sometimes you can cover an area with the dry erase markers...I mean totally cover it, then clean it off.

This site states that you can use a paint remover, nail polish remover, alcohol, etc.
http://www.ehow.com/how_789569...ry-erase-boards.html

Here's another site with more cleaning tips:
http://www.buzzle.com/articles...dry-erase-board.html

No suggestions. Probably the only good solution is for the district to replace them.

When my former school replaced the chalkboards to white boards, I did not even get to use them in their pristine condition. That same summer we got a new principal who let his children have run of the building (during summer). His third grader wrote all over my white boards with magic markers. Stinker! While the boards were usable thereafter, they were never really white again because the markers stained the board.

Hope you'll let us know if you find a solution to the problem.

use a dry erase marker & cover the writing 7 erase with a paper towel 'hard' at the same time you are covering it, in otherwords dont let the fresh marker dry before trying to erase it, press hard too, just keep doing it over & over til it takes it off. If it was a dry erase marker that did it, thyis will take it off, if it was stained from any other marker, nothing will take it off. And it may not work now anyway, after the Mr clean sponge thing.

If they DO get replaced, the best thing to do is to post above them that they are DRY ERASE ONLY- DO NOT USE REGULAR MARKERS lol

Good luck!!

tried straight rubbing alcohol... not much luck. Another teacher suggested mixture of hand sanitizer and alcohol in spray bottle.

Since it's NOT our building, and we're kiinda guests... can't just go all out. BUT, I will try nail polish remover in a VERY inconspicuous place.

Have been able to remove Sharpie mistakes and get boards back to WHITE, but these are really bad! Some areas so bad that you need a really NEW, juicy BLACK marker to write over the mess and still be able to read it.

Another site suggested Crest toothpaste or Kaboom cleaner?

Although this option would not be for you to do in your position it might be an idea for the school district where you are teaching:

http://www.whiteboardsetc.com/...ardWallcoverings.htm

Resurfacing a whiteboard! I decided to try to google the idea and guess what -- it's doable! Who knew?

Years ago, I was giving a training presentation at a client’s site and picked up one of the markers on the tray in front of their very large white board. I drew several large diagrams with labels on the only section not covered with writings. Did not notice a problem until lunch break when I start to erase the board for the afternoon training.

Oops, someone had put several sharpies in with the dry erase pens. During the lunch break, I reached in my emergency bag, and pulled my acetone-free nail polish remover and a few paper towels and cleaned the board. Yes, I had to spend all lunch cleaning and airing out the room.

When the client’s employees, who I were training, came back from lunch, I asked are the any questions about the morning’s presentation. Several hands came up. The same question; “how did you clean the board?” It seemed the big boss liked to use sharpies on the boards, because they were “clearer’ and he liked the longer pens. Now they knew how to clean the boards. I left the bottle of polish remover with them. From then on I carried and USED my own pens.

Was gonna try suggestion of nail polish remover on tiny spot... but will hunt up cetone-free stuff beore I do.

I read on pinterest to spray air freshner on it and i tried it and it worked. I had tried alot of other things and could not get it clean.

Here is an article found about "How to clean a whiteboard". Hope this is helpful - seemed pretty detailed and accurate.

Using a clean, dry cloth and a non-abrasive liquid cleanser (Window or generic glass cleaner), gently clean the entire board to loosen any residue from the board. Then use a dry cloth to wipe clean the entire surface to remove all dirt and residue from the previous step. Next, using clean water, rinse the entire board and then with a dry towel wipe the entire board dry. The rinsing and drying steps are extremely important and if ignored may cause underperformance of the product.

Porcelain whiteboards are much like glass and can be maintained in a similar fashion. markerboards can be cleaned as often as required and will not be damaged as long as the proper cleaning methods are used. Here are a few tips to keep your board in optimal condition. It is recommended to use only cleaners that have been tested to work on dry erase products such as #683 board cleaner, Expo whiteboard cleaner, or Windex (or generic glass cleaner). TEMP or isopropyl alcohol may be used to remove stubborn build-up caused by repeated use (recommended to use moderately).Please note that cleaners that are not recommended may leave a residual film that may cause the whiteboard not to function properly and result in customer dissatisfaction and may also void the warranty of the product. All dry erase markers will write legibly on a board but may not erase properly due to their composition. It is recommended to use Bic brand markers, Expo brand markers, or a similar solvent-based marker. If you use your board daily, it is recommended that you clean the surface at least twice per week. In addition, it is important to know that leaving ink on the board for an extended period of time can lead to "ghosting". It is recommended that you erase your marker board on a regular basis. If this is not possible, it may be necessary to clean your board following the steps outlined above to return the surface to its original condition.