How to Care for Polyhedral Dice: Cleaning, Storage, and Handling

Quick answer

Care for polyhedral dice with three habits: wipe them after play, wash them gently in lukewarm water with a drop of mild soap, and store them in a soft pouch or divided box away from heat and sunlight. Handle them on a mat or tray, and keep painted symbols and inked numbers from rubbing against hard edges.

Polyhedral dice take more abuse than most game pieces. They get rolled across tables, dropped into bags, and handled by everyone at the table. That is normal, but it is also why numbers fade, edges chip, and clear dice turn cloudy. A five-minute routine after each session prevents most of it.

This guide walks through cleaning, storage, and handling in order, with the mistakes that cause the most damage. It applies to standard acrylic sets and to symbol dice where the highest value is replaced by an icon, since those painted or engraved faces need slightly different treatment.

Why polyhedral dice wear out

Most RPG dice are cast in acrylic or resin, then tumbled to smooth the edges and polish the faces. That tumbling is why new dice feel slightly rounded rather than sharp. Every later roll adds a little more wear, and grit on the table acts like sandpaper against the finish.

Painted or inked faces wear differently. On symbol dice, the icon sits where the highest number would normally be, so that face gets the same handling as every other side but has more detail to lose. Faded symbols are usually a cleaning and storage problem, not a manufacturing defect.

Heat matters as much as friction. Leaving dice on a car dashboard or near a radiator can soften acrylic and warp the shape. Once a d20 is no longer symmetrical, no amount of cleaning brings it back.

• Roll on a mat, tray, or felt surface rather than bare stone or glass.
• Keep dice out of direct sun and hot cars.
• Treat chipped edges as permanent, and prevent them instead of repairing them.

What you need before you start

You do not need a special kit. A soft microfiber cloth, lukewarm water, a drop of mild dish soap, a soft toothbrush for crevices, and a dry towel cover almost every situation. Avoid paper towels, which leave lint in engraved numbers, and avoid anything abrasive.

Skip alcohol, acetone, ammonia-based cleaners, and ultrasonic jewelry cleaners. They can dull a polished finish, lift paint from inked faces, or cloud clear resin. If a product label says it removes tough stains from hard surfaces, it is probably too strong for dice.

• Use lukewarm water, never hot.
• One drop of mild soap is enough for a full set.
• Keep a dedicated soft cloth with your dice bag so cleaning is easy to do.

How to clean dice safely

Start by wiping loose dust and skin oils off with a dry cloth. Then add a drop of mild soap to a bowl of lukewarm water and swirl the dice through it with your fingers. A soft toothbrush handles dried residue in the engraved numbers, but use light pressure and follow the groove rather than scrubbing across the face.

Rinse in clean lukewarm water and dry each die immediately with a soft cloth. Do not let a set air-dry in a puddle, and do not soak dice overnight. Prolonged soaking can seep under inked numbers and weaken the paint bond on symbol faces.

For a single sticky die, a damp cloth is usually enough. Reserve the full wash for sets that have seen a long convention weekend or a snack-heavy table.

• Wash one set at a time so nothing gets lost in the bowl.
• Dry engraved faces with a corner of the cloth to lift water out of the grooves.
• If a symbol looks loose or flaky, stop washing and just wipe it dry from then on.

Dice storage tips that protect finishes

A soft drawstring pouch protects dice from each other, which matters because hard edges rubbing together is the main cause of scuffed corners. If you carry a large collection, use a divided box or several small pouches rather than one heavy bag where everything presses together.

Keep metal dice separate from acrylic and resin. Metal is heavier and will chip softer dice over time. If you store a mix, put the metal set in its own pouch or a lined compartment.

Store dice at room temperature and away from sunlight. A shelf near a window looks great but slowly fades painted symbols and can yellow clear resin. A closed box in a drawer or cabinet is the safer home.

• Never store dice loose in a pocket with keys or coins.
• Label pouches by set if you own several similar colors.
• Check stored sets once a season for sticky residue or fading.

Handling tips for long-term readability

Roll from your hand rather than throwing dice across the table. A short toss into a tray keeps the impact consistent and prevents dice from bouncing onto the floor, where most chips happen. If your group rolls on a bare wooden table, add a mat.

Keep food and drinks away from the rolling area. Sugary residue attracts dust and makes dice tacky, which then picks up grit. If someone does spill, wipe the dice right away instead of waiting until the end of the session.

For symbol dice, avoid rubbing the icon face with your thumb as a habit. It is a small thing, but repeated friction on one painted face is exactly how a symbol fades before the numbers do.

• Use a tray or mat for every roll, not just important ones.
• Wipe dice after a session where hands were oily or snack-covered.
• Rotate which set you use so no single set takes all the wear.

Your dice care routine, step by step

1. Wipe after every session: Run a dry microfiber cloth over each die before it goes back in the bag. This removes skin oils and dust before they harden into the engraved numbers. Checkpoint: if the cloth looks dirty, your dice needed this step.
2. Wash gently when needed: Use lukewarm water with one drop of mild soap, swirl with your fingers, and use a soft toothbrush only in the grooves. Rinse and dry each die right away. Mistake to avoid: hot water, alcohol, or leaving dice to soak.
3. Dry completely before storing: Water trapped in a pouch encourages residue and can loosen inked numbers. Dry every face, including the engraved ones, with a soft cloth. Checkpoint: no visible moisture in the numbers before the dice go away.
4. Store by set in soft pouches: Keep each set in its own pouch or divided compartment, and separate metal from acrylic and resin. Avoid loose storage with keys, coins, or other hard items. Mistake to avoid: one heavy bag where every die grinds against the others.
5. Control heat and sunlight: Store dice at room temperature in a drawer or closed box. Keep them out of hot cars, off radiators, and away from windows where sun fades painted symbols. Checkpoint: if a storage spot feels warm to the touch, move the dice.
6. Roll on a soft surface: Use a mat or tray for every roll so dice land consistently and stay off bare stone, glass, and hardwood floors. Mistake to avoid: tossing dice across the table or flicking them at the floor.
7. Inspect and rotate your sets: Once a season, check stored dice for tacky residue, fading, or loose paint. Rotate which set you play with so wear spreads across the collection. Next step: retire any set with a lifting symbol to display duty only.

How specific sets reward good care

• In the Shadows of Innsmouth Polyhedral Collection: This ten-dice collection is cast in layered blends of violet, tendril black, and sea-green with an iridescent finish. Layered and iridescent finishes show skin oils and dust more than plain opaque dice, so a quick wipe after each session keeps the color shifts visible.
• Lovecraft Elder Sign Aegis White on Eldritch Green Polyhedral Dice: The branch-shaped Elder Sign replaces the highest value of each die. Because the symbol sits on the highest face, light pressure when cleaning and a soft pouch for storage protect the most detailed side of the set.
• Brand of Cthulhu Dice: Drowned Green d6 set: This d6 set features the symbol of Great Cthulhu in Drowned Green and comes in a tube. A tube is convenient for transport but lets dice knock together, so adding a soft pouch inside the tube reduces scuffing on the symbol faces.

Polyhedral dice last for years when you wipe them after play, wash them gently when they need it, store them in soft separate pouches, and roll them on a mat. None of these steps takes long, and together they keep numbers readable and symbol faces intact.