5 tips for cleaning precious porcelain

Fragile and glass-like, porcelain must be cleaned with care. How you clean it is determined by the porcelain finish — either bisque unglazed or a glossy glazed.

Use a plastic basin or a sink lined with a towel or rubber mat to protect against breakage.

• For either glazed or unglazed porcelain, first try using a mild solution of warm water and dishwashing liquid.
• Wipe with a washcloth or scrub gently with a soft, nylon-bristled dishwashing brush.
• An old, soft toothbrush is great for getting into all the nooks and crannies.
• Rinse well using clean water. If that doesn't remove all the stains, try something stronger such as an all-purpose cleaner.
• Always rinse porcelain well, immediately after cleaning. These cleaning compounds can stain or etch the delicate surface.
• Air dry in a dish drainer or on a folded towel on the countertop.

Gently scrub the inside of porcelain cups or a porcelain teapot with a cloth or soft-bristled brush and a paste made from bicarbonate of soda and water.

• To clean irregularly shaped areas of bisque porcelain such as inside flowers or in the folded hands of a figurine, use a spray-on, bleach-based product.
• On glazed porcelain, scrubbing the same crannies with a toothbrush and soapy water should be sufficient.
• Spray the product on, wait a few minutes and then rinse it well with fresh water.
• Always clean before trying the bleach spray or the bleach may set the stain.

• Soak the bisque porcelain (or the stained part of the piece) in a container filled with hydrogen peroxide.
• Leave it until the stain is gone, which could take anything from 15 minutes to 72 hours.
• To rinse the piece, soak it in clean water (ideally distilled) for as long as you soaked it in the hydrogen peroxide.