Wash handblown glass and crystal by hand to keep it beautiful.
With the advent of more sophisticated dishwashers, questions regarding washing handblown glassware and crystal linger. Whether to submit handblown glass to dishwasher treatment depends on several factors, even when packaging promises that glass is dishwasher safe.
Water Temperature
Dishwasher water averages 140 to 145 degrees Fahrenheit but it splashes on glass surfaces, creating sudden hot spots on glass that are thinner in some areas than others. Heat causes sudden expansion, but only in the spots it hits, making breakage a real possibility.
Detergent
Although 17 states have outlawed the use of phosphates, dishwasher detergents are harsh, gritty compounds, designed to scrub food from greasy dishes. The result for any glass is permanent clouding called etching. Leaded glass, such as handblown crystal, is softer than most glass, making it more vulnerable to etching.
Heat
That heating coil in the bottom of the cabinet turns the machine into an oven for 10 to 20 minutes at the end of the wash and rinse cycles. In glass with inlays, the surface layer expands but the inner detail heats -- and cools -- more slowly, setting the stage for cracks as the two layers cool.
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