Avoid spring cleaning mistakes

[Paper Boy]

At my public appraisal events, I field many questions about how to clean vintage and antique objects. I typically tell audience members that less is more. When in doubt--don't clean it. If you just have to clean it, don't be overzealous in your cleaning. Of course, with so many objects made of so many different materials, there is not one correct answer to the question, how do I clean my antique?
Let me share with you some real life antiques cleaning mistakes that I have gleaned from people like you.

Count and clean

If you have a large collection of antiques, remember to count as you clean. I met one woman who cleaned twelve 18th Century silver spoons in her kitchen sink. As she polished each spoon, she placed them into the sink. Then, she removed all of the spoons in a bunch from the sink and placed them on the countertop. Having completed her task, she began washing dishes. Later that day as she ran her garbage disposal, she heard a terrible sound. (You know where I am going with this...) As the disposal churned, she ground up one of those Colonial era spoons. Of course, she thought she had all 12 spoons placed safely on the countertop when, in fact, one spoon was quietly waiting for its demise in the deep, dark disposal - costing her $1,200.

Crack up

We all have dropped ice cubes into a warm drink and listened as the ice cubes crack in response to the drastic temperature change. Well, submerging a piece of antique glass into a sink filled with warm water is not much different. The shock to the system has been known to crack these delicate glass pieces beyond repair. Many people attempt to clean their glassware. I'd rather tell you that your American brilliant cut glass piece is dirty than to tell you that you it is damaged with a big crack down its side.

Dirty pictures

Like glassware, paintings are fragile, too. If you don't know how to clean them, you have no business cleaning them. That's right, leave your paintings alone.

I wouldn't advise taking a crash course on painting conservation online, either. One gentleman I met "learned" how to clean his Colonial paintings from an art Web site. His idea was to save some money and do it himself. While trying to save money, he followed the instructions taking off layers of varnish and oil paint from his family portraits. His online course cost that gentleman $30,000 in the value of his two early American family portraits. As I often say, with art and antiques, "It's better to leave something a little dirty, than to clean it and ruin it."