One of these pens it not like the other.

In my neighborhood, I have to write my name on my rubbish bag in permanent marker. After doing that recently, I put the pen in my pocket, took it to school, and wrote all over the classroom whiteboard with it. I had done the exact same thing while I was teaching in elementary schools, and luckily knew how to get the whiteboard looking brand new.

Step 1 – Draw over the whiteboard in permanent marker.

Step 2 – Try to erase the it. Is it permanent marker?

Step 3 – Get a whiteboard marker pen, draw over the permanent marker.

Step 4 – Erase, and watch in awe as the permanent marker disappears from the whiteboard.

Step 5 – High-five your co-workers and enjoy being the hero who saved the whiteboard.

I don’t think this will work if you leave the permanent marker on there for a significant amount of time. When I have done it, I have managed to get it off about an hour later. You may need to repeat step a couple of times to get everything off.

There is a solvent in the dry erase marker pen that will dissolve the ink from the permanent marker. The hand sanitiser trick from before will leave the whiteboard a smudged mess and should be avoided.

Get a 100-yen whiteboard and give it try.