Cleaning Dirty Narrow-necked Vases

[TxSilver]

It's nice to have a forum of glass collectors. I know that everyone will know what I mean about dirty glass. I have received a few dirty, nasty pieces in the last couple of weeks and I wonder if the sellers didn't have any pride at all. One narrow-necked iridescent vase was the dirtiest of all. After using various methods, I can now say it is clean.


First I did a detergent wash, using a skewer with a paper towel to wipe down the sides. The water turned dark yellow -- lots of grunge removed.
Then I used a toilet bowl cleanser (Clorox that clings to sides), followed by the skewer with paper towel on the end again. The water turned dark yellow and the vase was almost there.
Today I bought some Efferdent tablets for dentures and filled the vase with water and dropped in a tablet. The water turned pale yellow and the vase looks great except for one stubborn brown spot.


Thank goodness for the internet that gave me the methods for cleaning narrow necked vases. I didn't want to use things that are more caustic because they can etch the surface of glass. I don't know if I needed to do all the things listed. Maybe the Efferdent would have worked by itself. I'll have to try it alone the next time I get some dirty glass.

Anita

[TxSilver]

Oh, I forgot to mention the vinegar soak. It was totally ineffective in the case of this vase. I wonder if I should send the seller a bill for services needed in order to save the vase.

Anita

[glassman]

Thanks for the great tips. I have had some success with the vinegar, but it only seems to remove the salt deposits on the glass from leaving standing water in the vase for too long. Great idea with the Efferdent! I will have to give that a try as well.

[TxSilver]

I hope someone finds them useful. The vase was grungy. It was like someone had let 50 rounds of flowers die in it without cleaning the vase. I am glad it could be salvaged. I was most impressed with the toilet bowl cleaner method. One has to swish a little water in the vase, empty it, then apply the cleaner. I swished it around a little, then let it set. It worked very well on grunge.

I keep a supply of bamboo skewers around. They are so handy when it comes to cleaning vases. I roll a paper towel around the end, so the paper towel has a couple of free inches at the end, then tape the towel to the skewer. That way I can swirl the paper towel around the sides of the vase. I hear sand works well as a mild abrasive, too. Someone mentioned soft beads that can be bought to help clean glass, but I haven't been able to locate them.

My next task is to pick up some pipe cleaners. I bought a cornucopia vase that had dead bugs and everything they had eaten packed into the tail. Talk about a task to clean out! A pipe cleaner would have made that task a lot easier.

One never knows what will come in the mail when glass is bought online. I have had a vase that looked rich and opaque... until I washed it and all this red pigment washed out in the water. Someone had coated the inside with something. I had a green stem dish that turned into a clear stem dish. Both the vase and dish looked better, however, with their natural sheen.

It does amaze me that some people don't wash the things they sell. I guess they are afraid that they will break it or find some flaw that they would rather not know about.

Anita

[biddaeverything]

It does amaze me that some people don't wash the things they sell. I guess they are afraid that they will break it or find some flaw that they would rather not know about.

Anita

no doubt! not to mention how terrible it looks in the pictures they take. eek!

i always keep some denture cleaner and gel-gloss on hand for cleaning glass. the toilet bowl cleaner is a great idea. i'll have to try that on my next icky piece. :) the gel-gloss keeps glass cleaner longer, less dust adheres. it's the closest i've found to the old glass wax that you see sometimes on ebay for $30+. i've had really stubburn pieces, though, that neither could save. i got an avem bowl home after flea marketing to discover that the grunge in the creases wasn't grunge but hard, thick plaque. i haven't found anything that works consistently on that except toothpicks, elbow grease and patience.

bidda