Keep your crystal sparkling with some unexpected cleaners. Cloudy crystal is a missed opportunity and a damaged investment. The whole point of crystal is that it glimmer, sparkle and shine. If yours doesn't, raid your pantry and your medicine chest for remedies to restore your crystals' clarity -- then follow some commonsense tips to prevent your bowls, goblets and vases from going dull and filmy. When the Dazzle Dulls... Dull crystal has several causes and most of them can be addressed with simple cleaning and prevention tips. If you allow the water in a vase to dry along with the cut flowers, the calcium in the water will harden to a film on the glass during evaporation. The longer it's allowed to stay, the tougher it is to dislodge, so avoid standing liquid in crystal glassware and clean it immediately if you catch a film forming. For glasses that go in the dishwasher -- and not all crystal fares well in the machine -- too little detergent to counter minerals in the water can be the culprit that leaves cloudy spots or dull streaks on your crystal.

Home Remedies Set your dishwasher water temperature to 140 degrees for the first rinse to help remove residue and activate the detergent. If the dry cycle in the dishwasher leaves your crystal less than sparkling, remove the crystal and dry with a soft cloth before storing in a dust-free cupboard. wine bar nyc dateVinegar will dissolve chemical build-up and film on glass. best wine brands from spainStart with vinegar in a three parts water to one part vinegar solution. best coffee table books on wineSoak the glass to let the vinegar do its job, then wash by hand, rinse under cool water, and buff the pieces dry with a lint-free cloth. best online wine londonFor stubborn cloudiness, follow the vinegar bath with a soak in warm water and dish detergent, then add vinegar or borax to the rinse water to prevent streaks. buy white cloud wine

More Polish from the Pantry The brilliance that's missing from your crystal may need a stronger nudge to return. Strip away what's keeping crystal cloudy with some pantry staples. red wine with best health benefitsA paste of 1/2 teaspoon of salt and white vinegar, gently rubbed on and left to sit for 10 minutes may dissolve hard residue. Fill a bowl or vase with warm water to which you've added 1 teaspoon of baking soda and enough white vinegar to make it fizz and bubble. The reaction dislodges material which has been clinging to the glass. Toothpaste Therapy Raid your medicine cabinet to clarify your crystal. Fizzing stomach settlers dropped into hot water in a cloudy crystal glass or vase will "scrub" the cloudiness away. Use one or two tablets, depending on the size of the glass. Use toothpaste or denture cleaner for tough film such as calcium. Dab a bit on your finger and rub the glass with it until you see the film clear.

Rinse it away thoroughly so you don't get dental cleaner residue to replace the calcium. Never let any chemicals, even the ones from the pantry, sit on or in the crystal too long. Best to tackle repeat short cleaning sessions and protect the fine glass from potential abrasion. References National Cambridge Collectors, Inc.: Sick Glass Can Be HealedClean Organized Family Home: Cleaning Cloudy Crystal Photo Credits Hemera Technologies/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images Suggest a CorrectionAre you sure you want to remove this item from your Recipe Box? Don't have an account? Please log in to your account Never created a password? I've read and accepted the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and confirm I am at least 21 years old. Already have an account? No, thanksI'm already a PureWow fan. Follow PureWow on Pinterest No, thanks I hate pretty things. How to Dry Vases and Wine Bottles So They Don’t Mildew We love floral arrangements as much as the next gal.

But all good things come to an end, and when you’ve tossed the wilted blooms, rinsed the vase and tried to dry it out, you always end up with that little ring of condensation. Ya know, the one that sits in the neck for days, creating mildew and discoloring the glass? Yes, you’ve tried squishing a hand towel into one, but to no avail. So when we stumbled on this super-easy method for drying vases and wine bottles, we had to share. What you need: A paper towel. What you do: Roll the paper towel into a tube and insert all the way into the bottle or vase. Let sit for a few hours. How it works: The towel will unroll enough to touch the sides of the neck of the decanter and will absorb the moisture left behind from rinsing. There you have it: a perfectly clear decanter ready for the next batch of spring blooms...or bottle of vino, whichever you prefer. (We prefer the vino.) RELATED: The Secret Trick for Making Flowers Last LongerA great dishwasher is a gift sent from heaven to make your dirty dishes sparkling clean after every meal.

Our Best Dishwasher Round-up includes four of the best we’ve tested.Every machine in this round-up has been fully put through its paces by our dedicated team. We know how much water all the machines use in their main and eco modes, how much power they use, and how well they clean everything from dried-on breakfast cereal to stubborn oil and grease. We know exactly how loud they are when they're rumbling away in your kitchen too.Read on for more advice on what to look for and to discover how we test dishwashers, or scroll further to cut straight to our favourite dishwashers.There are a few varieties of dishwashers. The most common are freestanding dishwashers that are 60cm wide, though there are also slimline dishwashers that are just 45cm wide that are good for small flats. Integrated dishwashers come in similar sizes, but are designed to blend in with your kitchen cabinetry. There also compact dishwashers that sit on the tabletop like a microwave, which are useful if you don’t have space for anything bigger.

Each type gives you a little flexibility depending on your needs, but here are a few more things worth knowing about before buying a new dishwasher.Dishwasher capacity is measured by place setting – a single place setting consists of ten items of various sizes. A 60cm freestanding dishwasher typically takes 11 to 15 place settings. Slimline dishwashers typically hold 8 to 10 place settings and compact dishwashers around 8 to 10 place settings.Another consideration is plate size. Not all dishwashers can take the largest plates, but some have adjustable racks to accommodate plates as big as 31.5cm in diameter. Check the maximum size a machine can take against your largest plates before buying.This is a great feature to have. Fold down prongs make it much easier to load large pots and pans when you don’t have any plates to clean. Cheaper machines tend not to have them, but if you can afford one that does, then you won’t regret it.Another useful feature is a dishwasher with a cutlery tray.

This is dedicated tray at the top of the machine that means you have more space for pots and plates in the main part of the machine.Every dishwasher is plumbed and run in first before we begin our testing. We fill each dishwasher with a typical domestic load of pots and plates, including wine glasses and plastics.We test the standard, main wash cycle and the Eco cycle on all machines, measuring the amount of water used, power used, time to completion and the noise during the fill and washing stages.We also have three standard washing tests:This test consists of dried-on wine in the bottom of a wine glass. We look for perfect cleaning, a good shine and no streaks. We also look out for common drying problems, such as small pools of water in the base of the glass.Always a favourite, this test consists of a bowl with dried-on wheat cereal that’s been left for 24 hours. It needs to be cleaned perfectly to achieve a good score.This is our toughest test. In fact it’s so tough that no machine has produced perfect results yet.