Everyone has their preferences when it comes to cleaning, or knows a few old wives’ tales on how to keep their home spotless (many of which are still sound)! We’ve picked up a few methods here at Old Soul Revival – from dealers, conservators, and collectors – on basic maintenance and care tips that are a great starting point for people looking to keep their items in tip top shape.
Use gentle cleaning solutions
The best thing for keeping items clean and in their best condition is often a soft cloth and a soft toothbrush, a combination of water and a diluted light cleaning solution (such as a window cleaner, distilled white vinegar, or dish soap), and patience. With this combination, most things can be tackled, and it should always be the first stop for cleaning until anything stronger is used.
TIP: There are many, many products that claim to be the best at cleaning anything and everything – if it makes claims to do everything, it probably doesn’t doesn’t do a very good job at any one thing!
Applying the cleaning solution straight to the cloth and not the surface means excess isn’t left on the surface, and a gentle wiping (with the grain for timber) and some rubbing for tougher stains. Avoid too cold or too hot temperatures, only partially dip or submerge an item in cleaning liquid, and make sure the item is left to thoroughly dry.
Don’t over-clean
One of the most common kinds of damage we see is damage from excessive cleaning or restoration, or attempted cover-ups.
Perhaps one of the most common examples is polishing, especially old brass and silver. Brass develops a colour and patina over time which helps establish whether something is truly as old as it looks, versus a reproduction. Of course, some prefer the glossy look of fresh brass, but once removed it is difficult to replicate.
With silver, plated pieces can lose their silver exterior, or lose their sheen through use of damaging chemical processes. A popular ‘hack’, the baking soda and aluminium foil treatment to ‘reverse tarnishing’, actually strips the surface layer of silver away and leaves a microscopically damaged surface layer that tarnishes faster!
Finishes such as gilding, hand painting, raised detail work, inlays, or old repairs can weaken or be lost over time, so extra care should be
Store items with care
Precious and important things are often put away – to protect them or for a special occasion – but improper storage can often present a danger to an item not discovered until years later.
When putting an item away, consider your local conditions – heat, cold, water, and humidity can do a lot of damage if left to fester. Plastic wrap can be effective to keep out water but can also trap humidity, and extreme hot-cold temperatures can create a warping effect as materials shift and shrink, so excessive wrapping is not recommended, as well as adhesive tape, rubber bands, or cling film.
Each item is going to have different needs, but we can recommend keeping items in well ventilated spaces, but protected from dust and insects, with regular inspections. Items such as precious photographs and paper documents should be kept in acid free, archival level storage. Don’t forget the effect of bright light – the sun is extremely powerful, and repeated exposure often causes items to fade.
TIP: For silver and silver plated wares, they will tarnish over time through exposure to air, but this can be slowed by keeping them in air tight containers. Don’t wrap them with cling film or rubber bands, as both leave nasty residues that are very difficult to reverse.
Know what to do to repair
Knowing when to repair, restore, transform or move on an item is something every collector comes to terms with at some point in their career. Items can arrive broken, be knocked over by the cat or an over-eager child, or simply gather wear and tear over a lifespan of use.
For example, a broken tea cup passed down as a family heirloom is always a disappointment – but there are multiple avenues to keep an item in use.
If you are interested in a complete repair and restoration, many conservators do not recommend attempting an at home repair. Employing a qualified conservator, while expensive, is the best option for returning an item to a (mostly) original state.
An at home repair means the item is no longer food safe, but a teacup could be repurposed into many things – we’ve used and seen everything from incense stick holders, light fittings, garden ornaments, pin cushions, and palettes for paint.
Consider using the pieces too if a repair is not possible – savvy makers can use shards to create beautiful jewellery from heirloom pieces, even preserving the pattern as a tattoo!
Thank you for reading this far - if you have any queries or questions, especially about your purchases here at Old Soul Revival, please email us any time at hello@oldsoulrevival.com.au!
The author would like to thank Austin from BestICanAffordAntiques for advice given, and all the other collectors and dealers over the years who have shared their tips!