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I live in Denham Springs, LA. We recently has a horrible flood here and flooded 90% of our parish. Many people had 5' or more of water in there homes and lost everything. We had 14" of river water flood our home. Unfortunately I lost a lot of things, one being 5 large garbage bags full of stampin up stamps. ��I've been collecting for 12 years. I managed to keep a few sets that I was hoping to salvage, but they need to be cleaned after sitting in river/sewage water. Is there any way to clean the wood and rubber without damaging any further? Thank you for your help.
Oh my goodness! Firstly, you have all been on my mind in a big way! I can't imagine what you're going through.
To your question, I'm no expert, but I'd think the wood and the foam should go. The rubber should be able to be cleaned and sanitized, but the foam and wood, seems like they could absorb stuff you don't want around.
Time to get nekkid, lady! Have you stamped with bare rubber before? Once you get the hang of it it's really pretty awesome. (a wonderful gal from TX who used to be here on SCS walked me through it.)
If you don't want to stay nekkid, I have a huge stack of wood blocks from unmounting a ton of stamps and if you let me know what size and how many, I bet I could easily restock the wood part for you anyway. Maybe someone here knows a good bargain on cling mount?
My heart sure goes out to you all!!!
__________________ If you don't want your tax dollars to help the poor, then stop saying you want a country based on Christian values, because you don't. ~ Jimmy Carter
Not sure how to clean the stamps after a flood but just wanted to let you know that my heart goes out to you and others in your area. Our home in Houston flooded after Ike in 2008 so I kind of know what you are going thru.
Oh no. My friends got hit bad with Sandy. It was months in the fixing and her DH is a construction carpenter who can build a house.
It's hard to lose something you have been working on for 12 years. carefully collecting. :(
I agree. i am afraid the wood and foam should go. I dont know what to say about cleaning the rubber other than maybe letting stamp cleaner sit on it for awhile.
You have my sincere sympathies! I have been through a flood (Agnes in 1972), and hearing stories from Louisiana has brought back many memories and emotions.
It's hard to say whether the rubber has been damaged by whatever arrived in the flood, and it may be different from piece to piece. I suggest removing the rubber from the foam and wood, and re-mounting using EZ Mount, either thick or thin. This link goes to one source; it is available in many places: https://www.simonsaysstamp.com/product?id=69233 You will then be able to use your favorite images on acrylic blocks. Try a few at a time and see how it goes.
I hope this all works out for you and that you can allow yourself some "just creating" time every so often. You will definitely need regular breaks from the work of cleaning and recovering. All the best to you and yours.
I live in Denham Springs, LA. We recently has a horrible flood here and flooded 90% of our parish. Many people had 5' or more of water in there homes and lost everything. We had 14" of river water flood our home. Unfortunately I lost a lot of things, one being 5 large garbage bags full of stampin up stamps. ��I've been collecting for 12 years. I managed to keep a few sets that I was hoping to salvage, but they need to be cleaned after sitting in river/sewage water. Is there any way to clean the wood and rubber without damaging any further? Thank you for your help.
First things first...get all of the wet stamps out of the plastic bag where they can become moldy. Find a dry cardboard box to store them while you determine how you will fix them.
Once you remove the rubber from the wood and foam you can clean it in hot/really warm soap and water then condition it per manufacturer or fellow stamper recommendations. Please be sure to use rubber gloves throughout this process to protect against germs and bacteria.
Lastly, I am so sorry to hear of your loses but am thankful that you and yours are safe.
Have you considered remounting them ?If so, I would just remove all the rubber from the foam. That should eliminate most of the problem. The rubber could then be cleaned more easily. EZ mount mounting foam is what I use to remount. You will lose the images (stickers) but you won't have to trash your stamps???? I wish I could be more helpful!!!
You are probably not alone with this question! I am glad to hear you and your family are safe! I agree with everyone about discarding the wood and rubber. If you decide to remount your stamps and need a hot knife to cut the cling mount (it is sooo much fun!), PM me and I will send you mine. I haven't used it in years because I no longer mount any rubber, I use it "nekkid" as jeaniebean said. With a pad underneath it, no difference.
My next piece of advice is contact Stampin' Up and ask them. Unfortunately, this is becoming a somewhat frequent occurrence and they might have the perfect answer for you. If you contact them, let us know what they say.
