How can I improve the performance of our showerboard dry erase boards?

December 15, 2005 11:56 AM

How can I improve the performance of our showerboard dry erase boards?

We had some dry erase boards made out of showerboard for our office, as described here. Drawing works great, but if we leave the marks on too long, they're impossible to erase using a standard dry erase board eraser.

We have a squirt bottle of dry erase board cleaner which seems to do the trick, but it's a big pain to use that & paper towels every time we want to clear off a board.

Is there anything we can do to improve our boards? Something we can coat them with? Are there types of markers that erase particularly well? Any other ideas?

posted by medpt to Work & Money (14 answers total)

For the tough spots, write over the remaining marks with a dry erase marker and then erase. The new ink seems to pick it up like peanut butter on gum. Also, I've found that plain ol' kleenex works better than an eraser.
posted by lunalaguna at 12:00 PM on December 15, 2005

Oh, and one more thing...I've found that blue and purple markers seem to erase better than black ink. And green ink seems to be the worst for some reason.
posted by lunalaguna at 12:01 PM on December 15, 2005

Different brands of markers - even different colors of the same brand - may react differently. I've had some that were just impossible to erase if they were left to dry, but we changed brands and no problem, even if left overnight.
posted by Wolfdog at 12:02 PM on December 15, 2005

Don't use the "low odor" markers. The ones that kill brain cells erase much better than the eco-friendly ones.
posted by SpecialK at 12:04 PM on December 15, 2005

Response by poster: Wolfdog, of the brands and colors you tried, which work the best?
posted by medpt at 12:06 PM on December 15, 2005

With the current board, the Expo "bold color dry erase" in blue, purple, & brown are all fine. The black ones are problematic. And yeah, don't get the "low odor" one.
posted by Wolfdog at 12:10 PM on December 15, 2005

I know on my whiteboard, Windex worked better than any of the cleaners made specifically for whiteboards. I don't know if I'm causing any long-term damage to the board using it though.
posted by hootch at 12:40 PM on December 15, 2005

Slightly off topic, but following up on lunalaguna's comment: if some bonehead accidentally writes on the board with a non-dry-erase (i.e., permanent) marker, overwriting the offending marks with a dry-erase marker and then erasing works pretty well for cleaning the board.
posted by flipper at 12:50 PM on December 15, 2005

There was another post on Cool Tools where someone explained that the traditional white board cleaner strips away the coating. Instead, she recommended Plasti-Kleen. Scroll down to read about it here.
posted by O9scar at 1:12 PM on December 15, 2005

Have you tried the Expo Board Doctor? I haven' t tried it but it might work for you.
posted by nimsey lou at 2:02 PM on December 15, 2005

We use the Magic Eraser at work for our dry-erase board messes.
posted by vkxmai at 3:42 PM on December 15, 2005

Yep, if you use the regular whiteboard cleaner you're already in trouble. The best hack is to scribble all over the dried marks with fresh marks, and quickly wipe clean, as noted.

I used to work for a company where whiteboards were a religion (I do like them, but I knew people who liked them way too much). Our showerboard whiteboards crapped out after a year or so.
posted by lackutrol at 10:26 PM on December 15, 2005

one thing that helps me.... Once you get the board clean apply a thin coat of car wax (I used the old fashioned Turtle Wax), let sit for a few minutes and wipe off. I do this at least once a year and it really seems to help.
posted by busboy789 at 3:20 AM on December 16, 2005

I like using cheap old rubbing alcohol with a rag to clean the gunky stuff that piles up when you use a white board for a while.
posted by mulkey at 6:04 PM on December 16, 2005