How do you clean your playing cards? Although this may sound like a noob question, still it may sense. Have you ever wonder how casinos or even live casinos in Singapore take care of their playing cards? In this article, we will be teaching you how to clean playing cards. Not only that, but we will also help you how to preserve your old deck of cards.
The more you use your deck of cards, the more it will start to bend, warp, or fade over time. Therefore, if you have playing cards that you want to preserve, you can protect and store them safely. However, these will not always the case. Of course, there are playing cards that you want to play. The delicate nature of the playing cards and their line of work usually attract dirt, grime, and germs. In addition, it makes them so challenging to clean and disinfect.
How to clean your playing cards?
Cleaning and preserving your favorite deck of cards is not about maintaining its condition alone. You also need to disinfect the germs and viruses that it may have obtained from the people who use them.
By doing so, you are also lowering down the risks of spreading the infection to others. We all know the flu viruses and COVID-19 are very contagious. That is why you need to clean your playing cards routinely as well as disinfects them to remove viruses and germs.
The General Cleaning
Does your deck of cards stick together?
If so, then you should probably be having a hard time shuffling them. Well, you do not throw them away or buy a new one. All you have to do is show some TLC, fix them, and clean them. You just have to take a little bit of care to stay playing cards to last for a long time.
You can use powdered cleaner to absorb all those finger oils and grease from snacks out from your cards.
What do you need to prepare?
Will you be surprised if I say that all you need is one thing to clean your cards? Yes, all you have is a powder to clean them. You can choose:
- Baby powder
- Flour
- Diatomaceous earth
- Talcum powder
Quick and easy steps to clean your playing cards
- Put your playing cards in a plastic bag, preferably a zip lock.
- Then, sprinkle some powdered cleaners into the plastic bag.
- After that, seal the bag. Then, shake your bag so that you can disperse the powder over the cards.
- Once you are done shaking the bag, remove the cards from the bag. Then, wipe the powder off with a paper towel.
- Finally, shuffle the playing cards several times to remove the powder.
You can try this method; you will notice that it will make your cards smooth and nice. Not only that, but you will notice that you can shuffle them nicely after the clean up. Of course, you can deal with them nicely compared to what they have been before the treatment. Notably, this cleaning hack is perfect for paper playing cards.
Tip: Avoid using too much talcum powder; just a few pinches are enough. Therefore, you will not get too much powder on your hands and tables when you use it.
Another cleaning tips for a paper deck of cards:
Although this cleaning hack may sound strange to you but believe me, you will be surprised after.
Clean your playing cards with white bread
- First, you need to take the crust off the white bread.
- Next, use the bread like a sponge then; rub each piece of playing cards with it.
- Then, wipe all the playing cards clean with a paper towel.
White bread also cleans the way the talcum powder does. However, your cards will not be dispensing powder all over your hands and table.
How To Clean Plastic Playing Cards?
Compared to paper playing cards, plastic cards are much easier to clean.
- First, you need to submerge your cards in soap water. It is best to use cool water when cleaning your cards because they tend to fade over time. Moreover, do not use alkaline or detergent soap. Instead, you can use a mild soap or shampoo.
- Afterwards, clean them just like how you clean your stuff. Although about scrubbing cards with cleaning tools. Instead, you can use a soft cloth or towel in rubbing them.
- Then, spread your cards on your bed to dry. Also, do not stack the cards on top of one another when still wet.
Notably, avoid putting them under the sun or use the hairdryer to speed up the drying process. It’ll only ruin and damage your stuff.
How to Preserve Your Old Cards?
If you are searching for ways on how to fix playing cards, then you are at the right place. Although we know that old playing cards need serious cleaning attention, still, you can do this. You can consider using the methods below to restore your old cards.
To preserve your old cards and look new again, you will need:
- Cotton balls
- White bread
- Camphor spirits
Easy steps to restore your old playing cards
- First, dampen your cotton balls with a few drops of camphor spirits.
- Then, wipe all the pieces with a damp cotton ball. Alternatively, you can substitute crust-free white bread with cotton balls.
Stay Playing Cards But Disinfect Them
To disinfect, here are the things you will need:
- Disinfectant Wipes
- Microfiber cloth
Optional:
- Vinegar
- Mild dish soap
- Cornstarch
- Baby Powder
Easy steps in disinfecting playing cards
- First, gently wipe the cards using the disinfectant wipes.
- Oftentimes, our playing cards tend to have finger marks and grime buildup over time. So, you need to wipe them clean. You can use a damp sponge to wipe those tough spots, yet, do not immerse the cards in water.
- After wiping off the dirty spots, you can gently wipe dry the cards with a microfiber cloth.
This is optional, but you can use talcum powder or cornstarch to clean your playing cards. Follow the instructions above. However, you can dampen a cotton with vinegar or mild soap. Then, you can now wiped the cards.
- Then, allow your deck of cards to air-dry.
- Store your favorite playing cards in a cool and dry place.
How to fix playing cards – warped and bend cards?
- Unbending playing cards is easy. First, you need to place a weight on top of your playing cards. You do this to flatten your card.
- Then, set the playing cards on a flat surface so that the bend side of the card is facing down.
- Additionally, you can use a thick book to set on top of cards. Therefore, it’ll hold the deck in place and keeps all the pieces flat.
- Afterwards, you can place a weight on top of the book. Preferably 2.3kg or 5lbs so that it’ll apply more pressure to the playing cards.
- Leave it overnight so that you can fully unbend the cards.
How to keep your playing card as clean as possible?
- First, you need to keep the surface of your table always clean.
- Then, always wash your hands before playing.
- As much as possible, keep the food and drinks off the table. Aside from that, quickly wipe up the spills from the table.
- Also, avoid serving finger foods as much as possible. Not only have that also refrained from eating greasy and oily foods when playing.
Cleaning Playing Cards FAQs:
How can I sanitize my playing cards?
Disinfecting your playing cards is easy. First, gently wipe each card using disinfectant wipes. Then, spot clean and wipe the tough spots with a dampening sponge. Afterward, wiped all the pieces with a dry microfiber cloth. Lastly, all your deck of cards to air-dry.
Why do the playing cards stick together?
Playing cards tend to stick together when it is dirty. While you are playing cards, you tend to eat snacks right? This is where your cards getting dirt. Aside from that, your cards will pick up finger oils from being handled all the time. In addition, specks of dirt and grimes tend to stick on them over time. These build-ups make shuffling more difficult to do.
How do you flatten bent plastic playing cards?
You can follow the instruction mentioned above. However, you can try using a clothes flat iron. The idea of doing this is to loosen up the plastic from the flat iron’s heat. Notably, you need to keep the flat iron at a very low temperature. After heating the cards, turn off the flat iron. Then, leave it while resting on the card.
