Jeff; First let me say that I'm no angel ... and technically, one can take the justifiable position that it is not proper to have someone else's card (unauthorized) in one's possession.... much less offer it for sale or trade. But that's another subject for another time ... so let's not go there for this discussion on cleaning.

I have no problem cleaning a soiled card, or adding an undamaged cleaned card to my collection, nor do I think most card collectors have a problem with that. However, I would be very careful of what cleaning agents one uses and where one applies the cleaner.

I had a bad experience coming back from the CC & GTCC Convention a few years ago when Brenda's sun block leaked out of my toiletry bag all over some slot cards I had traded and harvested during the convention. Many of the magnetic strips on the reverse of the cards had simply melted into a spongy oooze that ruined other cards that came into contact with those affected. I vividly recall a few cards like Monte Carlo had red ink runs all over the face of the card and onto other cards. What a mess!! Most of the cards were damaged so badly, that could not be cleaned, and were simply discarded.