Splitcoaststampers.com - the world's #1 papercrafting community
You're currently viewing Splitcoaststampers as a GUEST. We pride ourselves on being great hosts, but guests have limited access to some of our incredible artwork, our lively forums and other super cool features of the site! You can join our incredible papercrafting community at NO COST. So what are you waiting for?
Does anyone have an easier way to clean their background stamps? I have such a hard time trying to use my stampin scrub because the stamp is so big. Any suggestions?
I just rinse mine under the faucet with warm water and a small amount of dish detergent, sometimes, if I have been really messy, I use an old toothbrush to get into all of the cracks and corners. I just make sure I rinse well and then I always use the mist cleaner on the clean stamp just to keep it in good condition. I know what you mean with the stamp and scrub. When I use the stamp and scrub, I take it out of the plastic casing. That seems to be a little easier. I will be curious to read what others do. Tonya
I turn it over (rubber up) on the table and use alcohol-free baby wipes to get most of ink off... then finish cleaning on scrub. keeps scrub cleaner longer too esply when using craft ink!!
I turn it over (rubber up) on the table and use alcohol-free baby wipes to get most of ink off... then finish cleaning on scrub. keeps scrub cleaner longer too esply when using craft ink!!
I use two paper towels. I put the first one on the counter and pour some water on it so it's pretty soaked. I dab my background stamp onto that until I feel like most of the ink is off. If the stamp has a lot of ink leftover I may repeat this step. Then I take a second, dry paper towel and lay it down and press the wet (and now clean stamp) onto it to dry it. I like this method as it keeps the water away from the wood.
If you go to the paint dept. in WM, there is a tool used for painting corners. It is shaped like a "v", with brushes on both sides. It works great for cleaning the BG stamps. You get a "wet" and "dry" side.
I use a paint edger. It has a plastic holder & replaceable brush-like sheets. They feel very similar to the stampin' scrub. I spray the stampin' mist on the BG stamp, then scrub it with the paint edger.
__________________ Angel
Check out My Gallery!
'Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.'
My upline has a couple of extra scrubs for her classes, and she takes the cleaning pad out of the case and leaves it on her desk for using with the big background stamps.
__________________ Rachel Proud SU! demo and Sci-Fi Geek!
My Stampin' Up! blog "I'm a time traveler -- I point and laugh at archaeologists." 10th Doctor, "Silence in the Library"
I bought a stamp cleaner at Michael's that has a sponge top. I use this exclusively on BG stamps or any other that I really need to scrub in little nooks and crannies.
I stamp it off, press a baby wipe on it, and especially if it has a lot of nooks, I'll spray it with the SU cleaner and lay a baby wipe over it again. I'm amazed at all the ink that comes up this way. I think it's basically clean, but then with the cleaner spritz, I get lots more ink off.
I stamp off as much ink as possible, then dab with a wet paper towel to remove the remaining ink, then clean in the stampin scrub with Stampin Mist to get the mist conditioners on the rubber
I use those 'pick-a-size' paper towels (love those!) and place short side over the top of my BG stamp (this will give you enough towel left over to cover the stamp again) and spritz the spritz towel with water so it is wet. It soaks up the ink. I then turn the paper towel around and to it one more time. It's clean then and I just wipe my rubber stamp dry with a towel. Done! This works well with craft ink as well as dye ink. Basic Black and Basic Brown and Staz-On are a differnt matter. It takes a little more effort and a cleaner.
I use two paper towels. I put the first one on the counter and pour some water on it so it's pretty soaked. I dab my background stamp onto that until I feel like most of the ink is off. If the stamp has a lot of ink leftover I may repeat this step. Then I take a second, dry paper towel and lay it down and press the wet (and now clean stamp) onto it to dry it. I like this method as it keeps the water away from the wood.
HTH!
Christine
THIS IS WHAT I DO TOO! Though, when I am teaching a class, I first stamp it off then spray directly with our cleaner and use the Stamp and scrub. It works quite well but feels a bit cramped. Now I will do what someone else suggested - remove an extra stamp and scub pad and use it.
i take the scrub pads out of the stampin scrub, spray the rubber with the mist and rub and scrub a dub the scrub pad on the stamp. got it? that's a lots of scrubs and rubs! Hee Hee
I use extra scrubs out of the case and hold a scrub in one hand and the bg stamp in the other and just scrub away while holding them up. Works great!
What also works great is an old white towel. I keep it folded on my tabletop and spritzed with mist or plain water. The fiber of the towel really gets the stamp clean lickety split!
__________________ ~Vencine~Stampin' Up! Demonstrator My gallery
Great suggestions! How do all of you deal with versamark on a BG stamp? I find that if I don't get up right away and clean it (at the sink is my preference as I hate to gum up my scrub with the versamark ink) it is very difficult to remove even using dish soap and a toothbrush.
A real trick my upline and I accidentally learned, was Scrubbin Bubbles bathroom spray will take off black StazOn ink if you don't let it dry on the stamp.
I spray it right on the rubber and use an old toothbrush, rinse and it's clean.
I tap mine on baby wipes until it's almost clean, mist it and scrub it on a "refill" stampin scrub. I purchased extra scrub pads just for my background stamps, the baby wipes get most of the ink off so they stay good for several cleansings.
