? on cleaning lots(!) of cards

[Jupiter3]

Some of the cards in my collection really need cleaning.  Some are so bad that I don't want to handle them.   I know the best way is to gently hand wash each card and let them dry completely before repacking for storage.  The problem is that I have at least 60 setups (120 decks) that need to be cleaned. Yes these are all plastic cards, the paper ones won't get cleaned.  I am not about to spend the next three years cleaning cards every night, by then I will have acquired more that need to be cleaned.

So,  whats the best way to clean a massive amount of plastic cards?  What will ultrasonic cleaners with a mild soapy water solution do to plastic cards?  Is there any way to dry them faster than laying them out on towels and waiting hours?  My wife won't be very happy with me taking over the kitchen for even a portion of my collection.  She's funny about that!

Are there any intelligent suggestions??

Jim

[Martini]

How about just cleaning one setup at a time then rotating them into your game? Having 60 setups to clean sounds like you've let them get dirty and not done anything about it for too long.

[Jupiter3]

When you buy setups from Ebay, no seller will state "excessively dirty and sticky, unplayable and hard to shuffle"  even if this is a true evaluation of the product.  Many vendors will call this "like new".
Jim

[Milo]

You have three choices:

1)   Spend the time cleaning your cards.  Clean two set-ups after every game so that you do not have to spend too much time all at once.
2)   Throw out the filthy decks, and spend the $$$ at a non-Ebay source for plastic cards.
3)   Use the dishwasher on your dirty decks . . .

[Martini]

Getting something off of eBay that was less than expected? Shocking.

Clean one setup. Use it.

Personally I like Milo's choice #2.

[Nerre]

It really doesn't take that long to clean cards if you do it stepwise.

Make sure you have a lot of large clean towels at hand.

A bowl or bucket with warm water and some mild detergent. Toss the cards in the bucket (you can do several decks at the same time, if they have different backs or if there won't be any problems with mixing cards). You can do a "waterfall" (flourish) to separate the cards when dropping them into the bucket.

Pick up one card at a time, use a soft sponge to clean it. Shouldn't take more than 4-5 seconds per card. If the card is very dirty, drop it back and take next (or put the very dirty cards aside to take them separtely).

Drop cleaned cards in another bucket with clean water.

When the bucket with clean water is getting full, pick the cards up and place them on a towel, no overlapping. Put another towel on top and pat them dry. Then spread the cards on another (dry) towel to dry comletely and put the next bunch into the bucket.

I think you can do at least ten decks in an hour this way, probably more. The major limit is the space for drying.

Of course then you have to sort the decks, but you need to do that before every game anyway, don't you?

[luckystraights]

Please forgive me if I'm being overly naive here, but why on earth does anyone need 120 decks, there are probably casino's in Vegas that don't have that many available at any one time.

[Milo]

BLASPHEMER !!!   HERETIC !!! 

Next thing you know this guy is going to show up in the Chips forum asking why "Dice" chips are no good . . .

GET THEE BEHIND ME, FOUL DEMON . . .   

[luckystraights]

BLASPHEMER !!!   HERETIC !!! 

Next thing you know this guy is going to show up in the Chips forum asking why "Dice" chips are no good . . .

GET THEE BEHIND ME, FOUL DEMON . . .   

I have about 1k of those dice chips, and they do there job well :p

[Jupiter3]

120 decks is only the dirty(icky) portion of my collection.  I am a card collector.  My chip collection is pretty static at this time since the chips I have (6700+ of them) are no longer being produced.  At this point I think I have enough poker chips, others may feel that I do not have enough, I respect their views.  I have taken a turn to the world of playing card collection.  Many valuable, rare, or odd cards have been over played and under cleaned by the time they reach Ebay. This is why I asked for help in speeding the cleaning process.