How to Properly Maintain Your Neon Signs

Does your business use neon signs? This popular form of advertising was all the rage in the 1950s and 1960s. To this day, Las Vegas relies on neon signs and many of the casinos make use of them to advertise their business at night. Neon is bright, flashy, and creates a lot of exposure through your business. Vital Signs manufactures neon signs for interested clients and is dedicated to educating individuals on the importance of proper maintenance for their neon signage. If you follow these simple steps you will help extend the lifespan of your neon signage.

Leave Your Neon Signs Plugged In

This may seem like an odd piece of advice, but neon signs don’t use a lot of electricity, and keeping them plugged in helps keep the neon gas flowing and ensures that it is constantly reacting to the electricity. Unlike traditional incandescent light bulbs, neon signs rely on electrodes to interact with the gas trapped in the tubes. When it comes into contact with electricity, it produces the classic neon glow that we are all familiar with. By keeping your neon sign plugged in, you are helping elongate its lifespan by reducing the wear and tear on your signs transformer.

Handle Them with Care

If you need to move your neon signs for any reason at all, always handle them with care. Remember, they are made with bent glass tubes and they are extremely fragile. The smallest movement can shatter the tubes of your neon signs and render them useless. If you have to store them, keep them away from falling objects and make sure that you store it safely. It is best to pad them and lean them up against a wall or put them at the top of a pile where they are secure and unable to fall.

Cleaning Neon Signs

Neon signs last a long time, but like any type of sign, they collect dirt and grime over the years. Cleaning neon signs is easy. Before starting, unplug your sign and make sure that it is disconnected from all sources of electricity. Clean by using a simple feather duster, dust off the tubes, removing and loose dust and dirt. For difficult dirt and caked on grime, try using an air compressor or vacuum cleaner. Follow that up with a soapy scrub. However, ensure that your soap doesn’t contain ammonia. Carefully wipe down the tubes until they are clean. Lastly, let your sign dry out and then plug it back in. Do not plug your sign in if it’s still wet; always wait until it has dried off.

Contact a Specialist

If your neon sign breaks, take it to an appropriate specialist. Do not try and repair it yourself. Neon gas is something that is best left to the professionals and there is always the risk that you may cut yourself on the tubes. If you properly care for your neon signs, they shouldn’t break. When the neon gas loses its potency, you can have the tubes refilled, but that shouldn’t happen for many years, and when it does you will need to consult with a professional neon sign company.

Vital Signs has been manufacturing neon signs for many years. We are dedicated to working with neon because we feel that it is a reliable form of signage to clients in Toronto, Mississauga, the GTA, and all of Southern Ontario. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us today. We would be more than happy to answer any questions that you may have about neon signs or proper maintenance for them.