How To Clean A Dry Erase Board (SUPER Simple)

Find out the BEST Way How to Clean a Whiteboard or Dry Erase Board. You don't need any special cleaners either. It's SO simple!

How to Clean a WhiteBoard

As I was working on putting together some notes recently, I realized that I really needed to learn how to clean my dry erase board! 

There are a lot of different suggestions out there on how to clean a dry erase board, and there's quite a few commercial cleaning solutions available too.  The best part about most of these items to clean a white board –  you likely already have all the items available in your home pantry!

Here are 5 Different Ways to Clean A Dry Erase Board:

1.Warm Soapy Water 

Simply take some warm soapy water (you could use hand soap or dish soap), dip in a rag, and scrub your board clean.

2. Vinegar

You'll want to use about 1 teaspoon of vinegar to every 1 cup of water to make this solution. You can then either put the solution into a bowl or a spray bottle and scrub with a paper towel.

3. Peroxide

Peroxide doesn't need to be diluted to use to clean your whiteboard.  Simply place a small amount on a rag and then wipe the board where it needs extra cleaning.

4. Rubbing Alcohol

Rubbing Alcohol also doesn't need to be diluted to clean a dry erase board.  It's best used to place in a spray bottle, spray the whiteboard directly, and then wipe clean. (Rubbing alcohol can also be used on stubborn stains from dry erase ink!)

5. Dry Erase Cleaner
These commercial cleaners are nice because they already come in the exact solution you need and already in their own cleaning bottle.  However, the cost of these is MUCH higher than making your own whiteboard cleaner.

After looking through these suggestions, I tried out plain rubbing alcohol and a dry rag – and it worked perfectly!

What NOT to use to clean a Dry Erase Board

You should also know that there are a few solutions that you should NOT use on a whiteboard or dry erase board.  Window cleaners (even our homemade window cleaner!), and Clorox, Lysol, or other disinfecting wipes could strip the finish on the board.  You should also avoid any wax based cleaners as this can cause a buildup.

Also, if you happen to use a permanent marker instead of a dry erase marker on your board, don't panic! You can simply trace over the markings made by the permanent marker with the dry erase marker and then erase as usual.

Are a Dry Erase and a Whiteboard the same thing?

Back in my day, these boards were just called “dry erase”, but I've noticed more recently them being called a whiteboard.  So – what's the difference?

There are only a few differences – mainly in the type of materials they are made of.   They essentially function the same, are cleaned the same, and you can use the same markers on both of them.  Just semantics, really!

Do you know of any other suggestions on how to clean a whiteboard? I'd love to hear them!