Cleaning Tips

Cleaning Tips:

- Brass Lamps and Fixtures: routinely, just dust with a soft dry cloth. Occasionally brass lamps and fixtures may need a better cleaning in which case you may use a warm soapy water (mild dish soap, Palmolive etc.) after cleaning remember to dry it off. Never use a window cleaner with ammonia, as all brass finishes are covered with a clear lacquer finish, the ammonia will remove the lacquer and cause the brass to tarnish. Now if your brass is already tarnished, first determine if it is actually solid brass (if a magnet sticks to it, it is brass plated steel) second if it is solid brass you can use a brass cleaner / polish, followed immediately with a coating of clear lacquer spray paint. If it is brass plated steel it is rust and not tarnish you can clean it up with steel wool and then decide either to have it re-plated or to paint it a new color.

- Glassware: if the glassware is part of the fixture and can not be removed the best method to clean it would be to polish it with a soft dry cloth. If a better cleaning is required a soft cloth with a warm soapy water (mild dish soap, Palmolive etc., never use anything that might harm the fixture around the glass) can be used on small sections at a time which can be quickly dried by hand so that it wont air dry. Air dried glass forms a film which is harder to clean than the original dust was.

If the glassware can be removed they can be washed in the sink with warm soapy water and then hand dried.

- Alabaster: is a porous stone, don't soak it, and don't use any detergent, as these would ruin it. However, you can use a dry or slightly damp soft cloth to wipe the fixture.

- Crystal Chandeliers: don't use ammonia because it will deteriorate the lacquer finish on all metal surfaces, including the connector pins between crystal beads. Before attempting any cleaning turn off the power to the chandelier so you don't burn yourself on hot light bulbs, or the light bulbs don't burst when they get wet, and leave off until dry in case any cleaner has got into the electrical connections. There are three different ways to clean crystal chandeliers, they are:

1. The Traditional Method - wash in lukewarm sudsy water (mild dish soap, Palmolive etc.), rinse in clean water, and dry with a soft clean cloth.

2. The Quick Method - the chemical industry has produced a crystal cleaning spray, further to their instructions of "spray and drip-dry" there is a few more instructions you should know; cup shaped pieces need to be blotted dry as they act like cups, larger prisms may still have to be dried with a soft cloth, and remember to put out a drop cloth to catch the drips. This method is ideal for real small beads and "Maria Theresa" style chandelier arms both of which are hard to do any other way. Some sprays may leave the crystal sticky requiring more frequent cleanings.

3. The Best Method - use a pair of dry cotton gloves (a soft dry linen cloth may also be used) and rub each crystal pendant between your fingers until it shines. If this takes to much rubbing try a light misting of crystal cleaning spray on your gloves.

- Lamp Shades:
Silk or Hardback: use a soft clothes brush or a vacuum brush to dust the outside of the lamp shade and a clean soft white flannel cloth for the inside of the lamp shade. This should be done regularly.

Washable Silk Shades: fill a bathtub with enough warm water to cover the shade. Add Ivory Snow detergent (or equivalent). Use suds on a soft brush or white towel (color safe) and gently in a circular motion rub any spots lightly. Then dip the whole shade up and down in the tub. When the water gets dirty, change to clean sudsy water. Wash the shade a second time. To rinse the shade, dip it up and down through two or three changes of clean water. Don't worry if the cloth stretches and sags while it is wet. It will tighten up for a snug fit when it gets dry.

The faster you dry the shade the better to prevent rusting. First blow dry the frame wires (top/bottom/sides) with a hair dryer. After the frame parts are dry set it on a dry towel or on a hot day hang it from a clothes line outdoors to drip dry.

Non Washable Silk Shades and Hardbacks: if you must, the results can't be worse than throwing the shade out! Put 1/4 cup mild detergent into a bowl. Add just enough warm water to make it wet. Whip this mixture with an egg beater or an electric mixer to make stiff "dry" suds that look like whipped cream. Put some of the thick suds on a cloth or sponge. Use this to wash the shade, inside and outside. The binding around the edge is glued on, don't rub it or let it get very wet. Rinse the shade right away by going over it with a clean damp cloth. Then wipe it dry. When dry go over with a soft clothes brush or a vacuum brush.

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