Using fine china in normal life?

[mommyoffive]

Am I dreaming this or did we talk about this before?  I have a bunch of fine china that was handed down to me.  We never use it, because I don't want to deal with washing it.  Some of it is gold trimmed too.  I feel like we talked about this and people use fine china in the dishwasher and or microwave.  Am I dreaming this? Can you do this? 

I would love to use it, just because why not?  Otherwise it just sits in boxes in the basement like it has for years.  

[popmom]

Quote

 

My everyday dishes are Wedgewood bone china. The pattern is strawberry and vine. It doesn't have gold or platinum on it. I put it in the microwave and dishwasher. We've used these dishes every single day since 1992, and they still look like new. Just don't put it in the microwave on anything other than high. I did have a salad plate crack in two many years ago. I was heating something on medium. I guess the cycling on and off did it because I have never had any issues heating up stuff on high for 30-60 seconds. I mean I wouldn't actually cook something in the microwave with it, but it's fine for reheating leftovers.

I grew up eating on Royal Doulton china everyday, but at some point my mom got concerned about the lead, so she got rid of it. 

I also have 2 formal sets--one is Noritake that I inherited from my MIL and my wedding china that is Lenox Liberty. If I had to do it over again, I would not choose Lenox. It is not bone china, and I think it scratches a little. I feel like I have to baby it (no steak knives), but we do use it at holidays. We used my MIL's just this past Thanksgiving. But yeah, I don't put the formal stuff in the dishwasher. 

 

Edited December 12, 2020 by popmom

[klmama]

Metal trims may be a problem in the microwave.  Many dishwashers have a china setting.  My biggest concern is lead.  You may want to get a lead test kit or to research to find out if your patterns have lead. 

Edited December 12, 2020 by klmama

[SoCal_Bear]

Plates with metal trim should never go into the microwave. They can spark and start a fire in there.

 

[Arcadia]

I think we did talk about fine china before. My main worry is lead.

https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/CLPPB/Pages/Q-A-Lead-in-Tableware.aspx#doineedtoworry

 

[Shoeless]

Go for it! I used my great grandma's flatware for everyday for a few years because I was too broke to buy new everyday flatware. We looked super fancy while we were super broke, lol.

[popmom]

Agree with the above. The only vintage set I have is my MIL's. We only use it a couple of times a year. I'm comfortable with that. If your china is really old, I would not use it as everyday dishes. Athough I and my mother and my grandmother grew up eating off china everyday that had lead. lol Using it occasionally certainly won't kill you. 

Edited December 12, 2020 by popmom

[popmom]

I just googled it because I was curious. The government starting regulating the use of lead in tableware in the 1970s. If your china is newer than that, I wouldn't hesitate to use it.

[HazelAnne]

Sadly, I think lead is a concern. A relative passed down some beautiful Wedgwood dishes to me and told me they had been putting them in the dishwasher.  We started using them as everyday dishes (inspired by the Madame Chic book), and I absolutely loved it. Simple meals felt so elegant. 
However, after researching the lead concern I decided to have them XRF tested....and they had high levels of lead, as did all my other inherited china. So, I stopped using them, and put a few on display. Now, I don’t really know enough about it to know how much lead they actually leach, but I wasn’t comfortable having my family eat off them after that. 

[popmom]

7 minutes ago, HazelAnne said:

Sadly, I think lead is a concern. A relative passed down some beautiful Wedgwood dishes to me and told me they had been putting them in the dishwasher.  We started using them as everyday dishes (inspired by the Madame Chic book), and I absolutely loved it. Simple meals felt so elegant. 
However, after researching the lead concern I decided to have them XRF tested....and they had high levels of lead, as did all my other inherited china. So, I stopped using them, and put a few on display. Now, I don’t really know enough about it to know how much lead they actually leach, but I wasn’t comfortable having my family eat off them after that. 

Do you have a ballpark age of the dishes? Were they pre 1970's? 

[HazelAnne]

2 minutes ago, popmom said:

Do you have a ballpark age of the dishes? Were they pre 1970's? 

I don’t know how old they are, but am pretty certain they are pre 1970’s. I’m guessing 1950’s and earlier. 

[gardenmom5]

as to whether gold trim is dishwasher safe - depends upon the age.  I loath putting dh's grandmother's china in a dishwashwer - so it almost never gets used.  (it's over 100 years old.) 

Mine - is supposedly dishwasher safe - but I still make sure it has been well rinsed, and is on a gentle cycle.  No issues so far. The only other thing in the dishwasher at the same time is my inexpensive crystal.  (it's crystal,, but made from a tri-mold, not actually blown and cut.  I'm also not stressed if a child breaks one because I can replace it. - ebay or replacements)

[Guest]

We *have* discussed it before, because one such discussion related to my own wedding china, which has been sitting untouched in boxes for at least ten years. I would happily send it to Goodwill. I don’t have enough dinner plates for guests, so then, the only opportunity to use it would be for my immediate family. Well, none of us ever wants to mess with that. So several years ago, I bought four or five sets of a Corelle pattern I liked and that is what I always use, always; guests or just us; crab cakes or stir fry. 

