Spode Tableware Care

Scratching/Safe Storage

Spode’s glaze is relatively hard and resists most cutlery scratches but materials of equal hardness will scratch one another. When your plates are stacked together, the back of one item can scratch the front of the plate below, so you may like to stack your plates with paper or tissues separating them.

We recommend you do not slide the plates over one another, whether wet or dry, it is better to always lift them as this avoids scratching the plates.

Cups should be stored rim down and just be careful when stacking cups as this weakens the handles.

Washing by Hand

Before showing off your new purchases, hand washing is always recommended. For best results always hand wash your tableware in hot water using a liquid detergent. Even in water, glaze surfaces can be scratched it rubbed against one another with any force, so avoid putting too many plates in the water at any one time, drain in a rack and do not handle several plates at one time whilst drying them. Do not use abrasive washing powders or harsh scourers as gold is very soft and can easily be damaged. Soaking in warm water before washing will remove most stains or hardened on particles, but very stubborn stains can be removed by soaking in a mild bleach solution for a few minutes. Fine metal marks caused by cutlery can be removed using a ceramic hob cleaner, e.g. Rescue.

Washing in a Dishwasher

Spode tableware can be safely washed in a dishwasher with the following guidelines applied:

• Do not overload the washer and make sure items do not touch each other.
• Follow the machine manufacturer’s instructions carefully, selecting a low or "energy save" setting where possible.
• Ensure the correct dosage of washing agent, water softener and rinse aid are applied.

Freezers

Spode tableware can be used in the freezer, but take care when re-heating, as no matter how strong the tableware, sudden temperature changes, e.g. taking from a freezer and placing directly into a hot oven, are likely to cause thermal shock which will damage the ware.

Warming Your Tableware

It is perfectly safe to warm your tableware, providing you place the tableware in a cold oven and heat gradually up to 100°C. Alternatively warm in a hostess trolley, or rinse plates/serving dishes in warm water before use.

Microwaves and Ovens

Spode cookware/oven-to-tableware is ideally suited for your cooking purposes. Any pattern that uses gold or platinum decoration must not be used in a microwave oven as this can damage both the ware and the microwave. lf your tableware designs have no precious metal decorations on them, it is safe for use in your microwave.