DH said someone on Munsnet is bound to know

[ooerrmissus]

.... How to get rid of fluorescence on his glass decanters? He collects vintage glassware and has got some that are slightly cloudy. He's tried the decanter balls and the old steradent trick but these aren't getting rid of the cloudiness.

Anyone have any ideas?

Try vinegar.

Thanks, will pass it on!

How about soda crystals?

Is the cloudiness in the glass, rather than some deposit on the glass? If they have a high lead content, i.e. 'lead crystal' and they have been washed at a high temperature, such as in a dishwasher, it may be that you will not be able to remove the cloudiness. 'Lead crystal' should never be washed in a dishwasher, only in tepid water and washing up liquid and rinsed well.

As far as I know you can't, sorry. If they are cloudy they will stay cloudy. I remember seeing it on an Antiques programme years ago - what to look for when buying an antique X - don't believe people who will tell you the cluoding will go because it won't.

Thanks for all your ideas- they may well be lead crystal but most certainly haven't been in the dishwasher. Doesn't mean they haven't been washed at too high a temperature of course. We'll try the vinegar idea to start off with in case it's a build up of limescale from washing.

Is it cloudiness or irridescence like petrol on water? They're often a function of the glass chemically altering over time and - in some cases - the latter can be much prized.

I'd love to think it was much prized but no, it's cloudiness, can't really describe it, Might see if I can get a photo.

I used to have to deal with irridescent glassware but that was really serious antique stuff - eg Roman and Egyptian - which you could barely even look at before some of its value actually fell off! (Irridescence is a surface degrading of the glass and while it looks beautiful, it's very fragile.)

I suspect that if he's collecting vintage glassware and he's tried the other tricks, then he's stymied on the cloudiness because it's actually in the glass.

It's not a very good photo I'm afraid. It looks a bit like where water would sit after washing as it's very difficult to dry them properly.

Ah okay cozietoesie it's not that old! the oldest he has is mid 19th century Irish!

Pour a handful of plain uncooked rice into it and then pour in some white vinegar. Cover the opening and shake it around for a few minutes in a circular motion.

If you think about it, cloudy glass is really down to either abrasion from use, encrustation of some substance (bonded with the glass surface or not) or something within the glass itself changing over time. You also have to figure in that many (especially provincial) glassmakers would likely have made their own glass back in the day - or could have bought in from goodness knows where - so you won't necessarily have a standard type of glass in older pieces. There could be all sorts in the chemical make-up of it.

You might try the vinegar, I guess, but the inside of a glass decanter? I suspect he'll have to live with it.

Good luck anyway.

Thanks Cozie, I suspect you may be right. They are still beautiful decanters, cloudy or not.

I'm only interested in the contents, anyway!

There is the point, right enough, that you don't notice any cloudiness nearly so much if the decanter is full of some nice dark liquid! Tell him to pop down to the nearest decent offie.

You can use glass polishing compound and buff off marks from inside of vases and decanters. I use polishing buffs and my electric drill. It takes ages but it's very satisfying. Obviously it only works for water marks. Vinegar does nothing for most clouding.

Hmmm, DH is usually kept away from power tools for his own safety.

Brave person, Bipp - and one who has some very accommodatingly shaped decanters and vases. Life is too short for me to conceive of doing that.

Article about this very issue here!

Fwiw, I dry mine like this.

Interesting, thanks for that. We have done of the decanter driers mentioned, very handy.

DH has spent a happy few hours swilling vinegar around a decanter yo no effect whatsoever. Still, it's a hobby.