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How to Wash Collector Plates

You have painstakingly collected your antique or sentimental plates over the years. They have been lovingly hung on your display wall for all to enjoy. Over time, the plates get covered with dust and grime and pick up household odors. Collector plates should be removed from their displays a few times a year and washed. The last thing you want to do with your priceless collectible plates is wash them in the dishwasher as if they were everyday dishes; they need to be hand-washed.

Things You'll Need

2 bath towels
Dish soap
Sponge
Dish towel

Instructions

- 1
  Designate two counter-top stations, ideally on either side of the sink, for the plates. One is for dirty plates, the other for clean plates.
- 2
  Place a bath towel on each station, folding if necessary. This will provide more protection for the fragile plates than a kitchen towel could provide.
- 3
  Collect the plates and put them on the towel that is designated for the dirty dishes. Gently stack the plates if possible, in small stacks.
- 4
  Put on rubber dish-washing gloves.
- 5
  Clean sink and begin to fill with hot water, adding a small amount of liquid dish soap.
- 6
  Dip a clean sponge into the soapy water and wash one plate at a time, wiping the entire surface. Do not dunk plate in water during the washing process; instead, squeeze out the sponge and re-dunk it into the soapy water until the plate is thoroughly cleaned, front and back.
- 7
  Rinse each plate with cold, running water immediately after washing. Place clean plates on the towel designated for clean plates. Collect the clean plates on the dry towel, side by side; do not stack cleaned plates until they are dry. When there is not any more room on the towel, dry the plates with a clean kitchen towel and either stack the plates, if possible, or put them back on display.

Other Collecting