Pretty glass fixtures are a joy to find at auctions, thirft stores or estate sales. The hard part about their purchase is that 9 times out of 10 they're covered in dirt from years gone by and unless you enjoy spending a few hours with a toothbrush, an easier way must be found. Lucky for us, it already has been!
We stopped in over at Worthwhile Domicile where Tiffany has been dunking her fixtures in a bucket and denture cleaning tablets. Although it sounds a bit odd, we know those little suckers can clean toilets or vases, so why not light fixtures?
Along with the help of this trick and a few minutes in some bleach water and a good rinse, this fixture is shiny like new and quite the beautiful piece. You can check out the full tutorial and tricks for all the details from the link below.
• Read More: How To Clean Glass To Make It Sparkle from Worthwhile Domicile
(Images: Worthwhile Domicile)
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Great tip! Thanks for this xx
Huh! Never would have thought of that!
I wonder if just soaking in hot water with dishwashing detergent and maybe a little bleach would also work, though.
Oh, but don't you know, Sherry? True AT aficionados would rather dunk their own heads in bleach than use it on anything. Ever.
Denture tablets seem to work for just about anything.
Allie_P - That seems unnecessarily snide, don't you think? Especially since bleach was mentioned in the original blub?
...*blurb.
There's nothing denture tabs can't clean. I've used it to good effect on stains on counters/clothes/thermoses/grout/carpets best part-- no bleaching.
Allie_P: If you're done shooting down the poster with unnecessarily asinine comments, can we get on with, you know, continuing in the lost art of civil conversation?
When we bought our house all the fixtures, including switchplates, had 30 years of grime on them. I just used simple green and hot water and everything melted off. Buying denture tablets seems like overkill to me.
Allie_P: What are you talking about? I've been a very avid reader of AT since its inception, yet I don't understand the history behind your remark. I don't ever recall reading 'anti-bleach' posts. Painted Wood: Yes. But bleach? Never.
How about instruction on how to clean a moravian star type pendant. It's filthy...will the denture tablets hurt the metal? Help all you dear people, help!
Holiday05 - Do you happen to know what kind of metal you're dealing with? Denture tablets do clean things like jewelry, but aren't advised for continual metal use (even though dentures and things like retainers are often made from metal parts). Narrowing that down would help a great deal!
Crazylady: Allie_P wasn't wrong, there are many folks that don't think bleach is a good thing for the home, but there are alternatives for those who don't and by this point they know how to substitute them for use in your average DIYs.
i remember my mum using denture tablets to clean the carafe of our coffee maker. super good at getting the stains out.
Let's get back on track folks. Ladies: Retract those claws.
Love the way this came out. If this is a 'cover' to a hanging lamp, oh, so jealous. I have an addition to those 60's - 70's style lamps. Have 2 at home.
Nice job.
i want that fixture!
Ajax with ammonia is the best for cleaning glass and jewelry. My Mom has used it for 50+ years and it still can't be beat.
I think it's helpful-bleach is a deal breaker in homes with septic systems!
Denture tablets are also good for gently soaking stains off fingers & finger nails - berry juice, ink, garden mud, whatever. Just do the manicure routine for 5-10 minutes.
Ammonia-based cleaners are good for gold and silver and some gemstones, but they can really hurt soft or organic-based material like opal, pearl, coral, so be careful if you use them.
Never use bleach on jewelry, even plain metal jewelry. The chlorine can make the metal brittle.
I always use ammonia and dishwashing liquid on things like light fixtures, with a big dish brush. Seems to work fine for me. But the denture tablet trick sounds good too.