Tuesday Tip: How To Clean Your Stamps

It’s Tuesday again, so I’ll share a simple tip on how to clean your stamps. Before I do, I’ll mention that sometimes my tips are pretty basic. You advanced stampers out there may think, “Why is she wasting cyber space and time on this?? Everyone knows that!” We all have to start somewhere, and I’m trying to share some simple tips and some that are more advanced. Hopefully there’s something to help everyone!

Now, moving to to today’s tip about how to clean your stamps. Many people use baby wipes to clean stamps. For beginning stampers who are trying to build up their supplies without breaking the bank, baby wipes are a good, inexpensive option. An even cheaper option is to run them under water and dry them on a towel. It’s not very convenient since most of us don’t have sinks nearby when we’re stamping, but it’s an option.

I’m here today to argue that baby wipes and running water are NOT the best options for cleaning your stamps. They work, but they’re not the best. Below is a picture of a stamp I cleaned with baby wipes. Notice, it’s not perfectly clean. It can be challenging to get into the cracks and crevices of a stamp using baby wipes. This leads to a problem down the road, because the next time you use that same stamp most likely with a different color, you will be contaminating the color with the one you used last time.

Sidenote: Another really irritating thing about baby wipes is the little fibers and fuzzies that cling to the stamps. Sidenote #2: If you do use baby wipes to clean your stamps, make sure to use alcohol free wipes. Alcohol can dry out stamps over time.

Moving on to a really fantastic option for cleaning your stamps: the Stampin’ Scrub. It has millions, or at least thousands, of tiny scrubbers to get your stamps spic and span before you put them away for storage. Caring for your stamps properly is a good way to keep them flexible and functional for years to come, and proper cleaning is a big part of this. Here is the Stampin’ Scrub.

As you see in the photo above, the Stampin’ Scrub opens up to reveal two sides of something I’ll compare to tiny carpet. One side is for ‘wet’ and the other is for ‘dry.’ If you look closely in the top left corner, you can see raindrops for ‘wet.’

On the top corner of the right side you can see a sun for ‘dry.’

To use the Stampin’ Scrub, begin by spraying 2-4 spritzes of Stampin’ Mist on the left (wet) side.

Rub your stamp up and down, left and right, a few times on the left side to clean your stamp.

Then move the stamp to the right side and rub it a few more times to dry it off.

There you have it, a clean stamp!

Every once in a while, you will need to clean your Stampin’ Scrub. To do this, simply run it under warm water until the water runs clear. This may take a while. It is amazing how much ink can build up in them if not cleaned regularly. You can use a mild detergent if you like, but water is all you really need. Then leave it laying open until it has fully dried.

I love my Stampin’ Scrubs (yes, I have multiples). I would highly suggest adding one to your collection if you don’t have one already. It’s worth it.

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