My china had a gold edge and I observed from my SIL that the dishwasher can ruin the gold edge. 

PS: I still have it in boxes because dh thinks it’s a tragic miscarriage of justice to get rid of our wedding china. So we keep it for no good reason instead. 

[kristin0713]

I started using my Lennox China on holidays only a few years ago. It is platinum rimmed, but since I was only using it a few times a year, I put it in the dishwasher and I didn’t notice a problem. 

[EmilyGF]

Use it!

We visited my in-laws a few years back to help them unpack after a move that was taking months longer that it should have. I was unpacking the kitchen and there were four sets of formal china. Huh?

I asked MIL about it. Apparently, she kept on inheriting china. She tried to resell it and learned it was basically worthless. So she had one set she used daily in winter, another for spring, another for summer, and another for fall. It was so lovely and made her so happy to use the beautiful dishes that had happy memories on a daily basis.

ETA: My grandparents and MIL always put china in the dishwasher. They thought ruining china (long term) was a badge of honor showing you'd had many happy meals.

Emily

Edited December 12, 2020 by EmilyGF

[Familia]

I say use it, because it is such a shame for dishes to sit awaiting guests or interested descendants.  

But, I have a question re: lead.  So, by ‘tableware’, it is meant dishes to eat off of.  If that has been regulated since the 1970s, why are we to worry about lead in our everyday dishes (from Target, etc...lots of new items mentioned in recent thread)?  Is it not true that regulation has stopped lead use/content?  Or, is it that current dishes contain lead in a way that slips through the cracks of the regulation.  Or, were we only talking about Pyrex in that thread?   I thought I remember recent dishes being a concern.  I am confused!  

[marbel]

We have only 6 place settings of our fine china from our wedding registry. I use it a few times a year for special family dinners. There are just 4 of us, so it's fine. They have a gold rim so they're hand-washed, but for 4 of us I don't find it a big deal to manage. 

Our "everyday" dinnerware is some Wedgwood my husband had when we got married. I guess it was his wedding china from his first marriage. We have a boatload of it so we just use it. I don't really love it but it's plain and doesn't bother me enough to want to get new stuff. That goes in the dishwasher. 

[mommyoffive]

4 hours ago, Quill said:

We *have* discussed it before, because one such discussion related to my own wedding china, which has been sitting untouched in boxes for at least ten years. I would happily send it to Goodwill. I don’t have enough dinner plates for guests, so then, the only opportunity to use it would be for my immediate family. Well, none of us ever wants to mess with that. So several years ago, I bought four or five sets of a Corelle pattern I liked and that is what I always use, always; guests or just us; crab cakes or stir fry. 

My china had a gold edge and I observed from my SIL that the dishwasher can ruin the gold edge. 

PS: I still have it in boxes because dh thinks it’s a tragic miscarriage of justice to get rid of our wedding china. So we keep it for no good reason instead. 

If I can't use it then why am I keeping it?   I have the same issue.  I got several sets passed down to me that are just sitting in boxes in the basement.  I thought I could just use them.    I guess I need to get rid of them. 

[Arcadia]

1 hour ago, Familia said:

But, I have a question re: lead.  So, by ‘tableware’, it is meant dishes to eat off of.  If that has been regulated since the 1970s, why are we to worry about lead in our everyday dishes (from Target, etc...lots of new items mentioned in recent thread)?  Is it not true that regulation has stopped lead use/content?  

Quality control. While regulation has stopped lead use/content, things like the Thomas the Tank Engine toys recall just shows quality control checking isn’t foolproof. 
You could buy a lead test kit from Home Depot or any hardware store.

[Arcadia]

@Familia

News article posted 2010, updated in 2016 https://www.wthr.com/mobile/article/news/investigations/13-investigates/13-investigates-lead-your-dishes/531-16b01852-2b15-4a36-8dc4-f0255588180e

“Most products that contain lead are regulated by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. Prompted by massive recalls involving lead-tainted toys imported from China, the CPSC recently began enforcing a more stringent lead standard. Toys and other children's products are allowed to contain up to 300 parts per million of lead; items containing more lead are illegal for sale in the United States.

The XRF, which analyzes a product's total lead content by using x-rays that penetrate the surface, is commonly used by government agencies to conduct lead tests on toys and ceramic dinnerware. 13 Investigates obtained an Innov-X Systems XRF analyzer (and training on how to use it) and then tested hundreds of dishes.