Thanks for all the suggestions. They have been great to read, however, I'm a little concerned at those who put the stamp under the faucet. I have been rubber stamping for over 7 years now and have always been told never to put the stamp under a running faucet as if any water gets on the wood it will warp the wood over time.
I'm sure that we would all like to keep our stamps in tip-top condition, as do I, so for me I would never put the stamp under a running tap.
I clean my BG stamps with a Chux cloth just dampened with water. It works very well, especially if you "stamp off" first and then lightly scrub with the wet Chux cloth. For those that are not able to obtain a Chux cloth, my second preference would be a baby wipe.
I made the mistake as a new stamper of putting my bg stamps under the faucet. It loosened the image sticker! If I were to use the faucet now I would be very careful to use just a trickle of water and only let it get on the rubber, not the wood. I use baby wipes and a spray bottle now!
I use an electric bathtub scrubber that I got on sale at Home Depot. A little spray of cleaner, scrubber and I'm all clean! I use lots of Versamark and it comes right off.
Does anyone have an easier way to clean their background stamps? I have such a hard time trying to use my stampin scrub because the stamp is so big. Any suggestions?
I use an electric bathtub scrubber that I got on sale at Home Depot. A little spray of cleaner, scrubber and I'm all clean! I use lots of Versamark and it comes right off.
OMG! I have one of these I never use! Well - I guess I'm usin' it now.
I havebeen a stamper for almost 11 years. Early on I used only stamp cleaners and some kind of wipes. then I learned that despite fears of some of my fellow stampers that to really clean them one could use some kind of mild cleanser, scrub and rinse under the running faucet. Never any damage to wood, rubber has ever occured. Marge
In numerous earlierposts on the subject of cleaning stamps (any and all), stampers mentioned two readily available and best of all CHEAPOs. They are:
"Super Clean All Wheel Cleaner" comes in a plastic deep violet 32oz. spray bottle; available at Walmart in the Auto section and "LA'sTotally AWESOME" all purpose concentrated cleaner, degreaser spot remove,r comes in a 20-24 oz. spray bottle, available at The Dollar Store. This one really costs a dollar.
The Super Cleaner is about $3.99. For both, you spray them on any old rag and just hold for 30 sec. or so onto any stamp and then rub. An old toothbursh could be used to get into creavices. These cleaners also clean Stazon very well. I have been using them often (stamping every night) and have not noticed any damage to my stamps. In my opinion these are safe and very effective cleaners. I have seen a slightly white residue on an occasional stamp, but this doesn't seem to do any damage at all to the rubber or the impression. I hope someone else here is using them since this is where I found out about them and that they will post their experience.
Erica (who loves a bargain in cleaning products)BTW, love the foaming bathroom cleaner tip, might have to try that one.
My grandmother always said, "water on wood, uh-uh, no good" when it was time to polish furniture! lol! I can't say that I have never resorted to going to the sink to clean my stamps but I have heard it said that if the water gets into the sticky foam it can cause the stamp to separate from the wood or bubble up in portions of the stamp causing a poor stamped impression. Personally, I am very cautious about what types of household cleaners I use on the stamps as some (bathroom cleaners possibly) could be caustic to the rubber over the long haul. I did buy some of the Awesome cleaner from the Dollar Store (and yes, it really was only a dollar!) and tried it but then afterward I chickened out for fear it would be caustic to my stamps.
Another thing I have used successfully is called Kiss Off. It comes in a stick (like laundry stain sticks or deodorant sticks) and you can rub it onto the stamp or get a wet toothbrush and scrub it onto the Kiss Off then scrub that onto the rubber. For badly stained stamps, I just scrub it on there and leave it for a while and it really does make a big difference. I had some HouseMouse stamps that were stamped only with permanent black ink to the point I quit even bothering to clean them (only used them with black) and it took quite a lot of the ink off of those. Jan
I don't even own a stamp and scrub I just use paint edgers. I have a several of them, when the stamps aren't getting clean enough I move the drying edger to the cleaning side and get a new drying pad. Then I wash the dirty cleaning one with hand soap and water in the sink and let air dry. It's ready to go the next day.
They may not be pretty, but they are cheap and they work well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by parknslide
...I also use the paint edgers from the hardware store as 'scrubbers."
I understand the caution we all have in damaging our lovely expensive staamps, but they are rubber, same thing our car tires are made of, with other stuff I'm sure . Pretty durable substance. I have used Simple Green, a biodegradable all purpose cleaner originally marketed for cleaning tires, for years now. I just dilute it according to the directions for washing windows, no problems with damage to any part of my stamps.
I run my bg stamps right under the faucet and dry off with an old washcloth.
Kittie... This sounds so easy. Do you seal your wood blocks? How do you keep the water away from the wood? I tried running one of by BGs under the faucet once, but the wood got wet, too, so I didn't do it anymore.
I take a baby wipe and lay in on the wet side of my stamp and scrub. I just put my bg stamp on it as I work on my project and by the time I'm ready to clean my next stamp most of the ink has been asorbed into the baby wipe. I then slide the wipe off and scrub with my conditioner. Works great and keeps my Stamp and scrub clean longer.
Help with background stamps
