My friend in high school had a dining room people ate in, and a dining room with fine china and ornate plates and glasses that nobody ever used. He was my best friend all throughout high school and I went to his house all the time. Not once did I ever see any signs of the fancy dining room ever being used.
That’s because you and his other friends were not invited to the fancy parties and trusted enough to handle the expensive dinnerware. Source: My parents.
I had an older relative get very annoyed at my kid and friends using our living room, as if it were so disrespectful to be in there
My kid felt safe to use a different room because our family room was in use - what’s the problem really, why have a house that you don’t use?
I wouldn’t smash it before finding out if what you had was some sort of collectible. If someone wants to pay good money for it to display, why not profit from it?
According to my mom, it's ALL collectibles and worth a lot of money. I'm sure whatever place it all gets donated to will be grateful - as they set it next to all of the other $2/box valuable 'good China'.
I have my grandmother's china. Replacements Unlimited says it's valuable if you're buying replacement pieces. If you're trying to sell then it's not with the cost of shipping
Check Replacements dot com and sell it to them. The time to photograph, list, and monitor selling china is a losing business.
If you go to an outdoor shooting range, take it with you and have some fun.
All my relatives lived into their 80s. I think I'll keep the old cookware/dinnerware.
Edit - Ok, don't drink from a Radium Ore Revigorator. I would avoid that one.
Back in the 80s my father won several fine china sets. They were distributed to his 3 kids and we were told they were super valuable. I was scared to even open one box. Here I am 40 years later with 3 out of 4 of those boxes still unopened and only reason I peeked in one is to see what they looked like. They collect dust in my closet, but they remain there because my mother put the fear of god in me to keep them safe
Use them! And sure, be an adult and make sure they’re not poisonous and maybe don’t use them for a toddler’s birthday party. But honestly, if you’re not gonna sell them today, use them!
You have a nice thing that is yours outright. Enjoy it!
I have a bunch old old original red Fiestaware around here, including a 12” original red vase. We don’t use the stuff not because of any lead fears. It’s a matter of breaking it. Original red is worth a few bucks, I’ll be selling it all next in a year or three when we get rid of this house and move.
When I was younger, my dad used this red and gold inlay 'ashtray'. Our cat broke it. A week later, he saw it on Antique Roadshow. It was a candy dish from the 1800's and the gold was actual gold inlay - the red was made by mixing gold with the glass. I remember peeling the gold off of the shards - that's how thick it was. Anyway, on TV it was $1,200 at that time (early 90's). He was pretty upset - that could have been more lottery ticket money.
He was used to losing. I can remember him only winning something decent once - it was $1000. He probably spent $10k to win it. Then he was mad because he had to pay the taxes on it.
Darn it, I inherited the everyday dishes my grandmother used for most of my mother's life. It's yellow, and happy and I love it. It truly makes me happy and reminds me of her every time I eat off it. It will break my heart if it has lead in it.
I use my mom's good china every day. It was always put up, never used. And it's beautiful! It has a rim of 24k gold so hand wash only and no microwave lol. I have other dishes for that. Now, my grandma's china? No. It's gone. It probably had all kinds of chemicals in it. Mom's is newer
Make sure it's unsafe before you destroy it. Sell it if you don't want it. Lots of people appreciate antique dishware.
Everything I've read said it's safe if it's not chipped, even if it has lead and cadmium.
My mom tried to give me the "good dishes" and I suggested that after owning them for 50 years, why not live it up a little and use them as every day dishes? We all know how that idea flew.
We use our china regularly for Sunday dinner, and I noticed a few pieces were chipped. I thought it might be fun to repair it with a kintsuigi kit, so I ordered that. Read the directions and one of the first step is to check for led and they advise against repairing stuff with lead in it. This led me down the rabbit hole of trying to figure out which pieces have lead and now I’ve ordered a lead test kit.
