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Whiteboard Daily Cleaning and Maintenance

The manufacturer has provided suggested maintenance and cleaning tips for your porcelain magnetic, New-Rite®, and melamine non-magnetic whiteboards. These tips will be included and shipped with your board. Generally you should follow these general maintenance and cleaning tips:

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This unit is not recommended for use on damp walls or in high moisture areas.

Important - Do not use this board until you have read these instructions.

Cleaning - It is necessary to clean your melamine board prior to use. Clean board thoroughly with a formulated board cleaner (a glass cleaner may also be used). Simply spray the surface with the cleaner and wipe with a clean soft cloth. It is suggested that the board be periodically cleaned.

Caution - It is advisable to erase board after each day's use. If ink is left on the board for several days, the ink will set and it may be difficult to erase. If there is any ink on the board that will not erase, the cleaning procedures outlined above will remove the ink.

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Before using writing surface
Clean New-Rite® surface thoroughly with a non-abrasive household cleaner, such as glass cleaner. Once cleaned, completely rinse the surface with clean water. The water rinse will remove and residue left behind by the cleaning agent. Dry with a clean, soft cloth.

Important Maintenance:
Markers:
Use Expo dry erase markers for optimal results.

Erasing:
Remove dry-erase markings with a felt eraser for longer lasting surface effectiveness. Press firmly when erasing, using circular motion. Change erasers when they become dirty. Dirty erasers will leave ink residue on the surface.

Daily Cleaning:
For daily cleaning, rinse the New-Rite® surface with water. This may be done with a soft cloth or sponge. Dry the surface with a soft cloth.

Ghosting:
If using low odor dry-erase markers, additional cleaning with water and soft cloth may be required. If ghosting (any faint remnant of marker left on surface after dry-erasing) occurs, wipe the board with a soft cloth dampened with water.

Hard to remove marker:
If cleaning New-Rite® with a soft cloth and water will not remove marks, use a formulated board cleaner. Once the material is clean, rinse the surface with water and dry with a soft cloth.

Stubborn Stains:
For stubborn stains, you may use a paint/stain remover such as Goof Off. Apply to a soft cloth, blot and/or rub gently over the stained area. After the stain has been removed, rinse with clean water and dry with a soft cloth. Follow the paint/stain remover manufacturers precautions before using.

CAUTION:
Do NOT use ball point pens or other sharp pointed instruments on the dry-erase surface.
Do NOT use abrasive cleaners on the dry erase surface.

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Has the customer checked to see if the plastic has been removed from the surface of the board? Usually, the plastic is removed prior to the board being shipped. On rare occasions, the board may be shipped with this plastic in place.

• For the initial cleaning, wipe your board with a clean cloth moistened by a liquid cleaner.
• Rinse with clear water. This step is simple but very important.
• Wipe dry with a clean cloth.
• If your board is used daily, the cleaning should be performed at least 2 to 3 times a week.
• More thorough cleaning may be required if writing is left on the board for more than 2 days.
• Allow marker to dry 8-10 seconds before erasing. If erased while still damp, it may smear or "ghost".

What surface is the board?
HPL or porcelain enameled steel? Each surface will be cleaned in a different manner. The following cleaning suggestions refer to a porcelain enamel steel surface. If an HPL board, refer to HPL Care sheet.

How often are the boards cleaned?
If the boards receive heavy usage during the day, they may need to be cleaned during the day to prevent/eliminate erasability issues.

In what type of classroom is the board located? Reading, Math, etc.
Math classrooms usually receive the most activity and may require cleanings throughout the day.

What is used to clean the board?
For example: whiteboard cleaners, chemicals, etc. This is important as chemicals may compromise the whiteboard surface. Ask for name of cleaning product used.

Removing Permanent Marker

• Moisten a clean, dry cloth with isopropyl alcohol. Use less alcohol for chalkboards.
• Wipe the board in a circular motion to loosen marker residue.
• Rinse with clear water.
• Dry the board with a clean cloth.
• Repeat these steps as often as necessary to remove all residue.

Removing Crayon and Tape

• Dampen a clean, dry cloth with water.
• Sprinkle a small amount of powdered cleanser onto the cloth; we recommend using Bar Keeper's Friend.
• Begin cleaning a small, manageable area using a back and forth horizontal motion. Use normal pressure as if you were cleaning a window. Wipe of all residue with a dry cloth.
• Rinse well with clear water. Please note that rinsing and drying steps are very important.
• Wipe dry with a clean cloth.
• Follow the same procedure for the remainder of the board.

If there are erasability / ghosting issues, it is usually due to the following reasons:

1. Using the incorrect type of marker.
2. Dirty erasers.
3. Wet erasing.
4. Heavy board usage without cleaning frequently enough.

Questions to ask the end-user to assist you in determining the problem:

Using the incorrect type of marker. What types of markers are used?
There are three types of markers: alcohol, ketone and water-based. Alcohol and ketone-based markers are used for use on porcelain steel surfaces. Water-based markers will bubble and smear in porcelain steel surface, resulting in buildup.

Wet Erasing
Was marker ink dry before board was erased?
Wet-erasing, erasing the ink prior to drying, smears the ink on the whiteboard. Smearing the ink can lead to a buildup on the board surface. Build up can lead to erasability issues.

Dirty Erasers
Are the erasers/cloth dirty?
Dirty erasers/cloth don not clean the board, they just push the dry erase material around on the surface- creating erasability issues. It is important to properly clean erasers and/or cloth before using to clean whiteboard.

Heavy board usage without cleaning frequently enough
In order to keep your whiteboard in top condition, it is important to properly clean the board based on usage.

Solutions... How to restore writing surface
There are three options to suggest when addressing the erasability issues. They are listed in recommended order.

1. Use a formulated board cleaner, according to directions, to clean board. Suggest this solution first.
2. Use 50% water / 50% alcohol wash on the board followed by a clear water rinse. The clear water rinse is the most important part of the cleaning process. The customer needs to clean the film off the surface and the clear water rinse brings the surface back to its original qualities with no chemicals or build up on the surface. If this doesn't solve problem, suggest next step - Bar Keeper's Friend.
3. Use Bar Keeper's Friend (found at local grocery and hardware stores). Bar Keepers Friend is the manufacturer recommended cleaner for the porcelain enameled steel surface.

After a good cleaning and clear water rinse, how many days before the customer experienced erasability issues?
If customer experiences erasability issues the day after cleaning the board as described above, it is likely that the board is receiving heavy usage and will need to be cleaned more than once a day.
If customer can go more than one day before experiencing erasability issues after cleaning board as described above, cleaning the board will probably be sufficient.
The end-user is the best judge of how often the board should be cleaned based on usage.

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Brite Hotel Products offers a wide variety of whiteboards including melamine non-magnetic, porcelain-on-steel, sliding whiteboards, whiteboard easels, interactive whiteboards and student whiteboards.

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