Take a dry erase marker and draw lines over the permanent marker you wish to remove. Wipe off the dry erase marker and more often than not, the permanent marker will be removed with it.
If that solution doesn't work, keep reading this page for more solutions that have worked for people.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I work in the school setting. I 'accidentally' used a regular marker instead of a dry erase marker on a dry erase board. Needless to say, the ink would not come off or what I could remove left a horrible smudged stain.
I was using the dry erase marker and wrote right over that smudge and then erased it. The dry erase marker must have a solvent agent in it as it removed the smudge. I found I sometimes must scribble over the site and immediately rub off with a tissue for a clean dry erase board.
By Antaria from Chino Valley, AZ
I just tried the alcohol and it worked like a charm!
Thanks!
How can I remove permanent black marker from a whiteboard?
By gs
Cover the mark with a dry erase marker and erase as usual. Repeat as needed and this should do the trick.
WD-40, nail polish remover, Mr Clean eraser-pretty easy to do but also hide the Sharpies!
Use rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer to clean dry erase boards. As a teacher, I found board cleaner did not get my boards completely clean. I poured alcohol into a spray bottle and only use it on my boards now. Much cheaper than board cleaner.
By Kelli from Sentani, Indonesia
I tried cheap hair spray& wiped with micro fibre cloth, made me gag a bit but did the job nicely.
Accidents happen, such as when you grab a permanent marker instead or a dry erase one to write on your whiteboard. This is a page about removing permanent marker on a whiteboard.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
I accidentally used a marker on my dry erase board, and am not able to erase it with the dry erase spray. It is faded but still visible to the eye, and I would hate to have to throw the huge board away. Any ideas on how to get this off? It would be very appreciated.
Sherry from Staten Island, NY
My secret cleaner is naphtha, sold as lighter fluid. Extremely flammable of course. It's oily, use a gentle cleaner afterward. Did the trick for my white board. (10/18/2008)
By Jill in Maryland
I know I accidentally did the same thing at work, and all we had at the time was Windex and Goo Gone. Not sure which one I used or possibly even both. It took some scrubbing, but I got it off. (10/18/2008)
My high school teacher wrote with permanent ink by accident on the white board. We were in a visiting classroom. She took toothpaste and the grit in it scrubbed the letters off. (10/19/2008)
By Lori
I have used Goo Gone to successfully remove permanent marker. (10/20/2008)
By Karen
For general care I use baby wipes or vinegar. When I have a harder problem I use vinegar and the magic eraser. Magic eraser if great stuff. I use it after I labeled my food container with permanent ink. (10/20/2008)
By SunshineRose
I have used WD40 to successfully remove permanent marker. (10/20/2008)
By Babette
At our school we had a special spray that was used to clean the board, and that took it off. I expect that this would be available at Staples or some place like that. I don't remember the name of the product. (10/20/2008)
By Louise B.
I have used waterless hand cleaner to easily and successfuly remove permanent marker from 2 different white boards. Toothpast and SOS may remove the marker, but they will certainly rough up the white board and make it harder to get clean in the future. (10/20/2008)
By Patty
This is going to sound rather crazy but it works. A teacher at school had a student to write in permanent marker on his dry erase board. He simply picked up a DRY ERASE MARKER and wrote over line over line all that had been written on the board. That's dry erase over permanent.
By Connie H.
WD40 worked for me. Just spray the board then wipe with a clean, dry, soft cloth. (10/21/2008)
By Shelia
I have tried a lot of things to completely clean my dry erase board, but the thing that works best for me is lacquer thinner. The product can be purchased at a paint or hardware store. Simply apply a small amount of the lacquer thinner to a soft cloth an wipe the board. Turn the cloth as it becomes dirty an apply additional lacquer thinner as needed. When the board is clean applying a coat of liquid car wax might help in maintaining your board. (10/31/2008)
By Bill at Batesville, AR
Try coloring over the unerasable marks with an erasable marker, an old one that barely writes will work. Color over all the marks, then erase. It has worked for me with sharpie marks. (11/01/2008)
By JoAnn
I couldn't believe how easy it was to get the marker off by simply going over it with the dry erase marker. Nice trick. Thanks for the info. (01/08/2009)
By NewNotes Recording
I have used De-Solve It to remove sharpie from whiteboards and plastic with great success. you need to let it work for a few minutes before wiping it off with a paper towel (I use windex to cut the oily remover), good results! (04/12/2010)
By MamaHanson
I took it off with baking soda and water mixture. (05/08/2010)
By Chris
If your dry-erase board was "gratified" by a permanent marker, use a dry-erase marker to color over it. It will erase it like magic.
Source: Google
By Dawn O. from St. Louis, MO
This morning I was erasing an appointment from our dry-erase board, and I realized I'd written part of it with a permanent marker. I got it off using hand sanitizer; the alcohol is what works. (09/21/2009)
By PENNY K
Crayola, dry erase on top did not work. Mr Clean Erasers didn't work. Read through all the other tips and looked around what I had in my desk at school and I tried white toothpaste (our hand sanitizer at school is alcohol free argh). With a lot of elbow grease it worked pretty good. I'm concerned about the finish now so I might also follow the post that said wipe on some baby oil before using again. (BTW this was thanks to my son who hangs out in my classroom after school and the student who left a crayola marker on my white board ledge...argh) (10/14/2009)
By Sue
Brasso! (11/06/2009)
By Snykal
We have permanent marker on our dry erase board! We have tried board cleaner and alcohol, but the shadow remains. Any suggestions?
