china storage

Taking Care of your Chinaware: Storage & More

Friendship is like china, precious, rich and rare; even when broken, the crack will still be there!? ? Author Unknown

This is what one of my school friends wrote in my slam book. Each and every item of china that you own IS precious, rich and, probably, rare. So you need to take real good care of it. This article aims to give you a few guidelines not only on how to store fine china but also how to keep it clean.

Washing Your Chinaware

First and foremost, concentrate on what you are doing: washing china. If you look behind over your shoulder to see what someone else is doing, you are likely to bang the china against the tap or the sink?s wall!

When washing china by hand in your sink, it is likely to slip from your soapy fingers. Even a slight drop into the sink will result in a crack or even total breakage. To prevent this, it would be wise to simply place a towel on the floor of the sink. So, in case of slippage, it will have a ?gentle? fall, which creates no damage in any way.

Do not fill the sink with hot water and just dunk in your china for a ?quick? cleaning! The water should only be slightly warm.

Most detergents are not only harsh on your hands but also on the china! Also, do not make the mistake of using some fancy fragrant detergent. You probably think the china will also get a fragrant smell! What you need to do is to read the instructions carefully on the detergent box. There are usually clear instructions on whether the detergent can or should not be used for chinaware. Check that the detergent is a mild one.

Use a soft sponge and not a rough washing pad of steel wool to clean food remains or liquid stains.

The best way to clean china is by hand, but a lot of people use dishwashers. If you absolutely must use a dishwasher, you should first of all place the china items in such a way that they are not clustered very close to each other. No touching! Most important, use the knob indicator that provides for a ?gentle? wash. As in the case of hand washing, use a detergent that is mild. AND don?t forget to read the manufacturer?s instructions to check if the dishwasher is safe for china. In fact, some dishwashers are specifically designed to have mechanisms for washing china.

Your Chinaware and The Microwave

Experts advise that you should NEVER use your fine china pieces for cooking any food item in the microwave. Others say it is safe to use them only to slightly warm the food but this also only if the edges are not plated with gold or any other metal.

When you do use china for warming food in the microwave, make sure that that the china has returned to the room temperature before cleaning it.

Common Mistakes in Storing Chinaware

Dumping one cup into another and making it into a huge stack.

Dumping one plate on top of another and making it into a huge pile.

Dumping one piece on top of another even if it has a handle.

If you are doing any of the above, you are seriously damaging your china. It may not be immediately visible to the naked eye, but there are bound to be slight scratches on the pieces that you have stacked up.

What you should do while Storing Chinaware

You should hang each cup individually on a proper rack. If lack of space is the problem, then put only two pieces together at a time. In the case of plates, do not put more than five on top of each other. No touching between stacks!

Whenever you stack pieces together, make sure there is a soft napkin or flannel in between. Some experts recommend putting a coffee filter or a felt piece.

You have a beautiful kitchen cabinet above your working area. You think it is the right place to keep your china. Wrong. It will mean that you are stretching and lifting the china pieces each time you put them in or take them out. This is risky, as you could drop them or even dent their edges against the cabinet shelves while putting or removing them.

It would be wiser to place all your china in cupboards that are at a lower level, say about waist-high, within easy hand reach.

Make sure all the cupboards have properly fitting latches. This way, in case of fierce winds, the doors of the cupboards do not bang and shake the china. Also, in case of tremors caused by an earthquake or even heavy drilling equipment in the area, the doors will not suddenly open. You china will then be flung out and end up in a zillion pieces.

Do not put any piece inside if it is still damp after washing. Dry it completely first.

One useful tip that I came across at personals.swoon.com/e_eating:

When storing a delicate china tea or coffee pot, protect the spout by slipping the cardboard roller from toilet paper over it.

Frieda Arkin, adapted from The Complete Book of Kitchen Wisdom (Henry Holt)

Taking Care of your Chinaware While Moving House

Whether you are taking the services of a professional moving firm or doing it yourself, you need to take extra care while storing your china pieces in boxes to take along to your new home.

Use large AND very strong cardboard boxes.

If the pieces are small, use a smaller box. Do not unnecessarily store small items in a large box. Even if the items are light, the box itself will be very heavy and it will be difficult to lift.

Place Styrofoam or bubble wrap material at the bottom.

Place each china item separately in its own tissue paper. Make sure this tissue paper is acid free!

Place each item carefully so that they do not ?dash? against one another.

If there is even a little space at the sides between the china and the walls of the box, fill it up with more Styrofoam.

Right on top add more Styrofoam.

Put proper sealing tape. AND plenty of it, to avoid the lid of the box from popping open in transit.

Make a LARGE label and write clearly on it ?FRAGILE: HANDLE WITH CARE!?

DO NOT put any other item in the box of china pieces - not even your child?s soft toy.

DO NOT put any other box on top of the box containing the china pieces.

Most Important: You feel the china should be kept only to admire in your beautiful cabinets. Sure, but if you are not using them at all or using them on only special occasions, then also you are putting the china at risk. The glaze of your pieces will weaken over time. What you should do is decide a ?Birthday? for your china. On that day, every year, you will remove all the china pieces, wash them with care, dry them thoroughly, and then keep them back in their pride of place in the cabinet.

To sum up, keep in mind:

Avoid stacking

Avoid using in a microwave

Avoid washing with harsh detergents

Clean them regularly

If you follow these guidelines, you can say goodbye to chips and cracks! AND no breakage! Long live your chinaware!