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Feb 15, 2010

Stamp Cleaning MIRACLE

Hi everyone!  I have something SUPER exciting to share with you today!  A BRAND-NEW stamp cleaning MIRACLE!  Seriously... it is THAT awesome, that I am calling it a miracle!

I have been struggling for as long as I have been stamping to figure out the best, easiest method for cleaning my stamps.  I started with the Stampin' Up stamp scrubber and it's ok... but not great.  I experienced little fibers coming loose and transferring onto my stamps or stamp pads and then dealt with little inked fibers making their way onto my projects.  Annoying.  It also gets dirty quickly and I didn't like having to continually wash it and run it through my dishwasher.  When I cleaned my stamps and then stamped off, the stamps still made an impression with dirty inky mess from the cleaner. YUCK!

Next I moved on to baby wipes.  There are tons of baby wipes on the market and you have to be really careful when choosing one for your stamps.  You have to make sure they do not contain alcohol and worry whether or not they will leave fibers on your stamps.  Rest assured they do.  Even the expensive ones... which I purchased for years.  I just dealt with the fibers because it was an improvement over the SU Scrubber and I didn't know what else to use.  It seemed to be the best of two evils.

About a month ago, I had ruined yet another stamped image because some fiber from my baby wipe got in my ink, which got on my stamp, which got inked up with a nice shade of black, which left an impression with my stamped image.  I was FED UP.  I ripped it up (and maybe said a few choice words) and sat there and asked myself out loud (ala crazy woman), "WHAT can I use to clean my stamps that will NOT leave ANY fiber of any kind on anything?".  Then I went searching.  I am not sure why I thought I would find the answer in my house... but I was desperate.  Surely there was SOMETHING that would work and stop driving me crazy.  Then I saw it... the thing I use to dry my truck after I wash it at the car wash!  I looked at it, all stained black from dirt on my truck and figured it wouldn't hurt anything to give it a try.  I grabbed a pair of scissors and cut off a piece about 8 X 8 inches and rinsed it out in the sink with some dishwasher detergent.  I didn't notice anything "dirty" rinsing out of it, so I figured whatever was on it, was just stained.  I took that piece of "miracle" to my stamp room and squirted a little bit of my MFT stamp cleaner on it.  I grabbed the dirtiest stamp on my table and just swiped it with the material.  Then I stamped off on my scrap paper and it left NO "dirty" image on it.  It was clean as a whistle.  Seriously.  It leaves NO fibers of any kind.  In fact, it doesn't even feel fibrous.  It is more like a rubbery, foam-like piece of material.  It cleans stamps like a CHAMP.  I used the "dirty from my truck" piece of material for over a month before I decided to tell you all about it.  I wanted to be SURE that it was the miracle I have been waiting for... and it is.  :) 



The product is called the absorber.  I bought mine at Walmart for about $10 for a 27" X 17" piece.  On the package, I saw that there is also a website: http://www.theabsorber.com/ (it appears to be down at the moment, but I also found this product listed at Amazon).  This is NOT like a Sham WOW.  I thought it was, but when I went to the store to buy a brand new one for my blog post, I noticed that the Sham WOW appeared to be fibrous.  It is not the same smooth material of the absorber, and therefore I cannot say that it will have the same effect.  You NEED one of these.  REALLY... NOW... go out and buy one and see how amazing it is when cleaning your stamps.  You can find it in the automotive aisle at Walmart.  I use the MFT Cleaning solution with mine.  I like it because it doesn't lather and leaves your stamps clean and smells GREAT (citrus-like).  The piece I have been using is a yellow absorber (the color doesn't matter, it comes in a variety of colors) and is super stained with black ink.  What I have noticed is that the ink doesn't transfer to anything else (I'm sure it COULD, but I haven't had any problem with that at all).  Once I wipe off my stamp, the ink is "sucked" into the absorber and it stays there.  It can be machine washed (although I have just continued to rinse mine with a little bit of dish detergent) and with the large piece you get for only $10, you'll ALWAYS have a clean one available.

It comes in a little bag within a tube.  It is pre-moistened in the bag, which makes it pliable and "cloth-like".  After I have used it, I keep it in a baggie, sealed shut and it stays moist.  If you leave it out, it dries up and gets hard.  All you have to do is rinse it out (or wet it) and it is ready to go again.  

Here is some information from the package:

The Absorber
The original PVA drying skin
made by CleanTools

  • Dries small cars in 2-3 minutes (I can vouch for this, as I use it for my truck and it dries it quickly)
  • Resistant to most chemicals
  • unharmed by grease and oil (which should make it safe for Stazon cleaner and Ultra Clean)
  • Tough, lintless (which is a MIRACLE)
  • Lasts for years with normal use
  • Great as a towel on the beach or on boats
  • Use it anywhere you'd use a towel, chamois or even a sponge.
Instructions:
  • Before first use, rinse out thoroughly with warm water.
  • May be stored damp in tube - so it's always ready to use (won't rot when kept wet in tube).
  • If absorber dries out, simply re-wet.
  • Machine wash with regular laundry - use liquid laundry detergent.
  • Note: Thoroughly clean before storing to help avoid odor or mildew.  Odor or mildew will not affect the absorber.  If either occurs, wash as above (do not use bleach). 
I have been impressed and amazed at how wonderful this is for cleaning my stamps and I just HAD to share with you!  Perhaps some of you are having the same issues I was OR you're just looking for a better option. :)  Keep in mind that if you have been using baby wipes or a scrubber with fibers that come loose, those might be on your ink pads.  I "scraped" my Memento ink pads with card stock to remove as much of the baby wipe fibers as I could, so that I wouldn't continue having the fiber issue.  Make sure to check out your ink pads to eliminate as many of the fibers as you can. 

