Removing Magic Marker

Making permanent markers not so permanent

We’ve all been there. In the midst of a frenetic whiteboarding session in the small conference room, somebody picked up a permanent marker and used it on the whiteboard.

What’s worse, most whiteboard cleaners are useless at getting that permanent ink to budge even a little.

Fear not. Making sure the permanent ink has totally dried, simply write over whatever was scribbled with a dry erase marker. It doesn’t have to be the exact same color, but it should be as dark as the marker it’s supposed to be removing.

As the makers of the famous – and ubiquitous – dry erase marker known as EXPO, we can verify this trick works.

How?

Well, it’s a lot more chemistry than you probably want to get into, but it has to do with the ingredients in dry erase markers containing a non-polar solvent. Which, as luck may have it, is excellent at erasing pigment, the main material that determines what color of marker you’re using.

So, don't worry if someone accidentally marks on your whiteboard with a permanent marker. Just draw over it with an EXPO Dry Erase Marker and give it a wipe with an eraser or paper towel. It'll be gone just like that!