Perhaps you inherited your grandmother’s heirloom china dishes. Maybe the gift of a lovely, new china dish set was yours at your wedding. Wherever you china originated, special dishes require special care for a long life in the best condition possible.

Harsh detergents and abrasives, temperature changes, and improper storage can have devastating effects on delicate china. Here are a few preventative measures and safe ways to clean and remove stains from fine china.

Before you wash, scrape leftover food from your china with a rubber spatula. Scraping with silverware might scratch the china or leave unsightly gray marks. Rinse the dishes soon after the meal is done, particularly if the food served was very acidic (like tomato based foods).

When you are ready to start washing, line the bottom of your sink or wash basin, as well as any dividing bars in between sections of the sink, with a rubber mat or soft dish towel. This will help to prevent dings and scratches from bumping around in the sink. Additionally, do not stack the dishes up inside the sink as you might a sturdier, everyday set. Wash one china dish at a time so they are not hitting against each other.

Wash your china using only mild dish detergents; never use abrasive or harsh cleansers. Use a soft dish cloth or sponge, not an abrasive pad. China should be washed in warm water. Washing china in hot water creates too great a temperature difference and can cause your dishes to crack or break. Slide china into the water on its side to more evenly distribute the heat through the dish, and avoid shocking and snapping the piece. Washing china with a gold or precious metal trim in hot water is especially taboo; you will wash and flake away the edging. Also, avoid rubbing dish detergents directly onto the metals.

To prevent coffee and tea from staining fine china cups, wash the cups soon after use in a solution that is one part hydrogen peroxide, three parts water, with just a drop of clear household ammonia. Rinse the dishes with warm, clear water.

If your china cups are already plagued by unsightly stains, you have a few cleaning options. Sprinkle a soft cloth with baking soda or salt and gently rub the stains away. A damp sponge sprinkled with cream of tartar should do the trick as well.

Gray marks on china left by cutting and scraping silverware can be rubbed away with a soft cloth dabbed with a little toothpaste. Rub gently with the cloth to remove the gray marks.

For stains on china dishes left from lime deposits or hard water, fill bowls or soak china dishes overnight in warm water with citrus rinds in it. Try soaking with rinds from oranges, lemon, or grapefruit.

To avoid spots, it is best to hand dry your china after washing instead of letting it air dry.

With washing complete, you need to take care how you store your delicate dishes. You should avoid stacking too many dishes atop each other. For those you do stack, place a round of felt, paper doily, rubber jar opener, or rubber jar rings between each stacked plate to prevent scratches. China cups should not be stacked, and they should not be hung from their handles on pegs or hooks. The best way to store and display china cups is lined up on a shelf, one by one.

Extremes in temperature of any kind are harmful to china dishes and cause cracks and breakage. Keep china in a room where temperatures are moderate, and do not box china away in a cold basement or hot attic.

Here are a few last tips to help you care for your china properly and enjoy it for years to come.

• When removing dishes from a stack of china, lift them. Do not scratch your china by scraping pieces across each other.
• Before serving hot foods on your china, it is best to warm them a little to avoid the shock in temperature and keep your china from cracking. Try placing the plates near a warm oven, or set them inside an oven that is just barely warm (do not overheat).
• Fine, spidery surface cracks on your china may be able to be repaired with this simple trick. Place the cracked pieces gently in a pan of warm milk for half an hour. The cracks should disappear if they are not too deep.

With a little effort and preventative care, and these tips and tricks, you can safely care for and make minor repairs to your treasured china dishes. By preventing scratches and cracks and cleaning away stains and blemishes, you will be able to enjoy the beauty of your dishes for both serving and display for many years to come, maintaining a keepsake heirloom for generations to come.

If you have been using some of the popular spray furniture polishes, many contain silicone. Silicone will build up, dull, and soften furniture finishes over time. And, they are noted for allowing fingerprints to show. These tend to be the TV advertised products.

It costs almost $1,000 to have a tabletop refinished, depending upon where you live. Thus, it is important to properly maintain your finish. Maintaining a wax finish is important to the maintenance and protection of a tabletop. Buy a high-quality, cabinetmaker’s wax, one designed specifically for wood furniture, at woodworking stores or through mail order catalogs or online on the Internet. Some notable brands include: Liberon’s Black Bison, Goddard’s, Butcher’s Wax, Antiquax, and Renaissance Wax. It is recommended that an oil-free, wood finisher’s 0000 steel wool is used to apply wax to avoid streaks and blurs. Cloth applications take much more effort. Apply wax in circular motion and finish off by rubbing along grain. On new furniture pieces, 3-4 light coats of wax applied at four to eight hour intervals is usually good to establish a good protective coating. Cotton diapers, old terry towel, or T-shirt is great for buffing.

Furniture experts recommend dusting weekly with a soft, dry, all-cotton cloth. Don’t use polishes or oils over your coat of protective wax. Wipe up spills as soon as possible to prevent spotting. Use coasters under glasses and vases, and pads or trivets under hot dishes. Reapply a coat of wax when you can no longer buff the coating to a shine.

