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You inherited a set of fine china or picked one up while thrifting, and now you want to get it sparkling clean. Here’s where you must avoid making one of the most common\u00a0mistakes: using paper towels. A cleaning essential, paper towels may be fine for other household items, but their rough texture\u00a0can scratch your china. They could also leave lint bits\u00a0all over it, making the shiny surfaces look messy instead of glamorous. A safer alternative is a non-abrasive option to clean and dry it.<\/p>\n
“Fine china” refers to dishes made of porcelain or china, terms often used interchangeably by manufacturers. There’s also bone china, a thinner\u00a0porcelain\u00a0variety using similar materials (kaolin, clay, feldspar, and quartz) alongside\u00a0bone ash, or incinerated animal bone.\u00a0Regardless of which type you have, they’re all ceramics that are fired and shaped into tableware. The finished piece often receives a protective glaze that fortifies it and gives it a beautiful luster. Despite the hard finish, this is still one of many common things you shouldn’t clean with paper towels<\/a> because you risk the slightly abrasive sheet scratching the glaze or the dish’s surface, potentially leaving marks and scuffs that may be hard to remove. Not only do these marks mar the piece’s beauty, but they can also create small grooves where food or liquids may settle.\u00a0In addition to making the china harder to keep clean after use, this increases the chances of bacteria growing. Yet, even without paper towels and with a little careful handling, you can keep your fine china in great shape.<\/p>\n