Neon Sign Care and Maintenance Tips

Everyone loves the way that neon signs look—they’re great at drawing attention to businesses and perfect for adding a bit of extra personality to any interior space. Not only are they long-lasting sources of lighting, but they’re also generally easy to maintain. However, not everyone knows proper neon sign care and maintenance. We’re here to provide you with the essential bits of information to make sure that your neon sign lights up your life for a long time.  

Keep It Clean 

The most important step when it comes to neon sign care may seem obvious, but it’s very important to make sure that your sign stays clean! When neon signs get dirty, they stop looking bright and start to look dingy and uninviting. The first step when cleaning your neon sign is to unplug it. Just because they don’t get hot doesn’t mean they’re safe to handle—their transformer can give you a nasty shock if you’re not careful. Next, to remove dust, you’ll want to use a vacuum with a brush attachment to get rid of as much dust as you can. Then after that, wipe down the tubes with a nylon brush or soft cloth. If you want to be very thorough, a paintbrush can be a great tool to reach those hard-to-reach nooks. Depending on where you keep your sign, you may have to do more work. For example, if it resides near a grill, it can accumulate grease. Further, if it sits in an environment where smoking regularly occurs, it can become covered in nicotine stains. To get rid of these grimy stains, you’ll want to use an ammonia-based cleaner and carefully wipe down the tubes. Don’t clean too vigorously, however; you don’t want to break the tubes. Lastly, wipe away the cleanser with water and plug your sign back in! 

Keep Bugs Away 

This next neon sign care and maintenance tip focuses more on outdoor signs. All kinds of lights attract bugs, and the bright colored tubes of neon are particularly attractive. If you have bug problems with your signs, you’ll have to clean more. They can even block the view of your sign, and no one wants that! The simplest solution to this problem is to install a few bug zappers or mosquito traps on your property to keep the bug population down. Just make sure you install them near the source of the bugs. For example, mosquitos likely come from any drainage ditches on your property. Taking these measures should help keep the bugs away.  

Don’t Unplug Your Sign 

If left alone on a wall and used intermittently they can last 20-30 even 50 years with no recharge. If left on 24/7 their life expectancy is 40,000 hours plus.  Neon is very efficient, so it’s not even going to cost you much. Best of all, since they don’t get hot, it’s not a fire risk.  

Those are all the tips you need to make sure that your sign lasts a long time. Keep these in mind, and your neon sign should last you a lifetime. If you want to get your own neon sign, or if you want to add more to your collection, you can find an amazing selection of them here. If your sign seems to actually be malfunctioning, we recommend hiring a professional to fix it, so it can keep lighting up your life.