Every piece I sell is printed in PLA, and I get asked about it more than anything else. Will it melt? Can I wash it? Why can I see faint lines on the side? This post covers all of that in one place, so you know how to keep your print looking good for years.
What PLA actually is
PLA stands for polylactic acid. It is a plant-based plastic made from the starch in corn and sugarcane, which is a big part of why I chose it. It prints cleanly, it holds crisp detail, and it does not smell like a chemistry set while it is on the printer.
It is a real, sturdy plastic. A pencil cup or a doorstop made from it will take daily use without complaint. The one thing it does not love is heat, and that is where most of the care advice comes from.
Keep it away from serious heat
PLA starts to soften around 140°F, or about 60°C. That is well above room temperature, so a print sitting on a desk, a shelf, or a bathroom counter is perfectly fine. But a few everyday places get hotter than people expect.
The dishwasher is the big one. Even a gentle cycle runs hot enough to warp a print, and the drying cycle is worse. Please do not put anything I make in the dishwasher.
The dashboard of a parked car is the other one. On a summer afternoon here in Pensacola the inside of a car can climb far past 140°F, and a print left on the dash will slowly slump. The same goes for a windowsill in direct sun for hours at a time, or the top of a radiator. If a spot would be uncomfortable to rest your hand on, it is too hot for PLA.
How to clean it
Cleaning is easy. Wash by hand with cool water and a little mild dish soap, then dry it with a towel or let it air dry. A soft cloth handles dust. For grime in the corners of a lipstick tray or a pencil cup, an old toothbrush works well.
Skip hot water, and skip harsh solvents. You do not need them, and they can dull the surface. Cool water and mild soap will handle makeup residue, pencil shavings, and whatever else ends up in a desk organizer.
About those layer lines
If you look closely at the side of any 3D print, you will see faint horizontal lines running around it. That is not a flaw. A 3D printer builds an object one thin layer at a time, and each layer leaves a very slight ridge where it meets the next. On a well-tuned printer those ridges are subtle, and on most pieces you feel them more than you see them.
I think of them the way you would think of the grain in a wooden bowl. They are the mark of how the thing was made. Some customers tell me they like the texture, and I tend to agree.
What is not normal
There is a difference between the normal texture of a print and an actual defect, and I want to be clear about where I draw the line.
Stringing is the thin, hair-like wisps of plastic that can stretch between parts of a print. Gaps are spots where a layer did not fully bond and you can see light or a visible split between layers. Warping is when a corner or an edge lifts and the base is no longer flat.
None of that ships from my shop. I check every piece by hand after it comes off the printer, and anything with stringing, gaps, or warping goes in the scrap bin and gets printed again. Faint layer lines are fine. Those three things are not.
If something goes wrong anyway
I catch nearly everything, but the mail is not always kind to packages. If a print shows up damaged or you spot a defect I missed, let me know within 7 days and I will reprint it for free. If it just is not what you wanted, you have 14 days to send it back for a change-of-mind return, and you cover the return shipping. The details are on the FAQ page, and you can always reach me through the contact page if you have a question about a specific piece.
Treat your print the way you would treat a nice wooden object. Keep it out of the dishwasher, keep it out of the hot car, wipe it down with cool water when it needs it, and it will look the same in five years as it does today. If you are new here, you can see everything I make in the full catalog.