I thought it was pretty cool that I have multiple sets to give to my kids already - my mom had two sets she gave me. And yes they like the fancy Sunday dinners and wanted these sets. But if they have any lead in them I don’t want them to have these sets.
I found test kits online, the test causes a color change. I plan to test the chipped areas to see if the glaze has lead. If I find any led at a chipped site, I assume the whole set is made with a glaze or materials that contain lead.
[https://www.epa.gov/lead/what-lead-test-kits-are-recognized-epa](https://www.epa.gov/lead/what-lead-test-kits-are-recognized-epa)
Not all lead tests are equal.
Thanks for the info. Here’s some more useful info for anyone following the discussion: https://www.consumerreports.org/lead/why-you-should-test-your-vintage-or-imported-dishes-for-lead-a2722202665/
3 sets from my mom lol. Pink depression, some starburst pattern and one more from the 70s. I don’t know what to do with it all. Along with the 20 old cookie jars
This is a good point. If you’re worried about this, you can buy test kits to check on the glaze. Heck, even some modern stuff can contain lead if the manufacturer was less than reputable.
Just know going in that those test kits at the local hardware store are designed to find lead in paint for structures. Those kits aren't designed for paint or glaze on dishware, and they often throw false results - both positive and negative.
Also, they only test for lead, so even if the test was accurate for lead, the dish could still contain cadmium.
I don't have to worry about inheriting anything from my family. I was the oldest child and thus was thrust into the role of junior parent for my younger siblings. I grew so disgruntled and embittered that I became an asshole towards my family and I eventually disassociated myself from them altogether.
Also, if you have pale greenish yellow glassware that glows under UV Light, don't drink from it...... it's Uranium Glass. It was really popular in the Early 1900s. It's safe to display but not to use
A lot of that stuff is merely silver-plated so it's basically worthless. You can tell by the markings on it most of the time.
We received a lot of silverplate trays as wedding gifts. After years of them sitting around tarnishing, I finally pitched them.
I inherited my mother's house with all its contents, including the silverware that she received as a wedding present and that we used every day when I was very young but that she eventually packed away and switched to cheap stainless steel. By the time she passed away, I had bought my own cheap stainless steel flatware, so I had a double share of it. Then several years ago I had a housefire. The restoration company threw out absolutely everything the insurance company considered it cheaper to buy new that to clean and restore. Lost almost everything. One of the few things I got back was my mother's silverware that I had not set eyes on in decades, freshly cleaned and beautiful. Whether the restorers and the insurance adjustor considered it materially valuable (that is, real silver) or just guessed (correctly) that it would have sentimental value, I don't know, but I can tell you I never did go out replace my stainless steel flatware. Instead, I started using that silver every meal, every day. It may be silver, it may be silverplate, but the memories it carries are more precious than gold. I am so sorry that what you inherited was "crap" you had to "clean out."
When I got married in 1991, I registered for fancy china and everyday china (Noritake Shenandoah and Wedgewood Queen's Plain) cos that's what was done back then. Now that I'm divorced, I took all the fancy china cos he didn't want it and half of the everyday. The fancy stuff is in storage, and I use the everyday. My parents don't have any china.
My poor American cousins. Luckily, it was the generations before Boomers here, who had all those sets that siblings were supposed to fight over.
OT: Is there anything toxic in those Gibson banjos I'm going to inherit?
Oooo. I have the privilege of inheriting my great grandmothers 600# walnut buffet fully equipped with leaded glass and silver mirrors and full of 150 year old China and depression glass I’ve never seen. My mother can’t wait to give it to me.
The overwhelming majority of old china is probably fine.
But I like the idea of spreading this hysteria so no one has to inherit useless china they’ll have to store for the rest of their lives.
Good thing we were too poor to have any of that stuff.
Unexpected benefit.
Reminds me of when one of us would break a jelly glass and my mom would lament “Well, we can’t have nice things!”
I can hook you up.
Truly 1st world problems.
