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*Overview of the best according to the editors of Healthy Food Near Me. About selection criteria. This material is subjective, is not an advertisement and does not serve as a guide to the purchase. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.
Noble crystal is not just an expensive material, but also a kind of symbol of celebration, luxury and beauty. Crystal is considered quite finicky and therefore requires special care. In order for it to shine like new for a long time, you need to use suitable compounds and apply them correctly. Next – all the secrets of caring for crystal.
Removing white plaque
An old whitish coating – a trace left by water – is an unpleasant, but easily solved problem. We offer several effective gentle ways to remove white plaque from crystal products.
Aspirin + Vinegar
Traces of hard water will help to remove the usual “pop” of aspirin. Dissolve 1 tablet of aspirin in warm water and pour it into the contaminated crystal. Leave to react for 8-10 hours. At the end of the specified time, remove the water and pour the product with vinegar solution (1-2 tablespoons of table vinegar are enough for 3 liter of water). Then rub the crystal to a shine using a clean microfiber.
organic acid
Any natural acid (such as citric, oxalic, or acetic acid) diluted to a mildly acidic solution will help clean the crystal from white deposits. Pour the prepared composition into the product, leave for several hours. After a certain period of time, pour a handful of large cereals into the crystal to be cleaned and shake well. Potato peelings can be used instead of cereals. Then thoroughly rinse the dishes with clean warm water and wipe dry with a paper towel or microfiber.
Medical alcohol
It is enough to wipe the areas of crystal contaminated with white bloom with a cotton swab previously moistened with medical alcohol. Hard water marks should be easy to remove.
Dentifrice
A simple and effective tool. Dissolve the tooth powder in warm water and soak the crystal with white stains on the surface in the resulting composition. Leave for a while. When it becomes noticeable that the stains disappear, you can safely get the product, rinse with clean water and wipe thoroughly with a paper towel or microfiber to the desired shine.
Vinegar + salt
In this case, you can use both ordinary table salt and sea salt. Dissolve 1 tbsp in 1 liter of warm water. a spoonful of salt and add 1 tbsp. a spoonful of vinegar. Pour the product with the resulting composition (if the white coating is outside, then the crystal should be placed in the solution, respectively) and leave for a few minutes. Then rinse with clean water. Wipe thoroughly until dry.
How to clean a chandelier
Washing crystal lamps is not particularly difficult. The main thing is to know what tools can be used and how to do it correctly. To wash crystal chandeliers, both home remedies and ready-made chemical compounds are used. Regardless of the method chosen, it is important to properly prepare for the crystal cleaning process.
The first step is to turn off the power. Then, using an antistatic brush, remove dust from the surface of the product. Carefully remove all removable elements, laying them out on a soft cloth in the order in which they were removed from the chandelier. Work only with gloves. You need to start the washing process from the part of the lamp that remained fixed on the ceiling. Movement should be strictly from top to bottom. Consider several effective methods for cleaning a crystal chandelier.
Method No. 1. Vinegar + salt. Mix in 1 liter of warm water, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of table salt and table vinegar. Place the crystal elements in the resulting solution for a while, then thoroughly wash and polish to a shine using microfiber.
Method # 2. Dishwashing gel. Dissolve some liquid dish detergent in enough water. Using a soft sponge, carefully but gently go over the crystal surface of each element of the chandelier. Then wipe the crystal with a cloth soaked in a mild vinegar solution to give it a perfect shine. Wipe dry. After installing all the elements back on the chandelier, let it dry for a couple of hours. Only then turn on the power supply.
Method # 3. Ammonia. This tool can be used for high-quality cleaning of fixed elements of the lamp. Prepare a solution of 1 liter of warm water and 1 teaspoon of ammonia. Moisten a soft, clean cloth in the resulting composition and gently wipe all parts of the chandelier fixed on the ceiling.