Test results top 100,000

The testing included new dishes purchased from popular local retailers, as well as older dishes borrowed from the cupboards of WTHR staff members. Of the 315 plates, bowls and mugs analyzed, 113 (36%) exceeded the CPSC lead limit of 300 ppm used as a benchmark for children's products. One out of ten dishes contained more than 10,000 ppm of lead, and several of them topped 100,000 ppm.

"I wouldn't use a plate or a bowl that had that much lead in it," said Karla Johnson, director of the Marion County Health Department's Lead Safe and Healthy Homes Program. "I just wouldn't. There's no need."

WTHR found no common characteristic among the plates that yielded high lead content. Some featured bright colors and bold patters while others were plain white. Some of the plates came from China, England and Germany and others were produced in Italy, Japan and the United States. Some of the dishes were brand new and some are antiques.

"That's the dilemma for many families because you don't know by looking at it if it's got a lot of lead. It's just a guessing game, and that's unfortunate," Johnson said.

"Just not dangerous"

Despite high levels of lead found by WTHR and the Marion County Health Department, Spence says there's no reason for consumers to worry. She believes the lead in most plates is harmless.

"It's just not dangerous," Spence said. "What matters is not whether there's lead in it, but whether the lead comes out in a manner that it gets into your food so it gets into your body."

The federal government agrees with her.

Unlike toys and most other consumer products, dishes are regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration. The FDA doesn't care how much lead is in a plate; it wants to know how much lead leaches out – something an XRF cannot detect. For that, there is a special leach test that can only be done in a laboratory. 13 Investigates hired two labs to conduct leach testing on 18 separate dishes that contain high levels of lead.

On several of the dishes, lead did leach during the test. A bowl leached 15 ppm of lead, which is far above the FDA's safe allowable leaching limit of 2 ppm. Another bowl exceeded California's much tougher lead limit of .100 ppm. (California and Massachusetts currently have stricter lead limits for ceramic tableware than the federal limits that apply to Indiana and other states.)

Testing also showed a plate featuring a popular cartoon character leached cadmium, a toxic substance linked to several forms of cancer.

But most of the plates sent to a lab for leach testing by Eyewitness News – including all of the plates recently purchased from local retailers – leached only tiny amounts of lead, well below the FDA standard. The cadmium detected by WTHR was within FDA limits too.“

[Pam in CT]

There is an exquisite poem by Kathleen Norris that speaks to this very thing - it's about her beloved grandmother's goblets that she was always afraid to use for fear of breaking them and thereby "losing" some part of her grandmother; and how she eventually came to change her mind and decide that, rather, her grandmother was with her whenever she used the goblets; she should use them all the time.  I love that.

I just searched for the poem and cannot find it online, so I will search down my hard copies later; but in the meantime I give you this jewel which I discovered in the search for it, unlooked-for serendipity which I will now mull over for the rest of this short dark day amidst a broken time...

 

Mrs. Adam

By Kathleen Norris

 

I have lately come to the conclusion that I am Eve,
alias Mrs. Adam. You know, there is no account
of her death in the Bible, and why am I not Eve?
Emily Dickinson in a letter,
12 January, 1846

 

Wake up,

you’ll need your wits about you.

This is not a dream,

but a woman who loves you, speaking.

 

She was there

when you cried out;

she brushed the terror away.

She knew

when it was time to sin.

You were wise

to let her handle it,

and leave that place.

 

We couldn’t speak at first

for the bitter knowledge,

the sweet taste of memory

on our tongues.

 

Listen, it’s time.

You were chosen too,

to put the world together.

 

[Carol in Cal.]

I have a lot of our wedding china, which is Wedgewood Osborne.  It has a gold rim so I don’t put it in a microwave.
I pictured hosting Big Family Holidays like my grandmother did, with all the fine china brought out every year.  We also used it for our anniversary and birthdays, but the BFHs did not materialize in a dominant way, and once I went back to working full time 16 years ago I never could do one again.  So there is not the residue of great memories associated with this pattern or these dishes, yet DH and I really like them.

So I pulled out 4 of the dinner plates and started using them fairly often, and putting them in the dishwasher.  It did indeed wear down the gold trim but it gives me such a lift to see them on the table that I think it is worth it.  

A significant number of the serving pieces have literally never been used—the soup tureen, for instance.  I hate that, but it’s the life that I have.  Someday I hope to get to the point of enjoying their use.  

My brother and his wife got married a couple of years after we did, and picked the same pattern.  So I will probably ask that their kids get ours when we pass on, as DD does not like formal table settings.  That way his 4 kids will be more likely to have a reasonable amount each, since he has some, and we have 12 dinner settings and 16 luncheon plates and a ton of two kinds of soup bowls to add to the mix.

Edited December 13, 2020 by Carol in Cal.

[SoCal_Bear]

I do want to start using my set when my DD4 is a bit older. It's been sitting in boxes for many years at this point. Thought I would share a photo just for fun. I always like seeing photos.