care

caring for porcelain
caring for glass
caring for stainless 18/10

caring for stainless steel 18/10

Your Stainless Steel 18/10 is easy to care for and will retain its brilliance for years to come.

We recommend hand washing your pieces before first use. Simply wash in hot water and mild detergent. Then rinse with warm water and dry carefully before putting away.

Stainless Steel 18/10 spoons and forks are made with 18% chrome and 10% nickel. Knives are usually 13% chrome with hardened blades to retain a cutting edge. VERY IMPORTANT: Because knives are made from a different stainless steel they should either be washed by hand or removed from the disherwasher before the drying cycle begins (see "A Note About Dishwashers ..." below).

We recommend these simple daily care instructions:

• Immediately after use, wash your pieces with water and neutral washing solution. Then, rinse with water and dry before storing.
• Never leave your pieces to 'drip dry' after washing or your flatware may spot from exposure to the limestone in the water.
• It is very important to remove any food residue, particularly egg, mayonnaise, lemon, vinegar, and fish because prolonged exposure to acetic, citric, lactic acids and sodium chloride (kitchen salt) can cause corrosion.
• To protect the life of your silver, never leave pieces dirty and/or immersed in water or cleaning solution over night.
• Don’t use synthetic detergents containing chlorine or strong alkali cleaners.
• When handling silverware, never use any type of scraper or steel wool that might permanently damage the finish.
• Silver can sulphate over time due to exposure to air, making it dark in a more or less uniform way. This can also happen from contact with some foods. In this case spots may appear, on flatware, the spoon bowl, and on the forks prongs. This is a natural process that does not damage the silver but does alter its look.
• We do not recommend washing your pieces with products with added "lemon", as it can cause pitting.
• Softening the water is important in hard water areas, as it will prevent a grey coloured lime scale deposit forming on your silver pieces.
• Good silver polishing products are widely available. We suggest “Silver Spray” which give excellent results.

A Note About Dishwashers . . .

Chlorine dioxide has been added to drinking water worldwide. Though recognized as being effective as a disinfectant, it can be damaging to silver when combined at high temperatures above 60 degrees, as occurs during the drying cycle of a dishwasher. At high temperatures, chloric acid may form, which is an aggressive agent for the martensitic steels used in cutlery. This phenomenon is so evident that even new blades and knives can show signs of pit corrosion, (i.e. small specks of rust destined to grow in size) from the very first washing. To minimize the problem, reduce the period that your knives are exposed to hot steam during the drying cycle by removing them from the dishwasher as soon as the washing cycle is completed. Wipe each dry with a soft cloth, even if they seem dry.