Do you have one of these?
I am fortunate enough to have two.
Fortunate? This week I was beginning to wonder.
:)
They are definitely glamorous and I love them when they are clean.
Even dirty, they are still pretty but it has been well over a year since I last cleaned ours. They were taking on that cloudy look.
We are having a business event here at home in a couple of weeks.
Funny how knowing that makes me look around the house with fresh eyes.
When I looked around this time I saw numerous neglected things that need a little TLC and elbow grease. These chandeliers were two of them that I can now chalk off my to do list.
So while I was in the middle of this project and trying to entertain myself with idle thoughts, I thought that I might share with you some helpful hints I have learned along the way to make this whole process go a bit more smoothly.
Let me begin by saying that really, there isn't a short cut to doing this job right.
Early on, in an attempt to avoid the whole deep cleaning procedue, I tried one of those spray on products that claim you just spray it on your fixture and you are done.
Three words about this type of product;
Save Your Money.
This only left my light looking spotted and still dusty and dull.
Suck it up and do it the right way.
It isn't difficult to get that spectacular sparkling effect but it does take a little extra time and effort.
In the end, though, the results will definitely be worth it.
First off these are the things you will need.
An uninterupted block of time.
This is the hardest part for me. The rest is much easier.
I promise.
It will also be much easier if you can do this during the daytime.
Natural light is so much easier on the eyes than staring into those bright bulbs.
Next, go and get yourself a couple pair of latex gloves that fit snuggly, not the dishwashing gloves that don't fit tight to your fingers.
These are a critical item because you don't want to touch the crystals with your bare hands and leave oils and fingerprints on your chandelier.
The fit of these gloves allows you to handle the small hooks and clips that the crystals hang from easily.
The latex makes it easier to hold on to slippery and breakable crystals.
You will need just plain old dish washing soap.
If it is good enough to hand wash your better glassware and china in then it is perfect for this job too.
You will need a half a dozen or more tea towels to lay the crystals on after rinsing them and then to pat them dry.
These tightly woven styled towels are better than terry cloth ones because the small hooks on the crystals are less apt to get hooked on this type of fabric.
I also use a cookie sheet to lay out and organize the crystals and fobs on as I transfer them from the foyer and dining room to the kitchen sink and then back again.
If you are over 45 I would suggest a pair of these too.
It really is so much easier than squinting.
Now you are ready to begin.
Take a good look at your fixture.
If you have the assembly directions you could remove all of the crystals and label them as you remove them, grouping them by size and crystal style. After washing each piece you could then reassemble your light fixture according to the original directions.
I have done it that way but I found I spent a lot of extra time labeling and keeping my crystals organized. Sometimes there are only the most minute differences in the sizes of the pieces but the wrong piece in the wrong place is so jarring to the overall design. So it is important to remember what pieces go where.
Instead, I clean my chandeliers in layers.
I start at the very top and remove just the crystals from the top circle.
I lay them out on the tea towel covered cookie sheet as I remove them.
I take them to the sink and rinse each one individually in the soapy warm water and then rinse immediately.
Pat them dry to eliminate any water spotting and lay them back out on the cookie sheet.
If there is a crystal stem at the center of your chandelier like this one, then spray a bit of Windex on a rag and wipe the exposed part of the stem to remove any dust before you rehang the crystals that you have cleaned.
Proceed one layer at a time and slowly move down each layer of the chandelier.
The strands of chrystals that form a chain like effect can usually be removed and cleaned as one piece so it really isn't as daunting as it seems.
The end result is that sparkling prism of light that only cut crystal can produce.
This deep cleaning doesn't need to be done that often.
Once a year is probably enough.
In between times it may help to remove and wipe down the bulbs and bobeches around the lights that seem to collect dust.
When it IS time for that heavy duty annual cleaning it doesn't have to be all bad.
Put on some good tunes and decide that a bit of alone time to get something productive done is a good way to spend an afternoon.
:)
I hope you can visit again tonight at 9:00 pm Central as I post this week's
Motivated Monday.
Until then, thanks for visiting.
xoxo
P
I will be linking up my post here:
