When someone on the forums posted about check washing, I knew it was something I had to try. The term has been around for a while but there are less than half a million hits when you search on google for it. The process is actually extremely simple and anyone can do it.
What is check washing? It is simply the process of washing the check in order to get rid of any writing on it to (usually) change the payee and amount.
Understanding why check washing works requries some chemistry knowledge. You first need to know the polarity of the ink that the check is written in. You need to match the polarity of the ink with teh solvent. Unless you have some education in chemistry, you probably won’t know how to figure out the polarity of the dye contained in the ink, and is way beyond the scope of this article.
So thus begins my day of washing checks. I went to the local wallyworld to pick up some supplies.
- 91% Alcohol (rubbing alcohol)
- Nail polish remover (acetone the main chemical)
- BIC Round Stic pens
- Pentel RSVP pens
- Pilot G2 pens
- 2 aluminium cake pans
Next up, Acetone tests!–>
UPDATE!!!!!! I posted a short post on ink polarity for those interested here: How to determine ink polarity.
