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OK, it's possible that I am a total spaz, but every time I use the darn thing, my stamps get all inky and wont get clean! I use the stampin spray with them and when I rub the stamps, the pad gets all foamy and stains my blocks! Tried cleaning the S scrub pads and it didn't help so I ordered new inserts and after about fifteen minutes of heavy use, they are doing it too!
Any one else have this problem? What did you do to correct it? TIA, Abi
I had this happen to me with a set that I had borrowed from a friend :( I was so upset with myself for staining her wood blocks. But the reason mine soaped up was that I was actually using too much stamping mist on the pad in the first place. By the way, I took Qtips and bleach and was able to get most of the ink off my friend's blocks if the ink bothers you! HTH!
I stamp my stamps on scrap paper first to get off excess ink...then I clean them. If I am using alot of black ink, I will wash it after I am done...dont' use to much cleaner either. I have taken mine out of the case and used them in my hand, can get better results that way...good luck
rachel
Yes, my very smart stamping sista advised me to "stamp off" the stamp before I use the stampin scrub... has helped a lot!! Great tip! But, I've had some trouble, too... I thought it might have been because I washed a stamp that had versamark... Should stamps with versamark on them be washed seperately or differently? And, since we're on the subject, how often do you replace the pads? Mine are a couple months old and the edges are fraying... I can deal with it, but am curious as to when to say when...
I "section" my SS off to keep like inks together....I use a section for black...a section for white....a section for versamark...a section for lights...and a section for darks....of course not all at the same time!! I can usually get it divided into 4 sections per cleaning....that way I'm not making a mess when I clean up....
also I personally think that you should have 2 SS...one for black...and one for everything else!! but that's just me....
Wow, Shell... you're so organized Your idea of getting another SS is just the "blessing" I needed to get the second SS I was thinking about getting... It stinks when my SS is "drying" and I get the urge to stamp... I like to clean 'em as I go... Yeehaw! Going to add this to my "list of needs" (it is no longer a "want")
I have 2 sets, I do have people over to stamp, and it speeds things up. Mine are a bit warped and freyd..have had the 1st set for over a year. I have put them in the dish washer and they did bend a little, but it is fine with me. Maybe try a towel with the sray on it for the stazon first then use the scrub to finish.
rachel
I've had my SS for over four years and I've never had to replace the pads (I got a SS right after they started selling the black pads, instead of white).
I stamp off before I use it, and if the stain is really bad/goopy, I wipe with baby wipes first.
I've never put mine in the dishwasher...I only rinse it with water when I'm done. I think I've used dishsoap once when it got heavy use that day.
I put a baby wipe down on the wet side and hold my stamps there as I stamp. That way the extra ink comes off into the wipe. When I'm ready to put the used stamps away, I remove the baby wipe, mist and scrub. There is very little ink left on the stamps so I don't have to clean my stamp and scrub as often. I personally would never put mine in the dishwasher as I know MANY do, as I did this to my first one,with heat OFF and it warped and freyed into a TERRIBLE mess!! JMHO.
I put a baby wipe down on the wet side and hold my stamps there as I stamp. That way the extra ink comes off into the wipe. When I'm ready to put the used stamps away, I remove the baby wipe, mist and scrub. There is very little ink left on the stamps so I don't have to clean my stamp and scrub as often. I personally would never put mine in the dishwasher as I know MANY do, as I did this to my first one,with heat OFF and it warped and freyed into a TERRIBLE mess!! JMHO.
Excellent idea - think I'll give that a try! I did however put mine into the dishwasher this weekend because they had gotten so messy with use. I tried just rinsing them out, but it didn't seem to work too well so I thought I'd try the dishwasher trick ... not such a good idea, it warped them terribly and now when I put them back into the holder the entire holder warps with the pads! Any suggestions for the warping issue?
I stained some of my wood blocks using a friend's scrub that had too much old ink in it. The foam took on the color of the old mostly black ink and stained my blocks purple. It had never occurred to her to wash it out. After I showed her how to do it, now she washes it regularly and end of problem. Even if you use too much mist, if the scrub is clean, it only foams white and doesn't stain.
BTW, for light staining like that, taking a sanding block or fine grit sanding paper will take most of it off.
I just got a Double Scrubber pad, which seems like it is very similar to the Stampin Scrub, and had a question about it. When I close the Double Scrubber, the wet side touches the dry side a little bit. Should I flip the wet side over when I'm putting it away, so it is face-down and touching the case instead of the dry side? TIA!
Excellent idea - think I'll give that a try! I did however put mine into the dishwasher this weekend because they had gotten so messy with use. I tried just rinsing them out, but it didn't seem to work too well so I thought I'd try the dishwasher trick ... not such a good idea, it warped them terribly and now when I put them back into the holder the entire holder warps with the pads! Any suggestions for the warping issue?
Not sure if this will work with the entire cover but run it under hot tap water and straighten. Slowly cool the water down and it should hold the flat shape. I made the mistake of cleaning mine once with HOT water and this did the trick for me.
__________________ Victoria
~Made of awesome
~My 6th Avon 39
Thanks everyone! I ended up scrubbing it with a scrubbrush and got most of the ink out! This combined with stamping the ink off before I scrub and washing after use with black ink seem to have helped lots!
I am a rubber stamper for almost 18 years. I have been using 3" X 5" paint pad refills from WalMart (CHEAP! Something like 2.49 for 2 ) and Windex mixed 50/50 with water for the last 16 years, and my stamps are like new! With the exception of StazOn Ink... I have a seperate pad in a different case with a solvent cleaner that I use for that, then I clean the stamp with a soapy pad and rinse well.
I never use a solvent cleaner without washing the stamp after that, because solvent inks and cleaners shorten the rubber life.
Windex cleans dye and pigment inks off completely, and does not foam, so there is no "backwash" from any foam to stain the wood mounts. Regular use of pigment inks ( SU craft ink is a pigment ink) will "condition" most rubber automatically, and I don't have to worry about the Windex 50/50 mix being hard on my stamps.
If they haven't hardened or rotted by now, after 16 years, I'd say that's pretty well time-tested. I am EXTREMELY **** about the look of my stamps and wood mounts- I have kept most of them like new for years. I have a LARGE collection of woodmounted as well as unmounted.
Someday I will have a HUGE paper and rubber museum...LOL! You know, like driving through the midwest and stopping to see the world's largest ball of twine?
I won't even tell you how many Stampin' Scrubs I own - lets just say it's more then 3 :blush:.
Having 2 of them tho is perfect (or at least have one and an extra set of the refill pads) so that one set can be thoroughly cleaned while you can still use the other.
I scrub my pads REALLY well with soap and water (even using a toothbrush at times to scrub them) and at times I WILL use Bleach on them - THAT cleans them really well. I make sure to thoroughly rinse off the bleach and will use more soap and water after. SO far no harmful side-effects and the pads get REALLY clean!
Someday I will have a HUGE paper and rubber museum...LOL! You know, like driving through the midwest and stopping to see the world's largest ball of twine?
ROFLOL. I would come to your museum.
Back to the subject.. .
When stamping mass quantities with black/dark/chalk ink: 1. Stamp off on paper 2. Stamp again on a paper towel laid next to it saturated with diluted Simple Green. 3. Stamp and scrub onto the Stampin' Scrub. Like a leetle assembly line.
I stamp my stamps on scrap paper first to get off excess ink...then I clean them. If I am using alot of black ink, I will wash it after I am done...dont' use to much cleaner either. I have taken mine out of the case and used them in my hand, can get better results that way...good luck
rachel
I do the same thing, its amazing how much ink is still on your stamp after you stamp it.
stampin' scrub...
