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How to Clean Go Stones

David G Doshay

 I always wondered what the best way is to clean clamshell go stones. So when I saw these used stones for sale (right), I decided it was time to find out. Searching the internet I saw many ideas, and the one I decided to try suggested soaking in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).

 I used the 3% solution that is available in drug stores (It's possible to get 10%, but that will do painful damage if it gets on your skin). After a month of soaking the solution was very cloudy so I poured it off, rinsed the stones in tap water and dried them. About half the stones were clean so I put the remaining dirty stones in fresh H2O2 and after two more months they were all clean (left), with no damage from the extended soaking. As a side note, rubbing the clamshell stones did not do much to remove what I assume were tobacco stains. I soaked the slate stones in diluted liquid dish-soap and they were clean in just two weeks; dish soap did not work on the clamshell stones.