D&D 5E Do things cleaned by Prestidigitation stay clean after the duration is over?

[Mouseferatu]

Does cleaning your face include a shave?

Only if you make a successful shaving throw.

 

[Kurotowa]

Only if you make a successful shaving throw.

Ouch! Critical pun roll.

More seriously, hair removal doesn't seem to be anywhere in Prestidigitation's purview. Grooming your impressive wizard beard, yes, but not shaving it off. For that you'll want a straight razor and an Unseen Servant.

 

[Satyrn]

Only if you make a successful shaving throw.

That was painfully awesome.

 

[AriochQ]

The cantrip also only cleans 'an object no larger than 1 cubic foot' with each casting. A strict interpretation would require multiple casting to clean each item in your wardrobe i.e. cleaning a pair of boots would require two castings. (I don't play it that way, but I had noticed that wording a while ago and found it interesting).

 

[Yaarel]

5e Prestidigitation disresembles the ‘mini wish’ that it used be in previous editions.

It has its uses, but is of moderate value compared to other cantrips.

Often 5e Minor Image is doing what Prestidigitation used to do.

And I miss my instant shave and a haircut.

 

[spaceseeker19]

The spirit of prestidigitation is that it is a temporary, impressive magical trick. So I would rule that the transmutation lasts only so long as the spell does. When the spell expires, the transmuted object reverts to the state it was before the casting. So you can use prestidigitation to instantly clean yourself and your party for an audience with the King, but after that audience (an hour later), the original grubbiness of the party will return, and they need to actually bathe and launder their clothes in order to become clean in any lasting way.

Does that mean that the PCs remain clean during that hour? No, the cleaning is instantaneous and it is not an illusion, but a temporary transformation (ie, transmutation): they can still get dirty again...and the caster can instantaneously clean that, too, as long as it is during the hour of the spell's duration. But the dirt that was cleaned will return after the spell expires.

 

[aco175]

@spaceseeker19 welcome to the boards, hope you add to the site. You did answer a thread that is 7 years old, but nobody minds here. Heck, I don't remember the thread so I gave a like to someone before I noticed how old it is.

 

[pukunui]

The spirit of prestidigitation is that it is a temporary, impressive magical trick. So I would rule that the transmutation lasts only so long as the spell does. When the spell expires, the transmuted object reverts to the state it was before the casting. So you can use prestidigitation to instantly clean yourself and your party for an audience with the King, but after that audience (an hour later), the original grubbiness of the party will return, and they need to actually bathe and launder their clothes in order to become clean in any lasting way.

Does that mean that the PCs remain clean during that hour? No, the cleaning is instantaneous and it is not an illusion, but a temporary transformation (ie, transmutation): they can still get dirty again...and the caster can instantaneously clean that, too, as long as it is during the hour of the spell's duration. But the dirt that was cleaned will return after the spell expires.

Welcome, @spaceseeker19! I would disagree with your assessment.
Each of the bulleted effects you can produce with the prestidigitation spell has its own duration.

Two of the effects specify that they last for 1 hour. One effect specifies that it lasts until the end of your next turn.

The other three effects, including the cleaning/soiling effect, is "instantaneous". That word has a specific meaning when it comes to casting a spell. Namely, "The spell harms, heals, creates, or alters a creature or an object in a way that can’t be dispelled, because its magic exists only for an instant."

So if you use prestidigitation to clean your clothes, they stay clean until you get them dirty again because the magic was an instantaneous effect. It's not a timed duration "dirt suppression" effect. If it was, the spell's text would say so (and it would be dispellable).

 

[James Gasik]

I always take prestidigitation when it's an option. The funny thing though is, about all I ever use it for is rp reasons- I light pipes, flavor food, change the color of my tunic, and of course, most importantly, maintain a high standard of cleanliness for myself and my party. The cleaning function is used so often, in fact, that I call it "Power Word: Febreeze"!

I know that technically the spell has limitations on the area and duration, but it's never been an issue- the effect of the spell is so minor, so trivial, that I don't recall anyone ever taking issue with it. From a game balance standpoint, almost any other cantrip would be more useful, and yet, it remains my favorite one.

Except mending. Mending is less useful than true strike, and yet people still find reasons to nerf it as much as possible, which is just sad. Like Games Workshop nerfing the flashlight pistols of the Imperial Guard sad.

 

[Tonguez]

Its not an illusion so I'd say yes - its a transmutation, so to me you've essentially gone and used energy (electrostatic? vibration? a puff of wind? who knows?) to get rid of the dirt and buff things up.

doesnt mean it wont get dirty again