What gets handled by everyone at a poker table, gets tossed back and forth and passed hand to hand? You guessed it, poker chips. Food and beverage particles, body oils from players hands, man, just think of the stuff poker chips pick up. After constant exposure to these conditions, poker chips will begin to take on a whole new appearance. All these food particles and body oils will turn your poker chips into a token that no player would want to pick up.

It’s time for a cleaning when your poker chips begin to look a little offensive. Here are a few tips to follow to keep your poker chips looking great, and won’t have any damaging effects on them. But, how you clean them is your own personal preference. Keep in mind that these suggestions do not apply to vintage chips. When cleaning vintage chips you need to seek out a qualified professional.

When it comes to poker chips, the cleansers you can use may seem limitless but we can certainly narrow it down to a few choices. There are three important properties a cleanser must have before you even consider using it. Make you choice wisely as you don’t want to damage your poker chips.

Be sure the cleanser passes the following three important test.

Removes Built Up Grime: Must be able to remove built up food particles and body oils.

Leaves Ink Intact: Make sure the cleaner you use so harsh that it will dissolve the ink. The last thing you need is to remove the ink from your poker chips.

Leaves Your Poker Chips Hydrated: Sounds strange huh, but in order to keep your chips from becoming brittle they need a certain level of moisture in them. To keep from dissolving the ink and leaving your chips dry don’t use agents such as rubbing alcohol.

Many veteran poker players use cleaners such as Armor All Multi-Purpose Cleaner, Sterling Magic and just regular dishwashing detergent to clean their poker chips. If you decide to use Armor All, make sure you use the multi-purpose cleaner and not Armor All tire cleaner or any of the other Armor All products cause these will damage your chips. You could also use Quick ‘n’ Brite, which is another popular cleaner.

The cleaners mentioned above will clean your poker chips without causing any harmful side effects..

A very soft cotton towel and/or a baby’s soft bristled toothbrush are always best to use when cleaning your poker chips.. You want to pay special attention to protecting the design on the center of the chip. Use the toothbrush for the outer edges while keeping your thumb over the center of the chip. Rinse your chips in a bowl of water and use the soft cotton towel to dry them.

After a nice gentle cleaning, dip your poker chips in baby oil to add that extra shine and restore their luster.