Ultra Clean Stamp Cleaner

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Reported by Heather Strenzwilk

Selecting a stamp cleaner is like choosing a toothpaste: lots of varieties to try but once you find a product you like, you tend to stick with it. In my 14 years as a stamper, I have used both Memories and Spritz cleaners with success on my mostly unmounted rubber stamp collection. Like many stampers, my preferred cleaner is diluted Simple Green (a non-toxic household cleaner). With the increased popularity of polymer stamps, Ultra Clean arrived on the scene! I decided to put it to the test to see if this product was as good as its name.

Ultra Clean is produced and marketed by Stewart Superior and is available in the following packaging:

• Kits which includes a 2 ounce spray bottle and mini stamp scrubber
• 2 ounce spray bottle
• 8 ounce refill bottle

The manufacturer also recommends the Stamp Scrubber for cleaning your stamps. To use it simply spray or add cleaner to the cleaning pad before rubbing it with the dirty stamp. The new Double Stamp Scrubber has a pad in both the lid and base so after cleaning the stamp it can be dried on the other pad.

My personal stamp collection is approximately 80% unmounted rubber, 10% mounted and 10% polymer stamps. For my product testing I used mounted rubber stamps from Ann-ticipations and Hero Arts; unmounted (UM) rubber stamps from Aspects of Design, Ma Vinci's Reliquary and Inka Stamps and polymer stamps from Inkadinkadoo, My Favorite Things and A Muse. The stamps were inked with either Memories (black) or VersaFine (vintage sepia) and some stamps sat for a week and some just a few minutes before being cleaned. At the beginning of the test the polymer stamps were unstained and the mounted stamps UM rubber stamps had some stained portions.

I do not own either of the stamp scrubbers described in my article, instead I use Shur-Line Paint Edger refills. They are the same material as stamp scrubbers but cheaper and readily available in a paint or home improvement store and are $3.50 for a pack of 2 which normally lasts me a year (I throw them out when they get too grungy gray). For the test I used 2 new pads- 1 exclusively for Ultra Clean and 1 exclusively for Simple Green.

These are some of the stamps used for the test.

My observations:
I took an immediate dislike to Ultra Clean's scent. At first I followed the product directions and sprayed cleaner onto the scrubber rather than the stamp itself. I soon realized that the stamps (especially the polymer) still had ink in the nooks and crannies so I started spritzing the stamp once and letting it sit for a few minutes before scrubbing. After scrubbing I rinsed the UM and polymer stamps under running water and let the stamps air dry. The stamps felt like they had a slightly oily reside on them which is impossible to capture via photography.

Ultra Clean's packaging states that it will "clean your stamps so well that you can go from stamping dark inks to light inks without worrying about the dark ink affecting the lighter shades." I did put this claim to the test and I was able to stamp with light ink without any shadows. The product also claims to keep your stamp scrubber cleaner because Ultra Clean washes out more ink when the scrubber is rinsed with water. I compared both scrubbers after the test and they were very close, the Ultra Clean scrubber was very slightly cleaner.

I cleaned a few stamps with my normal stamp cleaner (3:1 Water: Simple Green) as a control. The stamps were clean without an oily residue and I prefer the scent of Simple Green to Ultra Clean. After comparing the stamps, I used my Simple Green cleaner to re-clean some of the Ultra Clean stamps. Permanent and oil based inks stain- that is a fact however the Simple Green cleaned more of the ink resulting in less staining.

Ultra Clean retails for $6 for the 2 ounce bottle, $16 for the 8 ounce refill and $13 for the Double Stamp Scrubber. These products are available from scrapbook stores or the following online retailers:

• Papertrey Ink
• Stampington & Company
• Frantic Stamper

Pros

• Ultra Clean is available in 2 ounce spray bottles and a more cost effective 8 ounce refill size
• The product is formulated to be used with both polymer and rubber stamps and won't damage them over time
• The product is designed to clean more stamps with less cleaner

Cons

• The product left an oily residue on stamps, even after scrubbing
• Some users may be bothered by the scent
• Ultra Clean is not available at large chain craft stores (AC Moore, JoAnn Crafts, or Michaels)
• 8 ounce refill size is not widely stocked- difficult to find

Bottom line: Ultra Clean was as easy to use as any other spray stamp cleaner and was similarly priced. I didn't like the scent or oily residue of Ultra Clean. I wasn't happy with how it cleaned my stamps and consequently had to clean them again with another cleaner. The product was especially recommended for polymer stamps but it did not achieve my desired results. I paid $5 for the 2 ounce bottle and I probably won't use this product in the future except to clean my stamp scrubber. I rate this product 6.5 out of 10.

How do you clean your stamps? Do you have a favorite stamp cleaner? Share your experience with our readers.