A kneaded eraser, also known as a putty rubber, is a pliable erasing tool used by artists to remove and highlight mediums like graphite, charcoal, pastel, and chalk. Unlike common vinyl or rubber pink erasers, kneaded rubber erasers are more pliable and can be stretched, molded, and compressed. They have great plasticity and can be stretched, compressed, split, and molded for precision erasing, pruning lines, cleaning edges, creating highlights through subtractive drawing, or performing other detail work. Kneaded erasers can completely remove light marks, but are ill-suited to fully erasing dark areas. They do not leave residue or eraser bits on the drawing, and they erase cleanly without leaving bits of the eraser behind to brush off. Kneaded erasers can also be used as a drawing tool for rendering or creating highlights. They are preferred by artists for their long life and ease of cleaning. One simply kneads the eraser and the medium will fade into its mass. Although kneaded erasers do not wear away like other erasers, they can become saturated and unable to absorb any more graphite or charcoal. In this case, the eraser will leave marks on the paper instead of removing them. The saturating material can be removed by rinsing and kneading. Kneaded erasers can be cleaned by kneading them until the dirt and debris is removed or washing them with water and tearing them to remove all dirt.