Help How to clean sleeves?

[gumball51321]

Hello people, as a competitive Pokemon player, I play in many tournaments. And with that, my hands get sweaty, other people shuffle your deck, and they constantly are played to a playmat. Furthermore, your sleeves will get dirty, and I don't have 12 dollars to buy new Dragon Shields. So, my question is: How to completely clean plain( mine are white ) sleeves without damaging them or your cards?

 

[CrownAxe]

I don't think you can. You just have to buy new sleeves

 

[crystal_pidgeot]

@CrownAxe is incorrect. This is something I recently started doing with my new love for KMC Mat sleeves and like you, I don't want to spend 12 bucks for new sleeves. What I do is take some war, soapy water and either a rag or paper towel and I rum down the sleeve (both sides) until the black grime comes off of them. I don't rub the sleeve the same way I clean something else or I risk damaging the sleeve and having to replace it since its marked. I just take a finger and press and slide. You'll get a feel for it.

Don't completely wet the sleeve but make sure the rag or whatever you use is at least damp though so you can easily slide across the sleeve. I've done this now two times on the same sleeves. I can say be prepared to set aside two hours to do this since that's about as long as it takes me to clean mine.

 

[gumball51321]

@CrownAxe is incorrect. This is something I recently started doing with my new love for KMC Mat sleeves and like you, I don't want to spend 12 bucks for new sleeves. What I do is take some war, soapy water and either a rag or paper towel and I rum down the sleeve (both sides) until the black grime comes off of them. I don't rub the sleeve the same way I clean something else or I risk damaging the sleeve and having to replace it since its marked. I just take a finger and press and slide. You'll get a feel for it.

Don't completely wet the sleeve but make sure the rag or whatever you use is at least damp though so you can easily slide across the sleeve. I've done this now two times on the same sleeves. I can say be prepared to set aside two hours to do this since that's about as long as it takes me to clean mine.

Thanks so much for your answer. I don't mind spending two hours since time is something I have too much of.

 

[Frosstoise]

I would say a q-tip and maybe some rubbing alcohol would work, if they aren't completely covered in grime. Probably want to take the cards out of them first too

 

[crystal_pidgeot]

I would say a q-tip and maybe some rubbing alcohol would work, if they aren't completely covered in grime. Probably want to take the cards out of them first too

@gumball51321 , not a problem

and that seems like a good idea. I'll try it out and yes, you should remove the cards from the sleeves, but I thought this was obvious.

 

[Jerememe]

whatever you do make sure you keep the card in! it cleans it too!

 

[thom ye]

depending on what you use.... just be careful.
you don't want to damage that Shaymin EX or whatever full arts you are using.
either by bleeding the ink or warping card if it gets wet.

alternate suggestion. have a set of tournament sleeves and
use a set of plain ultra pro sleeves for practice.
and just switch over for the tourney.
chances are, your sleeves see a lot more use from practice...
so you can rotate them out. or just swap back n forth.... assuming you have too much time .

 

[crystal_pidgeot]

depending on what you use.... just be careful.
you don't want to damage that Shaymin EX or whatever full arts you are using.
either by bleeding the ink or warping card if it gets wet.

alternate suggestion. have a set of tournament sleeves and
use a set of plain ultra pro sleeves for practice.
and just switch over for the tourney.
chances are, your sleeves see a lot more use from practice...
so you can rotate them out. or just swap back n forth.... assuming you have too much time .

The cards are out of the sleeve. There is zero chance of the card getting damaged.

 

[gumball51321]

Yeah, definitely don't want to mess my bling up. Because I do try to play at max rarity. Also, I ended doing what Crystal Pidgeot suggested and cleaned eack sleeve front and back with a slightly wet paper towel and a tidbit of soap. I also got a cold toothpick to clean out the internal dirt in the sleeve.