Don’t feel bad if you’ve just ruined your favorite ceramic or glass dish. We have, too! Here are 7 mistakes we have made — and you should avoid.

  1. Don’t wash china with metallic rims in the dishwasher unless it’s under glaze or you are OK with metallic glaze fading over time.
  2. Don’t put metallic-glazed china in the microwave. The metal in the glaze will arc and it isn’t good for the china or the microwave.
  3. Don’t put hot liquid like Jello in a cut glass bowl into the refrigerator or the bowl will crack.
  4. Don’t put a glass pitcher with an applied handle into the refrigerator or the handle will crack.
  5. Don’t put your vintage Pyrex bakeware on the stovetop. It wasn’t meant for direct heat from a burner and it will crack.
  6. Don’t skip inserting padding between stacks of dishes when storing, and especially moving them.  The padding helps reduce scratches and will also help prevent breakage.
  7. Don’t use a microwave and/or dishwasher with china made before 1940, unless you are sure that the materials used in the dishes won’t be damaged by high heat.

 

If you want to share, let us know in the comments what you have done that resulted in similar disasters.