String formatting using preg_replace

Greetings learned PHP(eople), Objective : Strip out all occurrences of the following from a string : /?<>,.;':"`!@#$%^&*()1234567890-+=\| ....and replace them with nothing Code : $compname = 'Joe`s Garage Inc.'; $trim1 = trim($compname); $cust_dir = preg_replace("/`1234567890 /","",$trim1); echo $cust_dir ; Problem : Not working....the string is getting returned as it was declared in $compname without any formatting/stripping It should read "joesgarageinc" I have read about preg_replace but I`m seriously confused by the format of the stuff you want to strip away... Am I right in assuming that str_replace can only replace one character, i.e. you can`t specify many things to replace Also, my trusty tome "PHP & MySQL Web Development" only references preg_replace once, and then they only use a simple example of stripping away one character.. Help please, much appreciated. -- Chris Blake Office : (011) 782-0840 Cell : 083 985 0379 "Remember, Information is not knowledge; Knowledge is not Wisdom; Wisdom is not truth; Truth is not beauty; Beauty is not love; Love is not music; Music is the best." -- Frank Zappa