Cleaning the Horseshoes by hand (1 Viewer)

DJ Mack

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As some of you know I'm setting out to clean my Horseshoe Paulsons by hand. Certainly not knocking anyone who is going the ultrasonic route. But since I'll use these for casino parties at home I want them reasonably sanitary but not spotless. I don't feel like oiling them and this the kind of project I don't mind stretching over a few months because it makes the collection that more special. Great thing to spend an hour or two on when it's cold and rainy out.

So on the off chance anyone else is dealing with their first set of Paulsons wondering how to clean them by hand here's my pictorial guide. I can do six chips at a time and each cycle takes roughly four minutes to complete so figure on about 90 chips an hour if you crank through.

Here's the basic setup:

The tray on the left will be filled about half way with warm water and a splash Seventh Generation dish soap (Target).
The middle tray is where the scrubbing goes down. It's an old cutting board and on top is a piece of Lexan with six 1 5/8"ths holes (approx 42 mm).
The tray on the right holds clean water for rinsing.
CleaningStation.jpg

Here's the scrub brush - a basic nail brush, also from Target. I'm actually using two as you'll see below. On the one I hold I cut one of the corners down at an angle. For really stubborn cracks the short bristles are pretty aggressive. Vinyl/Latex/Dish gloves are a must for this whole affair.

Brush.jpg


Now for the project. Let's clean six $1s and primary $500s, full of nasty but not horrible:
Step0.jpg
500.jpg


Bath time. Approximately three minutes in the soapy water:
Step1.jpg


OK kids, out of the pool. Note how the rolling edges are filthy. Here's where the second brush held bristles up by a rubber band come into play. A few strokes across the bristles will get the edges looking sharp in no time:
Step2.jpg


I'm only doing one chip in this picture but you can do all six at once. At this time I'll grab the next six chips and throw them in the soapy water so they're ready to go when this batch is finished.
Step3.jpg


Perfect:
Step4.jpg

Now let's place them in their slots on the board. Grab the other brush and do one chip at a time. I found that reasonably vigorous scrubbing at a 45 degree angle was most effective. There's enough room in the plastic for the chip to slowly rotate when you do this so you'll get everything pretty quickly. Remember the short bristles for any stubborn cracks.
Step5.jpg


Not too shabby - here's five down with one to go:
Step6.jpg


I can usually pull the chips out with my fingers but a flat wooden coffee stirrer works even better. Flip them over and get the other side.
Step7.jpg


Into the drink for a rinse. 10 seconds at most and I stir them a bit as I collect them. I toss them over on a microfiber cloth and give each a quick pat dry and then set on a terry towel for final drying.
Step8.jpg


All done - a vast improvement and right in line with my expectations. The whites are a bit over exposed in this picture - don't worry they didn't bleach out.
Done.jpg


Now for the hard part - contact your local EPA office to find a certified hooker juice recycling facility in your area. This here is just 18 chips:
Juice.jpg


For really stubborn stuff like pen and marker stains I'd probably use a Magic Eraser or similar, but again I'm not going for perfect. Hope this is helpful!
 
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Good system.
I've been using warm water, dawn ultra, one of these scrub brushes, and a mr clean magic eraser, with good results.
Takes me probably 1-2 minutes per chip. Pita, but worth it.
 
I like the lexan holder but you guys are working way too hard at it.

1 tablespoon of tsp in 8 cups of water. Dump 50-100 chips in. Wait 3-5min. Give a swirl. 90% of the gunk will be gone. A quick brush removes the rest. Finish with a quick swipe of a magic eraser on both sides then rub the edge of the chip on the magic eraser to make sure the rolling edge is clean.

Shouldn't be spending more than 20 sec per chip.
 
I like the lexan holder but you guys are working way too hard at it.

1 tablespoon of tsp in 8 cups of water. Dump 50-100 chips in. Wait 3-5min. Give a swirl. 90% of the gunk will be gone. A quick brush removes the rest. Finish with a quick swipe of a magic eraser on both sides then rub the edge of the chip on the magic eraser to make sure the rolling edge is clean.