Method No. 4. Special compositions. On sale you can find products, sold, as a rule, in the form of sprays, allowing you to quickly and easily update the appearance of crystal. Before applying the composition, it is important to prepare a place to work. Turn off the electricity supply. Under the chandelier, lay the floor with a dense layer of old newspaper or thick oilcloth. If there is carpet, you need to remove it. Then spray evenly over the entire surface of the crystal chandelier. Leave to act for 15-20 minutes (it is recommended to follow the manufacturer’s instructions).
All contaminants should dissolve and drain onto the bedding paper / oilcloth. It remains only to remove the traces of cleaning, and give the chandelier a couple of hours to dry. After that, you can connect electricity.
How to make it shine
Crystal tableware stagnated in the closet and general cleaning is nearing? Here are some tips on how to quickly and safely “refresh” crystal at home:
Vinegar combined with table salt will help to remove an ugly greenish coating from crystal products and give them a beautiful shine. Dissolve 1 tbsp in 1 liter of warm water. a spoonful of vinegar and 0,5 tbsp. spoons of salt. Immerse crystal products for a short time in the resulting vinegar-salt solution, then rinse thoroughly in clean water and dry with microfiber or paper towels.
Muddy traces from crystal can be easily removed with water and liquid dishwashing detergent. Soak the product in the resulting composition for a while, then rinse with clean water with a small amount of table vinegar.
To remove old stains, you can use regular potato broth. It is enough to soak the crystal dishes in the water left after boiling the potatoes for 15 minutes. Then wash them with dish gel, rinse in clean water and wipe dry with microfiber.
If the dirt needs to be removed quickly, an emergency method is useful – chalk with blue. Mix 2 tbsp. tablespoons of warm water, the same amount of blue and 0,5 tbsp. spoons of crushed chalk. Apply the resulting composition to the crystal products and carefully wipe with a flannel or woolen cloth until the blue is completely removed and a crystal clear shine.
If there are gold-plated inserts on the product, the use of aggressive compounds is excluded. Prepare a weak vinegar solution using table vinegar. Soak crystal in the resulting composition for a short time. Then rinse thoroughly in clean water and dry with a clean woolen cloth.
It is not so easy to deal with a dense layer of fat. If a hardened greasy coating remains at the bottom of the crystal dish, ammonia will help get rid of it. For convenience, you need to take a cotton pad or cotton swab, soak it with ammonia solution and generously blot the contaminated area. Rinse softened fat with mineral water. Wipe dry with a paper towel.
Thinness of care
Crystal is a special material that requires careful handling, as well as compliance with simple and important rules:
Hot water is unacceptable for washing crystal dishes and lamps: this can lead to the formation of microcracks on the surface of the products.
It is also impossible to use abrasive agents (including soda ash), which can damage the structure of the crystal – it will simply darken.
Washing crystal in a dishwasher is acceptable, but only if the temperature setting is possible and there is a “delicate” mode (the latter is especially true for old crystal products, for which the slightest shaking can cause cracks).
When washing in a dishwasher, it is not recommended to use special “machine” products – they have a rather harsh effect: crystal may simply not withstand a strong chemical concentration.
To extend the life of crystal products, it is important to store them correctly – all elements must be at some distance from each other. If, for example, two glasses stick together, you should not sharply separate them (crystal can simply burst): just pour warm water into one glass and hot water into the other and they will easily peel off.
There are several types of crystal and each requires a different approach. The admixture of lead makes the crystal capricious, the expensive version is closer to ordinary glass, and therefore unpretentious. But rare specimens made of the so-called “rock crystal” need very careful handling. But all types of crystal also have identical qualities: they are fragile and afraid of temperature changes.
You can not store crystal in an open place, making it accessible to dust, moisture, soot and grease (all this is very difficult to remove from the picture).
It is not allowed to store crystal products in direct sunlight – prolonged exposure to the sun can lead to the fact that the product simply crumbles in your hands.
Soap solution is not suitable for washing crystal products – it will leave matte stains on the surface.
Attention! This material is subjective, is not an advertisement and does not serve as a guide to the purchase. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.