Odd question-old dishes

[Jessica]

I bought some vintage glassware dishes. I originally bought it just for the vintage factor but it would be nice if I could use it too. So I was reading a blog about vintage pyrex and it mentioned cleaning and how to get 'old food' out of deeper scratches. Yikes-I didn't think about that. Would you use it or just display it?  It doesn't *seem* to have any major scratches but you know how things can be invisible or hard to see.

[GingerPye]

I have bought a lot of vintage Pyrex and Visions.  I just scrub it a bit with Barkeeper's Friend and then run it through the dishwasher.  Although where I buy from:  classickitchensandmore.com
does a great job of cleaning things up, and everything I have ordered looks new.  I still do my cleaning, however.

I should add that my kids seem to tolerate this just fine, but others more sensitive might not.

[CMdeux]

Glass/ceramic is one of the few types of used kitchenware that I will consider.

I check stoneware/ceramics for glaze integrity (visually, I mean)-- no hazing or crazing allowed.

I also scrub with an abrasive cleaner and a lot of elbow grease, just as Ginger does.

[Jessica]

Thanks. I'll check out the BKF but I read that the dishwasher is a no-no for decorated vintage glassware like pyrex and the pieces I got all have decorations. I can't actually see anything more than shallow marks on any of them though. No deep scratches that I can see/feel.

[GingerPye]

Umm, yeah.  I've read that, too.  I have the four vintage Pyrex mixing bowls, each a different color.  I guess over time the dishwasher will fade those colors, but I'm okay with that.  I use these rather than display.  And then when they get all faded I'll order some more, LOL.   So far, they still look good after having them for a few years. 

Things that cannot go in my dishwasher cannot live in my house, LOL.  With the exception of Tupperware. 

[Jessica]

I put pretty much everything in the dishwasher. Including tupperware (even on the bottom-eeks!). The only things I hand wash are things that absolutely cannot go in the dishwasher, like my bread machine pan and rice maker pan.