Vintage China in dishwasher, yes or no?

[polkanut]

In post #24493 I mentioned that I picked up some vintage china, and I'm sure this has been discussed here before, but I would like input/insight once again. The 2 china patterns we have both have platinum bands on them. We don't use them too often, but when we do, I want to feel safe putting them in the dishwasher. The Cunningham & Pickett "Norway Rose" china was a gift from my wife's uncle, and the Fine China of Japan "Rosemary" set was my maternal grandmother's. The value of both sets is more sentimental than monetary.

 

[mixfinder]

No Mercy

Some older china will lose it's gold or platinum detail. Some pottery has decals which wash off in the higher temperatures. I have washed china of all descriptions with no trouble. I have ruined some vintage stemware. Try a saucer or something inconspicuous and give it a whirl. I never, ever prerinse and use the normal amount of detergent on the normal cycle. For me, no problems. I also wash sterling and silver-plate. It keeps em bright and shiny as long as the stainless blades don't touch silver.

 

[gyrafoam]

Each to their own opinion------I would NEVER wash something like that in a diswasher. If there is that much sentimental value to it----why take a chance?

 

[jeffg]

The question isn't if damage to the metal detail work will occur, only how much. As Kelly said, some patterns won't show much wear, others will, and if you machine wash them regularly, most china falls into that second category.

 

[maytagbear]

If you do!

If you do wash them in the machine, let them come to ROOM TEMPERATURE before unloading them. When hot, the metal trim is highly vulnerable to damage. If possible, let them dry without heat, if your machine has the option.

I agree with Kelly about trying a saucer or salad plate before washing the rest of them.

I do wash my vintage Fiesta and Franciscan in the machine, but neither of them are true china, or metal-rimmed.

When I do wash a full load of either vintage line, I scrape really well (without pre-rinsing,) and I do not use an extended cycle, and they come out fine.

Good luck!

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[bajaespuma]

Ironic thread given that the automatic dishwasher was invented for the express purpose of preserving Mrs. Cochrane's fine china.

 

[maytagbear]

Tru dat!

However, the soaps available then weren't necessarily hard on metal trims!

L/Mb

 

[dogboy44]

if you have a china cycle

we are lucky to have, it does lower the water pressure and does not get as hot. 2-3 times a year we drag out the Royal Crown Douchebag, it is beautiful and old as the hills. I think the dishwasher is easier on it than all the risk when stacking and moving it around in the sink, which is where most chips come from. The one thing to really guard against when you have the good stuff out, do not mix metals! No stainless and silver flatware, that can be a disaster with permanent discoloration to both. I keep the silver out of the machine. I do let it all cool completely before unloading, it is less vunerable.

 

[scott55405]

This may not apply to Polkanut if his china belonged to his grandparents, but would there have been a timeframe afterwhich china manufacturers would have "built in" the possibility that their product would be machine washed? I have some from the early 60s that was my mom's, which was always machine washed by her, with no issues. Has metal rims, no problems. It is plain white, don't know if patterned is more susceptible to issues. We also put the crystal and sterling in there with great results, did know not to mix the two kinds of flatware.

I have seen some china develop this weird, crackled, "ceramic tile" like look to it, both with or without machine washing. Not sure what caused that.

 

[tlee618]

I think the best bet here is as Kelly mentioned try one piece first. I have always done china, crystal, and silver plate in the dishwasher and have never had a problem. I do always rinse or scrape well, use the shortest setting, and really cut down on the detergent. My mom had china with the gold rims and it went through the dishwasher many times without harm. I too believe that crystal and silver come out of the machine better than doing it by hand. Just my thoughts.

 

[polkanut]

Well,

I did a full load (not a BobLoad), and everything came out looking beautiful. Some of these dishes had been packed away for approx. 20yrs. We don't use it that often, so I'm thinking that the occasional trip through the dishwasher shouldn't do it any harm. I will however try to remember Lawrence's suggestion about letting washed items come to room temp. before handling. We only have stainless steel flatware, so we don't have to worry about mixing in silver flatware. I did use the regular cycle this time because of all the schmutz on everything (cobwebs, etc.). Thanks for all of the input so far.

