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We're trying something new with the Ask Beate part of our Weekly Inkling, and would love to hear your advice, too!
This week's topic is cleaning stamps. Do you use SU! Stampin' Mist or another cleaner? Do you dilute, use full strength, or have you found another method that works better?
I am super diligent about cleaning my stamps. Sometimes I clean them in between stampings...even when using the same color!
I use SU's cleaner, full strength. It is really potent though, and I've thought about diluting it. Can't wait to see the details on this thread to see how well that works as an option.
Well.....I dont like the SU mist so I use water...right from the tap in my su mist bottle ;) and an old terry cloth towel. I really dislike the scrub because the colors tend to pick back up onto the stamp.
I spray water onto the towel, rub the stamp on the towel and they are ready to go to the next color!
If I use stazon or craft ink I will spray the water right onto the rubber and rub onto the towel. Sometimes I use a toothbrush at the sink if they are bad.
I do clean immediately after I am finished stamping with each color.
__________________
Shelley
The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.
I use the SU mist but I have started using the Ultra Clean for my clear stamps. If I use Stazon ink then I clean my stamps with the Stazon cleaner. I use my SU scrubber and I wash it at least once a week if I have been doing a lot of stamping, this way I know that the scrubber is clean and my stamps will get clean as well.
I use homemade cleaner. 2 tablespoon glycerin, 8 oz distilled water and 1 teas of baby wash. I clean them as soon as I stamp them. If a stamp is really stained I use a toothbrush and diluted Simple Green.
__________________ Did you know nearly 1 in 2 Americans live with chronic illness? chronic illness?
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I use Staz on cleaner and my SU scrubber if I use staz on ink. For my other inks I use Inkssentials water based stamp cleaner and it works pretty well. The main reason I use it is because I can pick it up at my local craft store if I run out instead of havning to order (one of my main problems with SU, hate waiting on accessories if I need them, not a patient person). ANyway, I like the way it smells too, kind of fruity.
Until I recently found this site I didn't know you could make your own. One problem though...I HATE the baby powder smell (except actually on babies, is that strange?) so is there anything else that you can use in the cleaner?
For most of my stamps, I put a diluted mixture of Simple Green (with a bit of glycerin) in a small spray bottle, and I use my scrub. For my background stamps, I take the stamp to the sink and clean it off with a sponge that I have dedicated for use with stamps. If I use Stazon ink or metallic pigment inks, I clean off the ink with Ultra Clean. I also use baby wipes to clean Stazon ink off stamps, if I get to the stain soon enough. I have never tried Stampin Mist. My demonstrator is very sensitive to most perfumes, so she has never demonstrated it!
__________________ Alice
[COLOR="DeepSkyBlue"]>^..^
I use full strength Stampin' Mist. If I use StazOn ink, I use the StazOn cleaner then clean again on my Stampin' Scrub. For wheels and background stamps, I rinse them under running water.
I have both the SU mist and Ultra Clean. Most of the time I use the SU mist...I find the UC a bit oily, and only pull it out when I use stazon.
I love my SU stampin' scrub for most uses. I do find when I use my fluid chalk inks that they gunk up my stampin' scrub quickly...I keep a couple of refills for paint edgers from the hardware store around for messy inks. They are cheap, disposable and are pretty much identical in texture to the stampin' scrub. I also find these work great for cleaning BG stamps as they don't fit well on the stampin' scrub.
__________________ Alanna
"It's all fun and games until someone loses an eyelet..." Gallery & Blog
I use my Stampin' Mist on my scrubber that I have wet down with water first. If I am using Stazon then I rub the Stazon cleaner on the stamp and then stamp off on an old diaper cloth and then clean in the regular way.
Like someone else mentioned, I just run wheels under water.
Oh! BTW, I rinse my scrubber when it starts getting full of ink (just the wet side). When I am done for the day I rinse both sides and leave open to dry.
I use something called EZ Duz It stamp cleaner from my lss - you can get it with a dauber top but I prefer the squirt bottle. Squirt a little on a microfiber towel, wipe off the stamp and baby, it's clean. It's the recommended cleaner for The Clear Thing acrylic blocks - won't damage your blocks like Staz-On cleaner can, but it cleans off Staz-On ink.
I've also used it on some used stamps that were just nasty and was even able to get those looking like new (and some of them were caked with gold pigment ink.)
I use my SU scrubber and on the wet side I spray Ultra Clean on one half and SU Mist (full strength) on the other half. For black or other dark inks I scrub on the Ultra Clean part first and then the SU Mist part (followed of course by the dry side), because although I love the way Ultra Clean works I hate the oily feel it leaves. For lighter inks I just rub over the SU Mist part.
