Cleaning Vintage Goods: Mistakes Not To Make

Sometimes when you find a tasty bit of vintage, it’s lovely and clean and only needs a dusting to be ready to list online. More often you have to clean off years of kitchen grease, basement grime, attic dust or garage grunge. All vintage dealers have cleaning tricks up their sleeves, some of which we’ve shared with you.

But every so often we get knocked down a peg or two when we are cleaning vintage things and it goes drastically wrong, cleverly demonstrating the adage “if you can’t be a good example, at least be a horrible warning.” The VU team has played a game of true confessions and put together an unlucky 13 list of cleaning vintage don’t dos we learned the hard way. Some of them still sting.

1. Newer, ultra shiny brass is often lacquered, meaning it’s coated with a clear finish to keep it from polishing. If you use brass polish on lacquered brass, the lacquer will come off in places, leaving a hazy/spotty finish.
2. To get dirt off a painting, stay away from chemical cleaners which can damage the finish. Wipe off schmutz using either baby wipes or saliva. Yes, saliva as in spit. (We learned this from an appraiser who occasionally appears on Antiques Roadshow.)
3. When washing a vintage tablecloth with metallic gold ink, don’t ever use Oxyclean and Biz. They will both eat holes in the fabric under the gold ink
4. Go easy on the polish and elbow grease when you are cleaning vintage silver-plate. The silver coating can get thin over time with repeated polishing and eventually you an clean right down to the metal underneath.
5. Never dunk anything with a vintage glued on sticker or label. It’s going to come off. Things with labels often don’t have any printed makers marks so you don’t want to lose that information.
6. Don’t put vintage Pyrex in the dishwasher or use harsh cleansers, use only mild cleansers such as Bar Keepers Friend or liquid dish soap to clean.
7. Vintage linens, clothing, crochet, lace, etc. should never be washed in hot water or with harsh detergents or bleach. Always hand wash using mild cleaners made specifically for vintage fabrics.
8. Don’t dunk your vintage Christmas figurines into hot soapy water with a little ammonia thrown in to cut the grunge or you might see the cold painted red enamel slowly float off the surface of the ceramic. Test to see if it is cold painted and then use Q tips and tepid water with mild soap to very gently clean the surface.
9. When cleaning your vintage costume jewelry never soak anything with stones. Use a soft brush like an old toothbrush and gently clean with mild soapy water and dry immediately.
10. Native American pottery should be cleaned with a dry cloth or duster only. Never get it wet.
11. Printed vintage glasses should never ride in the dishwasher. The paint will fade and wear away.
12. Resist the urge to throw vintage rugs in the wash or use retail aerosol spot cleaners. A good rug will last a lifetime and should always be dry cleaned. Yes, it’s expensive but a great vintage rug is worth taking good care of.
13. Don’t clean old metal pieces like trophies and military medals with anything abrasive. Soap and water should suffice. We are of the school of thought that says patina is a good thing.

If the thought of us making these cleaning mistakes is going to haunt your dreams, don’t worry. We are pretty good at cleaning vintage to preserve it for the future.

You might like our posts on cleaning vintage clothing and removing rust from chrome.