How to Clean Your Business Signs
Your customers’ first impression of your business is the sign out front. Customers are drawn in (or driven away) by your business signs – from the front door to the restrooms! Keeping your business signs in tip-top shape communicates to your customers that you care about their experience and that they can trust you to take care of them, too. Different types of signs require different cleaning methods, so it’s important to know how to clean each of your business signs and keep them looking brand new!
When to Clean Your Signs
Optimally, you should be cleaning your signs once per month to keep them bright and attractive to customers and visitors. At the very least, clean your signs each season. This will keep any road spray or other consequences of rainy and icy seasons from trapping dirt and sandy particles against your signage and potentially causing major damage over time. No matter what frequency you clean your signage, make it a regular and routine process to keep your business looking great!
Cleaning Exterior Business Signs
It can be tempting to just pressure or power wash your exterior signs along with the rest of your building, sidewalks, curbs, parking lots, and driveways. While pressure or power washing some signage is a great way to start the cleaning process, you should avoid pressure or power washing lighted signs or signs with electrical components. Take extra care when washing signs with raised components or lettering, too, as high pressure could damage them and leave your sign looking worse than before! If you do choose to pressure wash your signage, make sure you’re standing at a distance of at least one to three feet from the sign and using pressure settings lower than 200 psi.
Use a non-abrasive mixture of water and detergent and a soft, non-abrasive cloth or sponge to wash your signs. When washing signs with vinyl lettering or decals, wash from the center of the decal outward to prevent peeling up the edge of the vinyl and allowing water to weaken the adhesives. Don’t trust the rain to get rid of dirt and pollen – precipitation hides dirt, dust, and sand particles that could bake into your sign or create damage over time.
Cleaning Interior Business Signs
Your interior business signs – like wall graphics, banners, vinyl decals, trade show signage, and dimensional lettering, might be less susceptible to the kind of wear and tear your exterior signs experience, but they still need to be kept in top condition. Take the opportunity monthly or quarterly to make sure all of your signage is up to date and undamaged. Spot clean signs with a 2-to-1 mixture of isopropyl alcohol and water, rinsing and drying the spot with clean cloths afterward. You can also use a mixture of gentle dish detergent and water or all-purpose cleaner – just make sure your cleaning agents don’t include abrasive chemicals and the cloths or sponges you’re using are soft and smooth.
After cleaning, take care to store any signs not in current or constant use carefully to avoid creasing, bending, or tearing. Storing your signs in a cool place away from humidity and moisture will keep them from peeling, separating, or warping. If you find yourself pulling out signs once per quarter to clean them and then storing them without using the signs regularly, it might be time to consider and update to produce more usable signage.
Great-Looking, Long-Lasting Signs from Pinnacle Signs and Graphics
If your signs aren’t looking their best or your signage isn’t as up-to-date or usable as it used to be, call the experts at Pinnacle Signs and Graphics! We can help you design signage to bring customers from outside to inside and manage their experience while putting your business’s best foot forward. Our professional in-house graphic design team will capture your brand and create business signs and graphics that put you ahead of the rest! Contact us today for a consultation.