If you do not have a store in your area that has a furniture wax remover, search on the Internet. Then provide your tabletop with a protective finish and maintain as recommended.

The type of finish on the wood, not the type of wood, determines how to care for it, clean it, and repair damage; so know what kind of finish it has. Finishes may be soft ( oiled ) or hard ( lacquer, shellac, varnish, or polyurethane ), or painted. Ask when buying new furniture.

If you know which finish is on your wood furniture, follow the appropriate procedures. Excessive dampness, dryness, heat, or cold can damage wood furniture. Sunlight can change the color. Rubber or plastic mats should not be used unless marked safe for wood, since some may soften or stain the finish. Wipe up spills at once to prevent spots that require refinishing.

Polish not more than 3-4 times a year unless it gets heavy use, with a polish recommended for the kind of finish. Too much polish may build up a cloudy film; wipe off polish before it dries completely.

Do not mix types of polish. Oil causes wax to become gummy. Clean the furniture surface thoroughly before changing furniture care products.

Regular Cleaning

Vacuuming with a dusting brush attachment gently removes dust from furniture surfaces, preventing buildup. If no vacuum cleaner, use a clean soft cloth, turning it often, or soft paper towels to pick up dust. Dust furniture before vacuuming floors. If the finish is water resistant, a barely dampened towel or cloth will pick up dust.

Pads, mats and coasters on furniture, mats under vases, glasses, cups etc. protect them from spills and stains, and from heated objects. Do not use plastic or rubber on natural wood surfaces as they may soften and damage finish. Use felt under objects set on top of furniture that could scratch it.

There is a need for everyone who has an oil painting to utilize proper chemicals and solutions for cleaning their oil paintings, and removing varnish to restore a portrait to its original glory. Many oil paintings can be destroyed beyond repair by use of soap and water, home remedy solutions, linseed oil, glue remover, or other household cleansers.

The process for removing household dirt, tobacco smoke, and yellowed varnish from oil paintings are the same, only the cleaning products are different.

INSTRUCTIONS

Before beginning you should take a photograph of your painting. If there is any writing or intricate detail on your painting take a close up photo of that area. This will act as a before picture and allow corrections.

Other equipment you will need: Large clean sheet of paper (rolled brown paper used for wrapping works great), rubber gloves, cotton swabs, neutralizer, emulsion cleaner, varnish remover, (more on these three later), wooden Q tips (the long six inch type), and some paint varnish. We also suggest having a large piece or several pieces of a hard linoleum of Formica and then some strips of plastic or wood to place directly under the are of the oil painting you are working on. The idea is to have a small mini table inside the frame of your painting so that by pressing down on the canvas you will not stretch it when restoring your portrait.

The neutralizer is important as it will stop any action of another chemical you are using to clean your oil painting. This can also be used for an initial cleaning of your entire oil painting to clean surface dirt. The emulsion cleaner and varnish remover will be your primary means of restoring your oil painting. Depending on which you use and works better will depend on what is affecting your portrait. The varnish remover will remove yellowed and aged varnish while the emulsion cleaner will remove dirt, dust, and smoke from your oil painting.

We suggest you start in a small corner of your oil painting (with the neutralizer handy to stop any action undesirable) and see which product works best for your oil painting.

Lastly the painting varnish will be used when finished to seal the painting again for display. All of these products can be bought in any art store or craft place. Many can also be bought online

Actual steps:

Step 1: Lay the oil painting to be cleaned face up on a clean sheet of paper in a well ventilated area. Wear rubber gloves to protect your hands from the chemicals. Build up your work area using the strips of wood or plastic and the Formica or hard linoleum directly underneath the area you want to start cleaning. Remember to start in the corner of your oil painting to test before working on high detail areas. Be careful not to press down on the canvas too hard or you will stretch the canvas. Using the mini table underneath is the best way to avoid that.

Step 2: Apply the neutralizer to a piece of cotton and delicately wipe over the face of the oil painting to clean off all the surface dirt and dust.

Step 3: Next use a wooden cotton swab to test a corner of the oil painting with emulsion cleaner and a varnish remover to determine which product will best clean your oil painting. Directly after each test make sure you apply some neutralizer on another cotton swab and gently wipe over the test area to neutralize the cleaning action.

Step 4: After determining which product to use, begin cleaning the rest of your oil painting. Use your wooden cotton swabs in a rolling motion being very gentle and precise. Do not scrub back and forth on your canvas when applying the cleaner. Constantly check your cotton swabs for dirt and grime and ensure you are not removing paint.

( NOTE: We suggest cleaning a 3 to 4 inch square area at a time and then using the neutralizer in the same area before tackling another part of your oil painting. We also suggest doing the oil painting in sections. That is do all the hair of a portrait or a persons shirt as working on similar areas will make it easier to monitor change in color. Take your time! This is not a car wash and something to be rushed.)

Step 5: Next step is to varnish the oil painting with a gloss varnish to preserve your oil painting.

Step 6: Lastly take another picture of your oil paining and compare the two. Keep these as a record to monitor the health of your oil painting.
Follow these simple steps and you will have a treasured family keepsake for many generations to come