 

[appnut]

My mom & her 3 sisters had some soort of Lennox china that had roses all over them and bands of gold on the edge and about 1 or 2 inches in from the edge. they were all washed in dishwasers during their life. Except for the 1959 Waste King (which she just manually advanced duriing the final rinse to skip the water heat dwell), they all had light or china cycles. And that's whaat she used. My suggestion is Scrap very well with a rubber spatula or gingely pre-rinse. Put a little detergent in the open cup, run the hot water tap until the water is hot, and run the rinse & hold (or quick rinse) cycle once for "wash" and run it again once or twice for "rinsing" and let air dry.

 

[sudsmaster]

When I packed up my Mom's apartment, there was an old Wedgewood teapot - jade green with raised white decorations - like a wedding cake. It was fairly grimy, and it was clear that handwashing just wouldn't cut it. One run in the Bosch and it came out sparkling clean. The only casualty was that a previously broken and amateurishly repaired spout tip came loose - and I never did find that piece!

 

[favorit]

Baking soda as DW gentle detergent

Since we have a DW we never handwashed anymore such items. It's much safer than the continuous handling during the handwash.
As for golden decorations NEVER use clorine bleach based detergent.

We use two tablespoons of baking soda on a delicate cycle ( 40°C/105°F to 50°C/120°F in the wash bath, 120/130°F in the last rinse, depending on the machine)

Remember what MaytagBear wrote about "door ajar & download items only when cold".

Using US-made DWs :

- be sure that such options as hi-temp / sanitize / extra drying/ heated drying are not selected

- DON'T PURGE the waterline before running the DW. If your DW does 2 prerinses/prewashes before the mainwash it's ok, otherwise run rinse&hold once or twice before running china cycle. This way the load heats up gradually.

Here we have this DW liquid detergent for china, crystal stemware and silver items. It's not common in big box stores, rather in D.I.Y./bricolage/paint shops (description not available in the english pages). Never tried, however other products from this brand work well (not 4 wallets..)

www.nuncas.it
(DW in italian is "lavastoviglie")



http://151.3.113.35/nuncas/nuncas_finale/home_italia/prodotto.asp?id2=Stoviglie delicate&pip=

 

[steve1-18]

Ad translation ~~ thank you Google Toolbar

Size: 500 ml

Delicate Dishes Nuncas is the new liquid detergent specific to wash in the dishwasher crystal glasses, silver cutlery and plates to decorations and trims in precious metals, without altering its original beauty.

Features
• Thanks to its special liquid formulation dissolves rapidly at low temperatures and effectively removes dirt from dishes and cutlery and glasses and crystals are difficult to trace (lipstick, wine).
• Allows you to use the dishes more valuable every day without fear of spoiling during washing.

Where to use
• Tableware valuable
• delicate crystals
• silver cutlery

 

[kenwashesmonday]

I wouldn't put fine china with metal decoration on it in the dishwasher.

We put our daily-use lead crystal in the dishwasher every day. We've had the set for 13 years and it shows no signs of etching at all. I use Cascade, but I don't use too much, and we pre-rinse nothing.

Remember, the size of the detergent cups in a dishwasher is designed with worst-case senario in mind, hardest water and highest soil load. For most purposes, fill them half-way, that's plenty.

Ken D.

 

[yogitunes]

Rule of thumb has always been

even though you have a china/crystal cycle, if it is "THAT" delicate, it should NOT go in the dishwasher, and it's all just a matter of opinion, just use caution and best judgement.....I have some very fine light delicate pieces that I only handwash, but their only for display, the risk in the dishwasher is just as great as someone at the table breaking them....

 

[gmmcnair]

Monetary or sentimental.....

....the china has value to you. I would hand wash it in very mild detergent with warm water, rinse it, and dry it carefully. I wouldn't put a vintage piece I love in a dishwasher. I would also invest in a plastic dishpan and a rubber sprayer for my faucet so I don't chip it.

 

[revvinkevin]

I agree with Ken, Martin and Mike..........

I have some Bone China I bought 8 or 10 years ago, plus another set of China from my family, both with patterns and one with metal trim. I also have different wine glasses, a "cheap" set from Ikea for everyday use and the "nice" set when I have company.

Neither set of china gets used very often either, but when it does, I ALWAYS hand wash it along with the "nice" wine glasses! I just don't want to take a chance on any damage, immediate or long term.

The "cheap" wine glasses go in the dishwasher with everything else.

I've heard (and seen) what harsh dishwashing detergent can do to things over time.