Cleaning/washing passport

olb81

Hi everyone,  due to ocd I often clean objects and wash clothes a lot.
with bank cards Iand my phone I use a wet wipe.
Passport is another issue though as its not as easy as a card to clean, what with all the pages.
Can anyone recommend how to clean a passport , by the way it's brand new in the envelope, but for strange reasons I've decided it needs cleaning, that's ocd for you.
I have even thought about washing it at 30 as I've read the chip should be fine even if the pages are affected by water.
Thanks for any advice.

NoodleDoodleMan

Personally I wouldn't attempt to clean a passport - that's tempting fate, certainly not in a washing machine under any circumstances.

There are suggestions online though.

https://www.afar.com/magazine/how-to-clean-a-passport-without-damaging-it

Exodi

Insanity, especially on a brand new passport.

As above you're

NoodleDoodleMan said:

tempting fate

I'd be asking for advice on managing your condition instead of how to put important official documents in the washing machine.

Ayr_Rage

olb81 said:

Hi everyone,  due to ocd I often clean objects and wash clothes a lot.
with bank cards Iand my phone I use a wet wipe.
Passport is another issue though as its not as easy as a card to clean, what with all the pages.
Can anyone recommend how to clean a passport , by the way it's brand new in the envelope, but for strange reasons I've decided it needs cleaning, that's ocd for you.
I have even thought about washing it at 30 as I've read the chip should be fine even if the pages are affected by water.
Thanks for any advice.

Under no circumstances put it in water, let alone a washing machine.

The passport pages must remain readable and be undamaged, not just the embedded chip.

Do not use any solvents or cleaning fluid.

A wipe with a slightly damp microfibre cloth on the outside only is your best bet.

Alfrescodave

Your OCD must make travelling very difficult with having to hand the passport over to various "officials". Do you have a process for accepting the document back? If so, could you apply this now.

Emmia

I've wiped the cover gently with a facial cleansing wipe when I accidentally splattered suncream on it, I wouldn't touch the inside pages. Your passport needs to remain as "mint" as possible for acceptance at borders, wetting the pages by any means is absolutely asking for trouble. 

And it's not like they're cheap to get either 

la531983

olb81 said:

I have even thought about washing it at 30 as I've read the chip should be fine even if the pages are affected by water.

You need to seek medical advice for your condition. Would you put other paper documents through the washing machine?

Just do a Google. Passports rejected for small tears and/or minimal water damage at border control and check in.

What do you think they will do with a passport thats been through the wash?

A wet wipe on the OUTSIDE COVER is all you will get away with and even then you would need to be careful not to get any of the paper wet. And then dry it afterwards. 

Misslayed

Could you keep it in a small ziplock bag? It would protect you from any perceived germs and could be easily cleaned or regularly replaced. 

jimi_man

Assuming you have the blue one, then a wet wipe over the polycarbonate page can be worth it, just to make sure that there are no bits of whatever that could block the eGates from reading the MRZ and the other bits of the page.

However in your case as it's it's brand new in the envelope, just leave it.

eskbanker

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/damaged-and-faulty-passports/damaged-british-passports-accessible#Definitions_of_damage_1 has a detailed explanation of what's considered to be a damaged passport, including:

damage or discolouration to any part of the passport caused, for example, by:

• water

• chemical or ink spills

so tread very carefully....

phatbear

From someone who knows please dont wash your passport. It could cause delays getting into the UK or prevent you from not being let into other countries at all.

Trust me on this!