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How to fix damaged trading cards quickly and easily

Oona McGee Feb 23, 2022
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No-fuss hack from Japan will restore your collectible cards like magic.

There’s nothing worse than taking out your hard-earned collection of trading cards only to find they’ve become warped. How can you expect your Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh! dragons to perform when they’re not looking their very best?

The warp that affects trading cards — known as “yamasori” (“mountain warp“) in Japan, due to the way they rise in the middle like a mountain peak — is often caused by dry air conditions, particularly in winter. However, thanks to a handy hack shared by Twitter user Tetorasan (@tetorasan2021) recently, warped cards is something we’ll never have to worry about again!

All you’ll need to resuscitate your cards and breathe new life into them are the following three items:

A wet tissue or sponge
A resealable container
A small cup or beaker that fits into the container

Once you’ve gathered those items together, simply place your warped cards into the container, then pop the wet tissue or sponge into the cup or beaker and stand it inside the container, next to the stack of cards. Then, seal it all with the lid, and you’re done!

▼ You’ll want to make sure no water leaks out onto your cards, which is why the cup or beaker is necessary.

Leave the container as it is for a day, and the cards will become beautifully flat on their own, as if by magic!

The method is so hands-off it really does appear to work like magic, but it’s the moisture from the wet tissue that’s the true invisible wizard here, working to unshrink the cardboard, which is essentially the cause of the mountain warp.

You won’t want to leave your cards in the container for too long, though, as too much moisture might cause them to warp in the other direction, in what’s known as “tani sori“, or “valley warp“. If that happens, though, all you’ll need to do is add a desiccant to help decrease the moisture levels and bring them back to normal.

Tetorasan’s hack for un-warping cards proved to be so popular online it received over 40,000 likes and 16,500 retweets.

山反りのカードを私はこうやって直してます！
誰かの参考になれば！！

①ティッシュorスポンジを濡らす
②タッパーにカードと①を入れる(カードが濡れないように注意!!※私はミニビーカー使ってます笑)
③時間が経てばあら不思議😉

逆に谷反りなら乾燥剤入れれば大丈夫です!! pic.twitter.com/NOwS5V9gBn

— テトラさん@トレカ販売 (@tetorasan2021) February 12, 2022

People were quick to heap praise on the clever solution, saying:

“Wow, so this is how it’s done!”
“This is the best method!! I will refer to it!! Thank you!!”
“I wish I knew this when I was a child!”
“You’re my top candidate for this year’s Nobel Prize!”
“This knowledge needs to live on for decades!”
“Such helpful bean knowledge!”

It really is a helpful morsel of “mame chishiki”, or “bean knowledge“, as such tidbits of information are known in Japan.

We’ll definitely be filing this knowledge away for a rainy day, because when cards can go for 30 million yen (roughly US$260,000) in Japan, it always pays to keep your cards in good condition!

Source: Twitter/@tetorasan2021 via Hachima Kikou
Images: Twitter/@tetorasan2021
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