Cards and Covid? (Help Please!)
General forum
Posted on Aug. 1, 2020, 1:17 p.m. by TheGenericSchlub
Hi. I'm new here so sorry if this is a repeat topic.
Having utterly run out of things to do in lockdown, I decided to dig out my old Magic collection again and try and teach the game to my family. I haven't bought any cards since high school, and I have missed out on a large chunk of the game.
I wanted to buy some bulk (with extra emphasis on bulk) to hopefully get some of the newer lower powered cards for my collection (again, I'm just looking to teach kitchen table Magic to my family).
I found a box of bulk of 1000 bulk cards online, which brings me to my question: How do I sanitize them when they're delivered?
Obviously, I can take a wet wipe or a cloth with isopropyl alcohol on it to the box that they come in, but what do I clean the cards with? Unlike the deck builder's toolkit I also ordered, the bulk cards have pretty obviously been in someone's house or store, and I can't be too careful when it comes to the Coronavirus.
Gidgetimer says... #3
Getting bulk sleeves and sleeving them is probably best. Then you can disinfect the sleeves. COVID doesn't seem to stick around on surfaces for as long as initially feared. So after a bit the cards should be fine to handle.
August 1, 2020 2:37 p.m.
EleshNornsFs says... #4
If you want to be extra super safe, follow the above advice. However, according to the CDC, it might be faster to just wait. The CDC has said that the virus can survive for 72 hours on plastic and 24 hours on cardboard. Clean down the box you get it in with alcohol or lysol, and then let the box sit for 4 or 5 days to be safe.
August 1, 2020 2:42 p.m.
I have to second TypicalTimmy. Do not put any fluid at all on the cards surface. They are a paper product and the slightest moisture on them will ruin the card. And alcohol, in particular, will make the colors run.
August 1, 2020 7:46 p.m.
King_marchesa says... #6
I would leave the box out for four or more days after disenfecting it. Coronavirus only lasts about 2 days on paper or cardboard before dying. If you disenfect the box and leave the cards untouched, if there was any virus on it it would have died.
Lanzo493 says... #2
Dip a Q-tip in some soapy water and you’ll be able to be clean them. It’ll take absolutely forever to do it that way, though. You could also wipe it down with a slightly damp cloth. Make sure to dry it off so the moisture doesn’t stick around. You should be safe with minimal amounts of cleaning because the cards being bought in bulk were likely tucked away in the corner of the seller’s room months before COVID even began and hadn’t been touched since. So the box is the main thing to worry about. To kick your caution level up a notch, you can sleeve all the cards you get, effectively quarantining any potential virus inside the sleeve.
August 1, 2020 1:43 p.m.