“True crystal has a certain shine to it and when tapped on the rim, will sound like a bell. This is important because most “true” crystal is decades old and was produced when it was okay to use lead. Lead is dangerous to your health. Don’t store any food or liquid that you plan on ingesting, in “true” crystal- the only exception is wrapped candy.”
Be careful, because of slips or mishandling, drying is the most likely time that your crystal will break.
Hand Drying
Air Drying
If you use ammonia, make sure that you are in a well-ventilated, dry area and are wearing gloves.
If that doesn’t work, …
If you notice that you often have to deal with this problem, consider washing your crystal with distilled water or purchasing water softeners.
Your dinner party must have been that good. Next time, keep your crystal at least three inches away from a burning candle.
If “Bar Keepers Friend” doesn’t work, your glass surface may be damaged. Seek a professional crystal glass cleaner. Unfortunately, it may be cheaper to purchase a new set of crystal.
Before you start, make sure that you are in a well-ventilated area and are wearing gloves.
If all else fails, contact a professional crystal glass cleaner. Consider the expense of contracting the professional cleaner versus purchasing a new, identical crystal item. Search for chandelier cleaners or glassware, china, & crystal repair shops.
Waxing is not just for your body, it’s important for the well-being of your wood pieces. Forget polishing or spraying, wax is all you need. Liquid or paste wax provides a hard finish and long-lasting protection to your original wood finish. Wax is more durable than sprays or polishes, thus helps reduce surface scratches, and doesn’t smear.
If possible, we suggest purchasing paste wax specifically for wood over liquid wax. A paste wax finish may last up to two years, depending on use. Always use a clear paste. Wax containing linseed oil, turpentine, or vinegar will dark your wood and attract dust and lint.
Applying paste wax is a lot of fun. Here’s a great video showing how to properly apply paste wax:
Unfortunately, wood furniture gets damaged from wear and tear. It’s actually not that hard to restore your wood furniture, but you must first know what finish has been applied to it.
Gather the following items:
Slight scratch? Apply paste wax or…use a felt-tip touch-up pen.
Deep scratch? Use wood filler, then once dry, follow it up with an appropriately coloured felt-tip touch-up pen. Apply wood filler in several then layers between drying. Alternatively, you can use a coloured filler wax stick.
Multiple Deep Scratches? With high grit sandpaper, sand the finish until you get a smooth surface. Then apply another coat of the same finish. There’s a chance that your scratches may be too deep and you sand off the finish.
To remove ink, use a mixture of baking soda and water. Before you do anything drastic, text the mixture on an invisible area on your piece to test whether it will affect the finish. If the baking soda-water mixture affect the finish, use a mixture of soap and water. If not, pour the baking soda-water mixture over the ink stain and wipe if off with a damp cloth.
Condensation from a cold glass and heat from a hot beverage can penetrate your wood finish and create a white ring on your wood piece. When this happens to you, quickly wipe away any water and grab a hairdryer. Use your hair dryer on the affected area.
If your hair dryer doesn’t work, try rubbing on petroleum jelly or toothpaste to the white ring, and then wiping it away with a damp cloth. Unfortunately, the longer the mark stays unaddressed, the more likely it will penetrate below your wood surface and be hard to remove. At this point, if it bothers you, strip your furniture and reapply the original finish.
Always wash your porcelain shortly after use – don’t let your porcelain items remain dirty overnight. The process of washing your porcelain & fine china is similar to washing crystal.
Be careful, because of slips or mishandling, drying is the most likely time that your item will break.
Hand Drying
Air Drying
A small amount of baking soda on your sponge will do the trick for most tough stains.
With a damp sponge and baking soda, gently rub the marks away. If that doesn’t work, try toothpaste.
You have two options:
Time to bring out the big guns. You need 30% or 40% volume cream peroxide, which you can get from Amazon or a beauty supply store. If you’re wondering, commercial bleach is sodium hypochlorite, color safe bleach is hydrogen peroxide.
Baste your item in the cream peroxide for a few days or until your stain disappears. Then soak your item in water and then wash the cream peroxide out. Make sure to get all the cream peroxide off or your glaze will be destroyed.
Warning: Make sure that you are wearing gloves and are in a well-ventilated area before using peroxide.
Cracks happen, especially if your piece is old. Your piece is sensitive to very hot and very cold temperatures; thus don’t store your delicate pieces in your basement or attic, which are probably at different temperatures from the rest of your house.
Piping hot food or liquid, or very cold food or liquid, on any porcelain or fine china with fine cracks will break your piece. Unfortunately, for plates, it means making sure that any food that is placed on it is room temperature. We define room temperature between 19 and 22 degrees Celsius.
Unfortunately, for plates, it means making sure that any food that is placed on it is room temperature. You can experiment with putting your dishes in warm water, drying them, and then putting food on them – the temperature difference between the warm food and warm plate is much less and thus less likely to cause breakage.
But wait, before you pour coffee or tea into your delicate tea cup, here’s what you should do:
To achieve a sparkle: Instead of baking soda, mix 1 tablespoon of powdered laundry detergent with your boiled water. Soak your silver in the solution for one minute, rinse with water, then air dry.
A Paste of Baking Soda and Water: Apply a paste of baking soda and water (1/4 cup of baking soda and 2 tablespoons of water). Apply the paste with a damp sponge, then rinse and dry.
Ketchup: Squirt a small amount of ketchup on a paper towel. Rub the ketchup gently over tarnished areas. If you don’t see results immediately, let the ketchup sit on the tarnished areas for 15 minutes. Finally, rub off the ketchup with a soft cloth and rinse and dry your silverware.
Cornstarch or Cream of Tartar: Make a paste of cornstarch and water. Apply the paste to your silverware with a damp cloth. Let it dry. Then, rub off the dried paste with a rough towel or cheesecloth. Cornstarch can be substituted with cream of tartar.
Hand Sanitizer: Squirt a few drops on a soft cloth and rub away any tarnish.
Toothpaste: Put a pea amount of toothpaste on a rag and polish your silver. Finally, rinse off the toothpaste with water and dry your silver with a soft, clean cloth.
Window Cleaner: Simply spray window cleaner on a rag gently clean your silver.