LESLIE: Rosalie in New Jersey, welcome to The Money Pit. What can we do for you?
ROSALIE: Yes, I have a Baccarat vase that’s about 15 years old and over the years, from having flowers in it, the water has clouded the bottom half of the vase. I have used sand; I have used bleach; I have used vinegar and I can’t get the clouding out.
TOM: Well, it may not be clouding at all. It might be that it etched the glass surface.
ROSALIE: The water etched …?
TOM: The water etched the surface. Yeah, it might be that and that’s not uncommon in an old vase like that or in windows as well. We see that quite frequently. So if you used various cleaning solutions and you can’t get that out, it might not be something that can get out. It might be that interior surface of the vase is etched and that’s why it looks that way.
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) It’s etched. Have you tried – when you’re using the vinegar are you using straight vinegar?
ROSALIE: Yes.
LESLIE: Have you tried heating it; like boiling that vinegar and then putting it in and then leaving it in for like a day or two?
ROSALIE: (overlapping voices) No. No, I haven’t done that.
LESLIE: I mean it’s worth a shot. Another thing is something called Barkeeper’s Friend …
ROSALIE: Yes.
LESLIE: … and you use it – have you tried it?
ROSALIE: No, I haven’t. It’s a strange-shaped vase; the top of it is narrower.
LESLIE: Hard to get your hand in there.
TOM: Yeah.
ROSALIE: Hard to get your hand in but I do have a brush.
TOM: You have a bottle brush that can reach down in there with it?
ROSALIE: Yes.
TOM: Mm-hmm.
ROSALIE: I will try the Barkeeper’s Friend. I also – as we’re talking, I thought about baking soda (AUDIO GAP) for a lot of things. Would you suggest me making a paste out of the vinegar and baking soda?
TOM: No. Just – you can try vinegar and water. You can also try CLR, which …
ROSALIE: Yes.
TOM: … stands for calcium, lime, rust and that takes away mineral deposits. But if you’re trying all these solutions and it doesn’t come clean, just accept the fact that it may not be something that comes out and it may just be an etching on the interior of the glass that can’t come out.
ROSALIE: Wow.
LESLIE: Yeah, and definitely try the hot vinegar as one of your solutions.
ROSALIE: Yes.
LESLIE: Try the Barkeeper’s Friend; even if the CLR, another thing along those lines or Lime-A-Way but it’s the same product really.
TOM: Good luck, Rosalie.
ROSALIE: Thank you.
TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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