If you go buy one of these, be sure to come back and let me know how you like it.  I am NOT worried at all.  I LOVE using it and I am confident you will too!  :)

*Note: I have not been compensated in any way for this post.  I purchased this product and am providing this review as a GIFT to YOU!  :)

Have a wonderful day!

Jody

26 comments:

  1. Thanks for the tip Jody! I will definitely be getting one of those towels next time I go to Walmart.

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  3. Jody, Thanks so very much for this info! I too have been plagued with pieces of fiber in my stamped projects! It is really frustrating, to say the least. I have put this on my list to get tomorrow and will let you know what I think of it! :)

    Cherie

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  4. What a godsend!!! Thank you!!!

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  5. Thanks for the review and the tips. It always helps to hear from a happy customer - I will have to give this a try. Any tips on keeping cat fur off of everything? If only!

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  6. This is absolutely wonderful! I've experienced every problem you talked about and am sooooo happy that you shared your "miracle" with us!

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  7. Thanks for the tip...this sounds fantastic! I have all of the same problems that you discussed so I am looking forward to trying this! TFS!

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  8. Thanks for the tip. I hate, Hate, HATE cleaning my su! Scrubber which is currently filthy! It is usually ok but I give my stamps an extra wipe before using super pale colours. I hope they carry it in Canada!

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  9. I'm going to try this. I can vouch for this product. We've had the same one for nearly 20 years that we use on our car. It's fabulous. I just never thought about using it for anything else. Gotta love someone who thinks outside the box. Thanks for the tip.

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  10. Hi Jody, just to let you know it isnt a Sham wow but it may be chamois, which is a soft leathery type of material and i have also found this through tial and error, you right it is a miracle
    smiles
    Paola

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  11. Thanks for the tip! I don't seem to have the same problem as you with my SU scrubber, but you stamp WAY more than I do, so likely yours wore out faster than mine!! I however hate the feel of ultraclean, so I will definitely look into this for use with thta cleaner.... How about the idea of storing the piece of chamois in a SU clam shell box? That is what I am going to try!
    Diane Cooper
    diane7@rogers.com

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  12. You ROCK! I will definitely give it a try. I have a stack of SU scrubbers that I used to use for workshops but they never seem to come completely clean, so frustrating. I wonder if I cut them to the size of the scrubber case if that will be enough to keep it moist if the case is shut. I will get back to you on that. A quick spritz with cleaner or water would probably do the trick.

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  13. YAHOO!!!! I am SO happy, I have a scrubber thingie with a dryer thingie on the other flap, you talk about a PITA to clean, UGH!!!! I am headed to Wal Fart TONIGHT... I haven't noticed fibers but the ink doesn't all come off my stamps!!! Grrr...sucks with split sentiment stamping!!!!

    THANK YOU JODY!!!! YOU DA BOMB !!!!

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  14. Christine Bugge2/16/2010 9:26 PM

    Thanks Jody! I have put it on my Walmart-List...! What a great idea!

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  15. Thank you Jody!!! I bought one of these today because I gave up on my SU scrubber a LONG time ago and I've been using baby wipes but like you mentioned I have had fibers etc. I'm excited to give this a try.

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  16. Got it. Tried it. Works fabulous. Not to keen on always putting it in a baggie though. I will have to come up with another way to store it so it is easily accessible. Any ideas anyone?

    stamp on...

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  17. nice post. thanks.

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  18. Keep posting stuff like this i really like it

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  19. I bought some.
    I love it!
    THANK YOU

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  20. You are right! I love mine. Put my SU scrubbers up on ebay. I have always hated that my stuff was ruined by trace amounts of black ink. This took it right off. Thanks so much for the great find. I'll be spreading the word:)

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  21. Just bought one of these on Friday and tried it out this weekend. Love it!!!

    Thank you so much for this awesome idea! I love that it's reusable and I'm not throwing away all those wipes. And if I leave one piece sitting out I can just re-wet it and use it again.

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  22. Hmmm...DH has a couple of these in the garage. I'm sure he won't miss one! Especially during winter, he won't even remember how many he had come spring! hehehe

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  23. Hmmm...DH has a couple of these in the garage. I'm sure he won't miss one! Especially during winter, he won't even remember how many he had come spring! hehehe

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  24. This ROCKS! I split one with a friend and it works great. Thank you for sharing this great find.

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  25. I am going to give this a try. I am not a big fan of the Stampin Up scrubber. Never seems to get my stamps clean!! Thanks for this suggestion!

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  26. I am a few years late, but I just recently saw a video with another crafter who uses this and am going to buy one tomorrow. I have 3 stampin scrubs from SU and the thought of running them through my dishwasher makes me cringe! but they are so dirty. And even after I clean my stamp, there is usually some residual scum left on it that bugs me so I get out a baby wipe. Now the baby wipes I use are really good. but I hate that I use one for 20 minutes then it is dry and useless and I am just throwing it away. I like to recycle to the absorber sounds perfect for me!

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