Be careful!! Keep your mind on the job! Handling of glass can result in breakage and a broken piece of glass can cut like a surgeons knife.

Some basic tips

1. If your glass item has a lid or a stopper, remove it.

2. To remove stuck stoppers: Holding under the tap, pour warm water carefully aound the neck, gradually raising the temperature, and with care try to turn the stopper and pull it out. If this does not work, get some WD-40.and spray where the stopper and bottle join. Under the tap water, again carefully try to turn the stopper. Never force anything!

3. Always wash your glass by hand, never in a dishwasher. The high temperature of dishwashers can sometimes cause glass to crack and the detergent can also damage the glass surface and give your glass a cloudy appearance.

4. Wash your glass only in warm soapy water and add white vinegar to the rinse water to prevent spotting and fogging, allow to dry naturally.

5. Water temperature is important. If too hot or too cold, it can crack your glass.

6. Don't put your glass next to a radiator to dry.

Cleaning Glass

Glass should be cleaned with care as some types of glass can be scratched in an instant.

7. Use a new soft cloth. Never use scouring pads or similar.

8. Take rings of your fingers as they may scratch the glass.

9. To protect your item, place a clean towel under the drying area.

10. Clean, dry and remove one item at a time so you don't risk hitting two items together and breaking them.

11. To stop any damage to your very expensive glass caused by inpurities in water, use distilled water.

12. To clean hard-to-reach areas, a soft bottle brush is a must. Soft camel hair brushes & shaving brushes are also good for difficult places.

13. To stop water condensing and staining your decanter: After cleaning, roll a sheet of newspaper and put it in the decanter. The wick affect will absorb the moisture and stop water stains.

Lime scale

14. Lime scale remover used in bathrooms and kettles works on some stains. Put it on neat then rinse off. Another method is to soak your glass over night in Sterident denture cleaner. If the lime scale stain is very thick, you may need to take your piece to a glass specialist.

NB. Cloudiness in glass is not always lime scale. Sometimes its water staining caused by leaching of certain components from the glass when dirty water has been left in it for prolonged periods of time. These stains are almost impossible to remove and must be left to a glass restoring professional.

Displaying your glass

15. When displaying your glass under light, make sure that the display lighting is not close to the glass.

16. Avoid putting your glass display on shelving above seating.

17. Try to keep your glass out of direct sunlight.

18. All that's left is to enjoy your BEAUTIFUL ART GLASS.

If in doubt always contact a antique glass restorer for detailed advice on your glass.