I clean my scrubber quite often - usually with Dawn liquid and a toothbrush under hot running water. Just leave it standing up open to dry overnight. I couldn't stamp without my scrubber!
I really try to clean as I go, but do you guys ever end up with a huge pile of stamps that need to be cleaned? I do - quite often. Hate that!!! When that happens I take them all into the kitchen where I can spread out!
For wood mounted, I use the Stampin Mist bottle and then add water as it gets lower.
For clear, I just stamp off until it looks clean and then rub the stamp on paper. Then if it still looks like there is ink left, I rub it on a scrubber with Ultra clean and repeat...
__________________ Dear Paperlicious is my blog...with a series on how I'm learning to improve my cardmaking by studying others.
I use diluted Ultra Clean on my stamps. You know cause it's like Ultra and stuff
How do you dilute Ultra clean? I tried diluting mine with water and ruined the whole bottle! The ultra clean gummed up into big globs floating in the water - weird chemical reaction!
For well over 15 years I've been using 1:3 Simple Green/H20. I love it! As a matter of fact, I keep it in a large spray bottle and clean my stamp table with it when I'm done cleaning my stamps :-). The smell is not offensive and it works wonderfully.
For StazOn/permanent ink I use Ultra Clean, it works great and also has no offensive smell.
I use full-strength stampin' mist and pull out the UC for stazon or any stubborn craft ink. For those whose scrubbers get dirty too quickly, have you tried "stamping off" first? I always stamp on top of a big piece of SU paper (can't remember what it's called...it comes in pad form...), and after I finish with a stamp, I'll stamp a few times on the paper to get rid of most of the leftover ink before I clean the stamp. Then there's less ink to get on the scrubber.
I use the stamping mist and my scrubber---sometimes I will use Ultra clean if i am using stazon and for craft inks(if i am not lazy, LOL) I will go to the sink and run under water to clean... I don't clean my scrubber as often as i should(read about the lazy part up above!)
I do stamp off alot before I clean to help out with the cleaning!
BTW, Beate, I love this new idea of asking ?'s for the Inkling, keep them coming and You do a Rockin' Job!!!!
I recently picked up a bottle of Ultra Clean at my local LSS. I was out of the Stampin Mist & I couldn't wait for an order/shipping time. I don't like the oily feel of it, though & the next time I place an SU order, I am definitely ordering more of the mist. And I couldn't clean without my scrubber (though I was feeling lazy & tried to last night).
Alanna, thanks for the tip on the paint edger refills!
I use Stampin Mist and clean my stamps as I go and use Stazon Cleaner when I use Stazon and rub directly on the stamp then clean with paper towel. If its not completely clean, then I rub the stamp on the scrubber. I have to clean my scrubber every once in a while.
__________________ Carolyn
Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and Lovin' it!
I use everything just about. I used stazon cleaner till it was gone.
I use Stampin Mist on my Stampin up cleaner and I spray it with water.
couple sprays mist couple spray water work really good. The best thing I have used is full strengh simple green (Spray bottle) and a toothbrush
at the sink. Even got old caked on paint off of a garage sale find.
Is there something I should do after the simple green to keep my rubber
soft. (I do worry about it drying out from Simple Green) I have been know to be overzealous when scrubbing and scrubbed my rubbah right off the mount.
Good thing I like unmounted too!!!! :-P
__________________ Bev
Organized People are just too lazy to hunt for things!!!
I use full-strength stampin' mist and pull out the UC for stazon or any stubborn craft ink. For those whose scrubbers get dirty too quickly, have you tried "stamping off" first? I always stamp on top of a big piece of SU paper (can't remember what it's called...it comes in pad form...), and after I finish with a stamp, I'll stamp a few times on the paper to get rid of most of the leftover ink before I clean the stamp. Then there's less ink to get on the scrubber.
That's an excellent point. I jeep a piece of scratch paper handy and stamp off as much as possible before using the scrubber - really does make a big difference.
I use stampin' mist and my scrubber (like a well trained demo :rolleyes: ) haha! but now when using stazon ink, I prefer ultra clean. I don't like the oily residue, so I clean again with stampin' mist and scrubber.
I use the stampin mist at full strength. I have not tried it diluted.
I am reading this with much interest. However, I am wondering if Simply Green or Ultra Clean can be used with clear stamps? I'm a little puzzled about the best way to clean and yet preserve them.
Mostly I stamp as much as possible off and then use a baby wipe and then a stamp-scrub pad. For stubborn stains from Brilliance, which seems to clog any detailed stamps, it's washing-up liquid, a toothbrush and air-dry. I just use Staz-On and Ultra Clean for major forgotten-about stamps that I didn't get round to on the day. On the whole, though, I try to clean as I go to avoid getting an unwanted image somewhere :-). Or else I stack them on the floor and do them together at the end - it's obvious I don't have a consistent method, isn't it!
I won't be getting more Ultra Clean, I don't like the smell or the feel.
I use the Stampin' Mist but I do dilute it with water (about 2/3 mist & 1/3 water). I found that when I sprayed full strength mist onto the scrub, it would be dry very quickly and I would have to spray more. When I dilute it, the pad stays wet longer and it still works the same. I do use Ultra Clean for black ink or stazon or for stamps that just won't come clean with the Mist.
I quit using the Stampin' Mist when they changed the scent a couple of years ago and it started smelling like a certain brand of feminine hygiene product! Now I make my own using one of the recipes posted here on SCS, and I'm able to get my beloved rosewater scent again by using one of the soapmaking scents sold at Hobby Lobby.
Shelley/photocropper, it's been my experience that you only get color redeposited onto the stamp when the scrubber pad is too dirty.
__________________ 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"
Is the greasy-ness from the cleaners because it's supposed to condition the rubber on the stamp? I currently use baby wipes. Does anyone know if in doing so am I harming the rubber on my stamps? Any rubber stamp manufacturers out there that can answer this question?
I was told early on in my stamping (waaay back when) that baby wipes would eventually damage rubber stamps so I stopped using them. Don't know if it's true for certain or not, but once I got a scrubber I found I liked using it much more anyway.
Shelley/photocropper, it's been my experience that you only get color redeposited onto the stamp when the scrubber pad is too dirty.
HI Rachel.....well it was clean when we started. Every time I have used it the black is the color that causes the most problems! It is a personal thing...I dont like it!
For me it is just so much easier and cheaper too to use an old washcloth a little water and when the cloth gets too dirty I get a new one and toss this one to the laundry! (they are not clothes that I use for the shower btw!)
OH and I did buy some cleaner at walmart a few years ago that I loved but they quit selling it...StampCraft Rubber Stamp Cleaner if I buy second hand stamps that are stained this stuff will clean them right up!
__________________
Shelley
The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.
For dye or pigment ink, I swipe the stamp on baby wipes to clean them. I think that does a good job and helps condition the rubber. Then I stamp on a wad of paper towels to get off any moisture before putting them away.
For permanent ink, I had been using a product by TAC which does an excellent job at removing even old permanent ink - not that I ever let my stamps have ink stay on them! Cleans them so well it looks like fresh rubber again. That gets sprayed on my SU Scrubber and I run my stamps over the wet area, then the dry area, then they get a swipe on the baby wipe to clean off any residue (because it has an oily feel to it) then the paper towels. Can you tell I'm obsessive about getting my stamps clean? But I have recently run out of this product, and with no intention of ordering from that company again, I will have to find a substitute. Sounds like the Ultra Clean might be just what I'm looking for.
I have tried the Stampin Mist. I think it smells like baby wipes. It didn't take off the permanent ink very well, and although it did a good job on the dye ink, I think the baby wipes are easier for me to use and I don't have to order them!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jami
I was told early on in my stamping (waaay back when) that baby wipes would eventually damage rubber stamps so I stopped using them. Don't know if it's true for certain or not, but once I got a scrubber I found I liked using it much more anyway.
I do know you cant use the ones with Aloe but other than that idk...i'll have to Google it.
Not that it would matter with all the stamps I have, half of them will never be used anyway so if the ones I am cleaning are damaged I can start on the rest of them;)
LoL
I just bought some refill Ultra Clean from Peggy at Paper Works Co. I'm new to the product other than the small bottle I first purchased. It does have an oily feel to it but I took that as being a conditioner for my rubber stamps. What do I know :confused: But....I must say, it does an excellent job of cleaning my stamps so I will continue using it. I just spray a bit onto my scrubber and scrub away. If you google Ultra Clean rubber stamp cleaner you shouldn't have any trouble locating a store in your area I don't think.
I don't have one way that I use every time I clean my stamps, unless it's a background stamp.I run those under the sink faucet to clean them and then wipe the dry on a kitchen towel.
When it comes to the other stamps, sometimes I'll grab a baby wipe to clean them and sometimes I'll get out my SU! spray mist & scrubber.
Let's talk about cleaning your stamps
