Ask Maria "Cleaning Rubber Stamps"

I know it’s crazy but I like my rubber stamps to look clean and new. Is there any way to get the rubber stamps really clean?

If you are using dye or pigment inks, you should be able to clean your rubber stamps back to the fun pink color of a new stamp. However, if you use permanent inks, you must clean the stamp immediately after use with a solvent cleaner designed to clean off permanent ink. Often we get so involved with what we are creating that we don’t clean off the permanent ink as quickly as we should. The permanent ink will stain the rubber but will not damage or effect the crispness of the stamp’s image. I use the scrubby pads available and have one for dye/pigment inks where I just use soap and water and one for when I’m using the permanent inks. There are solvents on the market that do a fair job of cleaning off old ink from rubber stamps and this link will show you what is available.

Maria Nerius is the craft expert and in-house designer at FaveCrafts.com. She enjoys researching and answering art and craft questions, feel free to send her a note through customer service. She is also the editor of Creative Income, a FaveCrafts.com newsletter available through subscriptions.