How to Clean Bone China

Bone china is made from a minimum of 25% animal bone ash, but often is it composed of 50% animal bone ash or more.

China, especially bone china, must be handled with care. The most dangerous place for bone china is in the hands of little children, or in the cleaning process.

Bone china is actually stronger than porcelain, but it is still fragile.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Mild detergent
• Sponge
• Soft washcloth

1. Wipe off any debris using a cloth or a soft plastic tool. Be sure to never use metal when wiping food or anything off of bone china, i.e. a fork, because it will leave discoloration in the form of streaks and marks on your bone china.

2. Hold the bone china gently, but carefully when washing it. Bone china is actually the strongest of all of the three china porcelains, however it is still necessary to handle it with care. Interestingly enough, bone china wasn't actually invented in China.

3. Use warm water, a mild detergent and a soft cloth or soft sponge to hand wash your bone china. Putting this in the dishwasher is too risky for breaking or causing marks on the pure white color of bone china.

4. Allow the bone china to air dry on a drying rack or towel. You may also hand dry bone china with a soft towel as long as you continue to handle it carefully.

Tips & Warnings

• Be especially careful of bone china that has decorations painted on it.
• Do not use the dishwasher!
• Do not use an abrasive cleaner or scrub sponge.

[mweise]

on 7/5/2009 Thanks for explaining this! Bookmarked this one! Great job!