Regarding Windex.....

Is it generally safe (or ever safe) to use Windex on porcelain/ceramic/pottery type antique items? If not, what's the best way to clean? Thanks.

 

I use Windex as a total (and ONLY) household cleaner - it is basically ammonia and vinegar - and leaves no residue (doesn't require rinsing). I never use it on cold painted pieces, and only use a cloth dampened (not saturated) with Windex on gilt or gold trim.

 

I should have qualified that statement with the proviso that I do not use it on anything used for food unless it has been washed the same way I clean other eating utensils/dishes/glassware!!!

 

Thank you, Mansons! I've been using it, but I figured it was time to check whether it was actually ok. Gotcha on the food stuff ~ not an issue since I'm a little OCD'ish when it comes to clean dishes/glasses etc!

 

Think about how those antique dishes and such would have been cleaned back in the day. By comparison with soda, lye and harsh soaps, vinegar and ammonia are mild. Neither will actually cause much harm in the microscopic amounts you might ingest after cleaning: vinegar, you eat anyhow. Ammonia breaks down into natural organic compounds.

Ma used to use ammonia on a saucer in a warm oven to loosen fat before giving it a good scrub. Works well. And your sinuses get a nice clear out, too.

 

This is a nice logical way to think about it, Ownedbybear. Thanks for pointing it out!

So does anybody have advice on anything that should definitely be avoided?

 

Hi Owedbybear,
The ammonia turns fat and grease into soap that is why it cleans so well in the oven. I still do that when cleaning my oven. I stopped for two years when I had a self cleaning oven. Of course I got used to that but I moved down here and a 27 year old oven needs cleaning again. So I had add a saucer full of ammonia the evening before and it cleans it quite well.
greg

 

Avoid bleach.

 

I avoid almost ALL commercial cleaners/cleansers. I use only Windex (kitchen, bath, diluted I spray it directly on floors before mopping so no rinsing, etc.). If i have a "stubborn" bit in the bath I use hydrogen peroxide. For disinfecting in the kitchen I use vinegar. And it has nothing to do with being "green", I have used (or had any servants use) these methods/products since I moved into my first apartment. I also do not, and have never, subscribed to the theory that everything has to be totally "anti-bacterialized"...............I never understood the need to use a "professional strength" cleaner in the bathroom. First off, if you have "professional bathroom users", you have bigger problems that just getting your bowl clean enough to serve luncheon on.........................

 

I've found Windex to be useful in cleaning a number of items. I used it to clean my 90-year-old typewriter of tobacco and nicotine stains.

 

And just as an aside, ants hate Windex, so at the first site of them, spray away.
"-)

 

Now that's good to know!