Since starting my store “Mary’s Apple Tree” 6 months ago, I had never cleaned so many dishes in my entire life; and I came from a family with 12 children, and had 9 of my own! That is what I get for wanting to sell glass and fine porcelain!! I must tell you though, I have enjoyed most every other aspect of it.

It is probably a good thing that I have never owned a dishwasher either, because I learned how to use a little elbow grease, and dishwashers can really etch up fine china and glassware. I am not going to pretend that I know all the tricks of the trade, in fact I learn new helpful hints frequently.

I started out selling Vintage Corelle, which cleans up rather nicely with a soft scrubby and “Bar Keepers Friend”; and also works especially well on the bottom of Corning Ware casseroles and Tea pots too. When I graduated to selling fine china I ran into other problems like stains under the crazing on old plates. My first thought was to use bleach, but I quickly learned that does not work and can fade the coloring in the designs. I started setting the dishes out in the sun after a gentle washing and that worked pretty good. The sun is a great natural bleacher! I found out from a fellow eBayer (and later in a book on porcelain) that ammonia and water was a good way to get rid of those stains.

Also in my arsenol of cleaning agents is Goo Gone (great for old stuck on stuff), and a good degreaser like “Castrol Super Clean”, which is great for cleaning inside hard-to-reach old glazed pottery items.

My final word of advice for this guide is to invest in a pair of good fitting gloves to protect your hands, “dish pan hands” should be a thing of the past!

Catch Ya on the eBay side,

Mary