Cleaning playing cards

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Oct 28, 2007
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Sydney Australia
Its kind of a noob question, but Im wondering how most people clean their playing cards. Over time my cards become greasy from handling and and dirty along the edges which affects its peroformance. I understand the basic principal of keeping cards clean eg washing cards, avoiding drops etc etc and yes my cards have lasted me a long time.
Other than getting a new packet of cards, what way is there to clean your playing cards in general.
 
Sep 3, 2007
229
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Canada, Quebec
Its kind of a noob question, but Im wondering how most people clean their playing cards. Over time my cards become greasy from handling and and dirty along the edges which affects its peroformance. I understand the basic principal of keeping cards clean eg washing cards, avoiding drops etc etc and yes my cards have lasted me a long time.
Other than getting a new packet of cards, what way is there to clean your playing cards in general.

Hmm, maybe put it in washing machine?

No just kidding; I don't think there's a way to "clean" your cards...
 
the best way is to take a preemptive approach to it... before even touching the deck wash your hands. the dirtier your hands are the dirtier the deck is going to get. as for the greasiness, hold the deck as little as possible if it is not necessary. if you are going to be using the deck but dont want to set it down hold it at your finger tips.

if you take these tips into consideration your deck should hold together nicely for a bit longer but eventually it will be destroyed. if you still want to "clean" your deck you can take an eraser and scrub the sides of the deck to take some of that dirt off (or a very fine piece of sandpaper and lightly pass it along the edges) and take a towel and wipe down each card individually to remove the greasy residue.
 
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Feb 19, 2008
14
1
Basic principle of keeping cards clean - WASHING them?

Wouldn't that like, fudge 'em up?


As above poster said, I don't think there's a way to clean your cards, but wash your hands before working with the cards, keep in some sort of card guard and that sort of stuff.

P O I
//Linus
 
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Get a buffing stone from a nail person and use that on all sides of the deck. Keeps the grimmey edges from peeling and created nasty edges. Other than that there's really not way to clean a deck. There are ways to keep the deck handing better. A good way is fanning powder if you want to use it. A pinch of powder really does work. Powder hinders many sleights for magic and some moves for manipulation. Fanning, armspreads, and several cuts receive easier handling when the deck is powdered though.
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,005
3
you can clean a deck easily, use cotton swabs they're cheap. if you can leave the deck somewhere and don't touch it for several weeks then the oily crap seems to evaporate, or something.
 
Nov 23, 2016
1
2
Hey great question. No it's not stupid to want to prolong the life of your favorite deck. Here is what i do to clean my cards.
Step 1. Get some nitrile gloves.
Step 2. Get some tissue paper. Enough to stick between 54 cards. And more to wipe with.
Step 3. Lay down some kind of clean mat.
Step 4. Wash hands and put on gloves. Avoid oil transfer, so dont touch your face!
Step 5. Pull out the deck. And 1 by 1. Vigorously dry wipe them front and back. Lay them loose for air flow. Leave them loose over night.
Step 6. Stack your cards in a press with tissue paper between each card. Depending on the press you might have to split the deck for this process. Since you're revitalizing your deck might as well flatten them too. When 1 to 2 week period is up your deck should be relatively oil free. Relatively because you can't make them wet with solvents or soap and water. So keep in mind this process isn't 100 % but it will keep you away from fanning powder. And you'll be able to extend your relationship with your favorite deck. Lastly only use white or natural tissue paper. Color will discolor your cards.
Good luck. JK.
 
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Fox13

Elite Member
Aug 19, 2014
200
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Except for Fournier 605 which are washable, there is no way to get paper decks back pristine. But you can remove most of the dirt easily.

Here is what I do. When the borders become so spotty it's just too gross to manipulate, I rub the 4 edges on both face and back of all cards with facial tissue, one by one. The process takes about 2 hours, so you might want to do that watching a movie ;) Be gentle, this rubbing will remove some of the finish/ink of the cards (but when I do this it's either this or I throw the deck away). The deck won't necessarily fan perfectly after that, but it will give significantly increase the life of your cards for packet cutting.

I have a contraband deck at the office I have been using intensively for about a year. I used it 6 months before cleaning them as such, and they would need a little clean up again. I have three more brand new at home I could open, but this one just feels so great, it is perfectly broken-in, and still fans decently.
 
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Jul 20, 2017
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you can take a microfiber cloth and wipe the cards 1 by 1 and they will get a lot smother but the sides will not be changed. btw sorry for my english if i did not spell enything correctly, hope my tip is usefull
 
Jan 22, 2019
26
1
you can use a bag of talcum powder or flour shake the cards up in the bag well then wipe them off with a cotton cloth it sounds insane but it works it can be a little messy
 
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Oct 13, 2019
9
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this might be really dumb to you, but try any disinfecting wipes. they might help. im not joking, try it on one card, see if it works. I tried it a while ago, i think it worked. I dont remember. probably didnt but give it a try.
 
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