Cleaning Battlemats?

[frankthedm]

Ok, we got a Acetone [nail polish remover] being BAD for Vynil mats.

BTW this topic needs a wiki!

BTW Battlemat [tm] seems to be Chessex's name. Combat Mat is Crystal Caste's. what other names do these go by?

 

[Odhanan]

I can confirm the plain Windex works well. I didn't know about the vinegar Windex though. I'll try this out.

 

[TobyJohnson]

I thought I ruined my mat with permanent marker last year, I used Goo Gone and it came off right away. Also this left a nice citrus smell at the game table which is a plus.

Toby J

 

[Mark Hope]

And i will just mention Children's Washable Markers work well in my experience on battlemats.

QFT. Great things - use them all the time.

I also use self-adhesive clear film to cover the grids that you get in the Battlebox, DDM starter sets or the back of the DMG. Presto - one instant battle mat that works with wet-erase and dry erase markers alike. Very cheap, very handy.

 

[Eridanis]

Baby wipes work wonders for cleaning a recently-used battlemat. No need to worry about water and paper towels; it's all in one package for you!

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Heh, isopropyl was the very first thing that I tried, even before making the first post. Sadly, while it dimmed the blue a lot it did not remove it. I am now using bleach to soak it.

So, it was brake cleaner, not oven cleaner, eh? If the bleach does not work (followed by the vinigar Windex - that at least seems a safe experiment) then I may give it a try under well ventilated conditions.

Thank you all. I want to scrag them for not cleaning it before putting it away.

The Auld Grump

 

[Steel_Wind]

Baby wipes work wonders for cleaning a recently-used battlemat. No need to worry about water and paper towels; it's all in one package for you!

Agreed. We've started using those lately simply because...they've been handy nearby

And I use a blue crayola washable marker. Between that and the baby wipes - I have no problems.

Mind you - any wet erasable cleans up well the same night. It's the month later (or worse, month later after lying in the sun) that's the problem.

 

[VoidAdept]

Does anyone know if there's something out there that will work on photocopier toner? I've had a battlemat that had a bunch of homework pile on it face-down. When I peeled off the paper, some of the toner transferred to the mat. :\

 

[wmasters]

Well the sensible answers are above. Another solution is putting it in the shower, a bit wierd and 'I shower with my battlemat' sounds like the logo on a D&D T-shirt, but it does work.

Another one that works, discovered by accident, is hard boiled eggs. I don't know why, and don't suggest that it's necessarily a good method, but it certainely takes the ink off a battlemat.

 

[qstor]

BTW Battlemat [tm] seems to be Chessex's name. Combat Mat is Crystal Caste's. what other names do these go by?

Yeah don't use the red makers on Battlemats. Red stains pretty bad. I have a Combat Mat and blue stains a little on those.

The mat topic and markers/stains seems to come up frequently. I second the call for a Wiki or a bookmark

Mike