Joseph Gwinn wrote:
In article ,
"Jim Wilkins" wrote:


"Paul K. Dickman" wrote in message
...

"Joseph Gwinn" wrote in message
It is not breakage. The strongly alkaline automatic dishwashing detergent
will etch the surface and they will loose their shine. It will etch
regular glass to, just not as fast.

From wikipedia
Lead crystal should not be cleaned in a dishwasher as the corrosive effect
of dishwasher detergent is high on such types of glass-that is, it will
quickly go 'cloudy'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dishwasher

Paul K. Dickman

I've seen KOH in boiling ethanol etch Pyrex cloudy in a few minutes.


That's pretty severe, but ordinary dishwashing isn't nearly that
extreme. We use the lead crystal wine glasses two or three times a week
so those glasses have been washed at least a hundred times over the last
year, for a few years, and they do not appear to be etched. I'm sure
they will eventually dull, but it won't be fast. And, I'll surely
break them by accident long before.

Joe Gwinn

How do you know they're lead crystal, any indication what brand are
they. A good indication of lead crystal is it appears grey when looking
through a thicker section in much the same way window/float glass
appears green. The stuff certainly isn't used much any more due to the
safety concerns and in art glass I've been told its use is non existent
in the US and in UK/Europe is becoming much less common. A couple of
blowers I know use it as they do a lot of restoration work and cold
workers prefer it as its much softer and easier to work.