So very sorry for the flood mess. I have unmounted many stamps to use with my Misti. They work great in it. So unmount and get a Misti. I helped neighbors who were flooded when I was a teenager. The smell never left my nostrils for years.
Unmounting seems to be the way to go. Please be sure to wear a mask so you don't breathe in bad stuff when you pull off the rubber and clean it. We had a similar flood here in Michigan a few years ago and that was recommended during clean up since it was sewer water. Hugs.
__________________ Sylvia D.
Melodious Mingler Grandma My Gallery
So sorry to hear of your loss! I'm with the others on unmounting your stamps asap. If you want a good price on EZ Mount cling foam, you can find it at Scrapbooking Warehouse: Ez Mount Static Cling Mounting Foam 8.5"x11" - Gray Foam. It comes in 10-sheet packs, for $33.88. It sounds like a huge amount, but if you have a lot of stamps, it is well worth it to get the foam in bulk! That's the best price I've been able to find, when you break it down to a by-the-sheet cost. Hopefully you can rescue as many of your stamps as possible. Hugs to you and your family, and all others affected in Louisiana! :
oh happy scrapper - i wish i knew you before. my husband and i drove to denham springs for the labor day weekend to help with clean up. we brought lots of dishes, towels, home goods and lots of other stuff. i mentioned to my husband i wish i would have gotten stamping and crafting supplies from all my friends to replace what some of the crafters lost. but i didn't know anyone in denham springs to ask about who could use it. we are hoping to come again in november - i would be happy to collect extras from all my friends (we all have too much as most crafters do) and bring it with us. we are working through central baptist church if you are familiar with them. just let me know
The other option you could do in case you don't want to incur the cost of EZ Mount Cling. Go the bare nekkid rubber route. Instead of wood blocks, apply Tack N Peel (made by Tsukineko and can also be purchased through Simon Says Stamp, Joann's, and others) to about 4-6 different sized clear blocks. The nekkid rubber will then stick to the Tack N Peel. If the Tack N Peel loses its stick, just wash with soap/water and let dry--it becomes sticky again.
__________________ Brenda
<-My sibling kitties, Milo and Rousseau
If you really like wood mounts, I'm sure there are many people here who are unmounting or dont use their wood blocks. Maybe one is even close enough for you to pick them up! At one time, I had a million. You can also very easily make your own and if you don't own a saw, the place you buy your lumber from will often make cuts for you. While you might need a lot of cuts, I'm sure if you explain the situation and arrange to visit at a slow time, they will probably do it. Just know the sizes you need ahead of time. A quick sand and they should be fine. If you like the wood finished, a quick spray with spray laquer should work. As for index images on the wood, try getting a full page, clear sticker sheet. Stamp the images on it with Stazon and cut them out. If you buy really good wood like a hardwood, you might be able to stamp on it directly.
You could bleach the wood blocks but that would still mean removing the rubber and foam. Just saying and even that might not be a cure if you couldn't dry them in the sun with little humidity. Clean the rubber, condition it and tack it over or ez mount sounds the best to me. Sending hugs, too!
Oh, what a terrible experience. So glad you weren't physically hurt, but sometimes the emotional wounds take much longer to heal. I have one suggestion I didn't see mentioned that I thought I would share. Once you get the rubber off the wood blocks and cleaned, you can mount them on wood again, as suggested by others. However you don't have to do with out the index. You can use a permanent ink like Memories and carefully stamp your image on the block and then cover it with packing tape to keep it clean. I do this all the time because I carve a lot of my stamps and prefer that my stamps are wood mounted. My DH used to make me the blocks I needed, but since we moved, he no longer has his woodworking tools, so I'm am very happy to be given all sorts of wood blocks from my "un-mounting" stamper friends. I'm sure you can do the same. Good luck to you.
Call your home owners insurance and get reimbursed and buy new!!!
Depends on the Insurance, they might have to have been listed separately to claimed.
I do feel for you. I have been lucky enough not to be flooded here when we had our big flood in 2014. I know many lost much and now our East coast had terrible rains and floods as well.
__________________ 2 cats short of the Crazy Cat Lady (5 Ragdolls RIP Katie DSH, RIP little Merlot Flame Ragdoll & Sunna Torbie Ragdoll- we miss you! Damn FIP) http://rebecca-rebeccasemptynest.blogspot.com/
can you list some of your favorite sets and maybe we have some sitting unloved in our cabinets that wevcan send you? I know I have many I don't really use.
How to clean stampin up stamps after a flood
