How To Care For Crystal Gifts, China And Flatware

Here is a summary for the care of crystal and crystal gifts for quick and easy reading. It is simple but accurate, quick to digest.

Crystal

Because fine crystal and glassware require the gentlest of care to maintain their brilliance and integrity for years to come, we strongly recommend the following:

Wash your fine crystal and glassware by hand in moderately hot water with a mild lemon detergent and 1/4 cup ammonia (to prevent spotting). Rinse in clean water and air dry on a rack. Cleaning the crystal in an automatic dishwasher may cause the crystal to lose brilliance; we recommend you avoid this. However, if the fine crystal and glassware must be machine washed, please follow these precautions:

Do not machine wash metal-accented crystal.

Use your dishwasher's "fine crystal and china" setting.

Because even the mildest brands of automatic dishwashing detergent are abrasive, use only half the recommended amount.

Lower the top dishwasher rack, if possible, to accommodate the height of your crystal, paying special attention to your stemware.

Make certain to space your crystal stemware on the rack so the pieces do not touch one another, since vibration during the washing and rinsing cycles can chip or crack the crystal.

For dishwashers without a "fine crystal and china" setting, turn on the "air-dry only" cycle and open the door to allow your crystal to air dry.

Remember that fine crystal and glassware can crack or break when subjected to extremes of hot and cold. Before putting very warm food or liquid into a crystal container, we recommend you preheat the crystal with moderately hot tap water. Do not pour cold beverages into a pitcher or bowl that's just been washed with hot water. Likewise, do not wash a crystal piece that's just come out of the refrigerator; allow it to warm to room temperature first.

Clean vases and decanters by filling them half-full with moderately hot water, a small amount of mild detergent, two tablespoons of white vinegar or ammonia and 1/2 cup uncooked rice. Swirl the rice around for a few minutes to remove residue. Rinse well with moderately hot water and air dry, upside down, on a rack.

Remove more stubborn stains by filling the container with warm water and dropping in a denture-cleaning tablet; let it sit until the stain disappears.

Do not clean your fine crystal and glassware with scouring pads or abrasive cleaners.

Always store your stemware upright to help prevent chipping.

China

These hand-detailed masterpieces have a family tradition of longevity when treated with loving care. Hard glazes give your china durability by design and relieve you of the need for excessive caution. They are, however, vulnerable to scratching by equally hard surfaces. Just as a diamond can be scratched and damaged by another diamond, so it is with fine bone china dinnerware. So be sure, when stacking plates, to separate them from one another by a soft cloth, pad or paper napkin that protects the entire surface, especially the rim. That small bit of insurance will keep the bottom of one plate from scratching the surface of another.

It is safe to wash your Waterford Fine Bone China in an automatic dishwasher as long as you load it with dishes fully secured and placed so that they do not touch each other. Do not wash at temperatures higher than 149 degrees Fahrenheit and use the "short wash" or "china and crystal" cycles. The rinse cycle should follow immediately to flush away detergent deposits that could form a film if they remain on the dishes too long. Recommended liquid dish detergents are Regular and Lemon Scented Palmolive.TM Standard safe powers are CascadeTM and Dishwasher All.TM

In hard water areas, deposits may form on your china if water is allowed to dry naturally on the plates. Such deposits can be readily removed with a vinegar solution or mild, acidic cleansing agent.

Since it is so lavishly embellished with gold or platinum, you must not place your Waterford Fine China in a microwave oven, where the intense heat will damage its high concentrations of precious metal.

Flatware

Waterford Fine Stainless Flatware is dishwasher safe. We recommend using a gentle dishwasher detergent (avoid using lemon-scented products). If possible, set your dishwasher on the fine china setting to insure gentle cleansing. Wash stainless separately from aluminum, sterling or silverplate items, as pitting can occur.

Place spoons and forks into baskets with handles facing downward. Knives should be inserted with the blade facing down.

Water shedding or drying additives can be used to minimize water spots. Should water spots or stains occur, we recommend using Hagerty stainless steel polish. Also, rubbing alcohol or salad oil can be used to remove stubborn water spots. Shine flatware using a sponge doused in white vinegar.

While stainless steel is designed to resist most common stains, corrosion and/or discoloration may be caused due to prolonged contact with chloride rich foods, such as salt, mayonnaise, mustard and eggs.

Remove flatware prior to the drying cycles. This decreases the amount of time the flatware spends in a hot, moist atmosphere, and permits the flatware to dry in cool, drier air.

Hand drying is also advised. Rinse and dry thoroughly with a soft towel while flatware is still warm. The hand-buffing action helps maintain a lustrous finish and discourages film buildup. Do not rinse and stack.

We recommend hand washing gold-accented stainless steel flatware.

Thank you for reading this article. We hope that it has helped you, and that you were able to find, through our research, the answers you were seeking.