Cleaning, the five-minute version
- Switch it off and unplug it at the socket. Let it sit for a few minutes.
- Dust the tube with a dry, soft microfibre cloth or a soft make-up brush. Go along the tube, not across it.
- Wipe the acrylic with a barely damp microfibre cloth, then dry it. Acrylic scratches more easily than glass, so press lightly.
- Plug it back in once everything is completely dry.
That’s it. Every few weeks in a dusty room, every couple of months in most homes.
Where it’s happiest
- Indoors and dry. Our standard signs are made for indoor use. Bathrooms, steamy kitchens right above a hob and anywhere it could get splashed are best avoided.
- Out of strong sun. Years of direct sunlight through a window can fade a coloured jacket and age the acrylic. A spot out of the brightest light keeps it looking new.
- With room to breathe. The power supply likes a little air around it. Behind a sideboard is fine; buried under a pile of cushions isn’t.
- Cable without strain. Run the cable so it isn’t pulled tight or pinched by furniture, and don’t cut or shorten it.
Using the dimmer kindly
Add the dimmer and remote in the designer and you can dim your sign. Dimming is good for the mood and good for the sign: LEDs run cooler and use less power at lower brightness. Most people find their sign looks best a notch or two below full in the evening, and full brightness only when the room is busy.
If the remote stops responding, try a fresh battery first and point it at the dimmer rather than the sign, since that is where the receiver lives.
What it costs to run
LED neon uses very little electricity, but “very little” isn’t a number. The calculator below works it out for your own sign, using the length of tube in your design, the hours you’ll have it on and your tariff.
Around children and pets
LED neon runs cool, which is why it suits bedrooms and nurseries. Even so, a sign is an electrical item, so a few sensible habits help. Hang it out of reach rather than at toddler height. Keep the cable tidy and away from chewing pets; a cable cover or clips along the skirting board work well. Put the power supply and dimmer behind furniture where small hands won’t find them, and use the remote to switch the sign off at bedtime rather than leaving it running all night if nobody’s enjoying it.
If a curious hand or paw does knock the sign, check the cable and the connectors before you switch it back on, and unplug it if anything looks damaged.
How long it lasts
Treated well, an LED neon sign lasts for years. Every sign comes with a 3-year warranty on the LEDs, the power supply, the dimmer and the remote, under normal indoor use.
The warranty doesn’t cover accidental damage or a standard indoor sign used outdoors, and your statutory rights are not affected either way.
A seasonal once-over
Twice a year, when you change the clocks is an easy reminder, give the whole set-up a two-minute check. Unplug it, look along the cable for kinks or wear, make sure the connectors are pushed fully home, check the fixings are still tight and the sign still sits level, and wipe the dust off the top edge of the acrylic, where it gathers most. While you’re there, swap the remote’s battery if it has started needing a second press. Small checks like these are what keep a sign looking the way it did on the first evening.
Moving house or storing it
Keep the box if you have space. To pack the sign, unplug it, wrap the acrylic in a soft cloth or bubble wrap, coil the cable loosely without tight bends and keep the power supply and dimmer together. Store it flat, somewhere dry, and not under anything heavy.
When to get in touch
If part of the sign goes dark, flickers when nobody is touching it, or the power supply feels very hot, unplug it and work through our troubleshooting checklist. If that doesn’t fix it, send us a photo and your order reference. It’s what the warranty is for.