Shouldn't be spending more than 20 sec per chip.

40-50 chips in two minutes

20160929_150352_zpssf9tmwqp.jpg
 
Since getting an ultrasonic, when I see folks cleaning chips by hand, I envision people washing their clothes in a river. :p

Literally this. I remember back when ski_ex was the only one professing the ultrasonic. Everyone was like "no thanks... I use Dawn or Oxy"... "I don't mind spending an hour per hundred chips..."

Then more and more people got ultrasonics... It really is the only way to do it... there are plenty of threads on how to clean chips etc... but the only efficient way is an ultrasonic... hands down.

Now cleaning ASM or TRK Large crowns... there's a valid discussion. Those chips will dissolve in Oxy or TSP.
 
I give up. Takes me over a minute to clean each chip by hand with a sonicare toothbrush. I don't really want to buy an ultrasonic for one time too, since I don't think I'll have any other chips.

Where did you get the board with the holes? I want to try doing that too.
 
Where did you get the board with the holes? I want to try doing that too.
I made it. It's a piece of lexan plastic. I had this one laying around but you can buy precut pieces at a hardware store. Then without taking the protective plastic off both sides I drilled the holes using a 42mm hole saw. Then obviously an old plastic cutting board and some wide rubber bands.
 
dump them in a bucket of your choice with any solution of your choice.....

let them soak overnight .....

get a second bucket, place both in sink with water running

take one chip from soaking bucket, give it a quick once over on each side with a large brush at least as wide as a chip....toss it in the second clean water bucket

take all chips from clean bucket, place on towel overnite to dry

rack them in the morning....

invite friends over for a game that nite


i did 300 $1's....the pain in the ass take one scrub toss in other bucket took about 45 minutes...

or go buy the ultra sonic


honestly it is a simple process...i dont need to have them EPA approved clean, they will get dirty again
 
I've seen people recommending overnight soaks, recently. Seems a little extreme to me. But I guess you'd know right away if it caused any problems, huh?
 
I've seen people recommending overnight soaks, recently. Seems a little extreme to me.
For all but the most stubborn stains 15 seconds to three minutes seems to produce the same results. If I were going to do overnight soaks I would probably save it for those that went through the first cleaning round and still had problems as opposed to doing overnights as an SOP.

The hardest to clean perfectly are the newer chips because the crosshatching holds stains. Once that is worn down the chips clean super easy.

But as I stated in my OP, given my intended use of these chips I want them reasonably sanitary, not necessarily spotless. Yeah a sample of the most spotless chips went on display but for the rest a few stains and dings here and there are not a bad thing. If you want absolutely spotless you're best skipping overnight soaks and anything to do with hand scrubbing. Go straight to the ultrasonic.
 
Clearly this method works and the results will be as good as you care to make them.
The ultrasonic method costs around $150 and is obviously a lot quicker.
Either way, your chips will thank you.
 
So, whoever corrected me in another thread and said TSP makes it 80% easier was right on target.
I'm finally getting around to cleaning the rest of my horseshoes today. Soaking them in water, dawn, and tsp (fake tsp) for 15 minutes and a once over with the scrub brush on each side - so simple.
 
Main reason being, the 'dirt' on the chips would be almost all oils and grease from fingers and food, which is exactly what TSP is designed to clean :)
 
I used a bowl, some hot water, and some simple green for a soak. Nail brush as well. I did a single rack and although the grime came off very easily, I'm dreading the rest. Especially if I buy another couple racks on Sunday.

CbFrpKy.jpg


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9uOdkYE.jpg
 
I have always washed my chips by hand.

Hot Stamps, OXI, Dawn and Cold Water.

Inlayed, TSP & Water 50/50
 

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I used a bowl, some hot water, and some simple green for a soak. Nail brush as well. I did a single rack and although the grime came off very easily, I'm dreading the rest. Especially if I buy another couple racks on Sunday.

CbFrpKy.jpg


FxWJwfd.jpg


9uOdkYE.jpg
I cleaned all mine by hand with a similar setup. I lined them up 5 at a time and used the wet towel to keep them from moving. just some warm water and dawn.
 

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