Whether you've acquired a vintage bottle from a flea market or inherited a delicate heirloom, or purchased form our brand, proper care is essential to maintain its beauty and value. This guide offers modern creatives practical advice on cleaning and preserving antique glass pieces.
Regular Maintenance
To prevent water stains and mineral deposits:
- Change Water Frequently: When you are using glass vessel don’t let the water sit for days. Long standing cloudy water rings are a pain to clean, so If you are using an antique vase then insure you keep changing the water every two days to look after your vessel and keep your flowers thriving.
- Use Distilled Water: Wipe down glass surfaces with distilled water to prevent mineral buildup.
Cleaning Techniques
For routine cleaning:
- Gentle Washing: Hand wash items using mild dish soap and lukewarm water. Avoid harsh chemicals that can damage the glass.
- Protective Measures: Line sinks with a soft towel to cushion the glass and prevent chipping. Or better still, when washing your glass, is to use a plastic bowl, do avoid using a sink as it is very easy to knock the glass against the taps, which we have done far too many time, so do use a bowl. Cover the area with a soft cloth or towel, have a padded surface in case you put down a piece roughly, tip it over or drop it. If your heavy handed then the more towels the better.
- Gentle Wipe: Opt for a light wipe to avoid taking the gilding or decoration off decorated glasses and decanters.
-
Gentle Rinse & Dry: With clean water either by dipping the glass object into a bowl of lukewarm water (without detergent) or by wiping with a damp swab.
Ensure you blot dry using paper towels and allow the inside to dry by carefully supporting the object upside down and leaving it for several hours.
Removing Stubborn Stains
For persistent stains:
- Soaking Method: Soak the glass in a solution of equal parts white vinegar and water to loosen deposits.
- Denture Tablets: Place a denture cleaning tablet in the bottle with warm water and let it sit overnight to remove internal residue.
How to Remove Cloudy Rings
As these are annoying:
The cloudy glass is actually calcium deposits, these are which causes a light, foggy appearance in glass which can be is very difficult to remove.
To removing the cloudy water marks from glass, use a natural solution of white vinegar and water to soak overnight to loosen the calcium. Rinse and then dry.
If the vinegar does not work then you can try using petroleum jelly (Vaseline) inside the glass on the effected areas. Leave for 5 days before removing.
Cleaning Old Bottles
Thick non delicate glass
If your antique glass bottle has excessive staining and water damage then you will need more vigorous cleaning session to bring these back into a good condition. However do avoid delicate thin glass for this routine.
- Fill your bottles with water and let them soak to softens the dirt and debris.
- You can also use salt, the more coarse the better.
- Do use a bottle brush to get down through the narrow neck of a bottle to give the bottom a good scrub or
- Add some dishwashing liquid and warm water to the bottle and give it a good shake and rinse.
- Repeat several times this should work well for surface dirt.
- After the initial rinsing use various size bottle brushes this should help remove a large amount of the dirt.
If you still have dirt, rust, or other materials stuck inside your bottle. then it’s time to try a mixture of small pebbles or aquarium gravel. Use various sizes to remove a lot of stubborn debris, but you many have to do lots of shaking and spinning. Not too hard but it all counts when burning calories.
Handling with Care:
By following these guidelines, you can preserve the charm and integrity of your antique glass collection, allowing it to be admired for generations to come.
Browse Our Section of Glass Bottles and Decanters
For more insightful creative features into interiors, antiques and lifestyle, please do join our mail list for The Urban Vintage Affair. You will also immediately receive 10% code for your first web order Click To Join
BTW don’t forget to follow the hashtag #TUVAfacts