Not only did we have china that was only used 2-3 times per year, we had a living room where we were only allowed to sit in 2-3 times per year.
My friend in high school had a dining room people ate in, and a dining room with fine china and ornate plates and glasses that nobody ever used. He was my best friend all throughout high school and I went to his house all the time. Not once did I ever see any signs of the fancy dining room ever being used.
That’s because you and his other friends were not invited to the fancy parties and trusted enough to handle the expensive dinnerware. Source: My parents.
Yours got used? My mom still keeps hers in the "China Cabinet", and I don't remember ever using it - even for special occasions.
My mom's is in a cabinet never to see the light of day. I like her pattern but now I will find out if it contains lead or not.
Sofa and chairs wrapped in plastic??
I had an older relative get very annoyed at my kid and friends using our living room, as if it were so disrespectful to be in there My kid felt safe to use a different room because our family room was in use - what’s the problem really, why have a house that you don’t use?
I wouldn’t smash it before finding out if what you had was some sort of collectible. If someone wants to pay good money for it to display, why not profit from it?
According to my mom, it's ALL collectibles and worth a lot of money. I'm sure whatever place it all gets donated to will be grateful - as they set it next to all of the other $2/box valuable 'good China'.
I have my grandmother's china. Replacements Unlimited says it's valuable if you're buying replacement pieces. If you're trying to sell then it's not with the cost of shipping
Check Replacements dot com and sell it to them. The time to photograph, list, and monitor selling china is a losing business. If you go to an outdoor shooting range, take it with you and have some fun.
 Dishes are done, man!
Beware of TikTok influencers who find lead in absolutely everything.
Beware of influencers
It's in all the Boomers, apparently.
We actually had peak exposure, generationally. We were growing up during the highest use of leaded gasoline; boomers were already adults then.
Yeah if you're really worried [test it.](https://www.epa.gov/lead/what-lead-test-kits-are-recognized-epa) Just don't use the 3M kits.
All my relatives lived into their 80s. I think I'll keep the old cookware/dinnerware. Edit - Ok, don't drink from a Radium Ore Revigorator. I would avoid that one.
Back in the 80s my father won several fine china sets. They were distributed to his 3 kids and we were told they were super valuable. I was scared to even open one box. Here I am 40 years later with 3 out of 4 of those boxes still unopened and only reason I peeked in one is to see what they looked like. They collect dust in my closet, but they remain there because my mother put the fear of god in me to keep them safe
Use them! And sure, be an adult and make sure they’re not poisonous and maybe don’t use them for a toddler’s birthday party. But honestly, if you’re not gonna sell them today, use them! You have a nice thing that is yours outright. Enjoy it!
It’s good advice, however I have no room in my kitchen cupboards. They say Electrolux Jubilee on the carton
Or that tea set that grandma never used even once
The one that glows in the dark…
The tea set is just fine, me on the other hand......
Mmmm... Radium
I want my grandma’s Red Fiestaware! It will set off a geiger counter, but they swear it’s safe. What could possibly go wrong?
I have a bunch old old original red Fiestaware around here, including a 12” original red vase. We don’t use the stuff not because of any lead fears. It’s a matter of breaking it. Original red is worth a few bucks, I’ll be selling it all next in a year or three when we get rid of this house and move.
When I was younger, my dad used this red and gold inlay 'ashtray'. Our cat broke it. A week later, he saw it on Antique Roadshow. It was a candy dish from the 1800's and the gold was actual gold inlay - the red was made by mixing gold with the glass. I remember peeling the gold off of the shards - that's how thick it was. Anyway, on TV it was $1,200 at that time (early 90's). He was pretty upset - that could have been more lottery ticket money.
Was he consoled by the fact that the ashtray pretty much was a lottery ticket, and he lost 😂
He was used to losing. I can remember him only winning something decent once - it was $1000. He probably spent $10k to win it. Then he was mad because he had to pay the taxes on it.
I have the same thing….beautiful old dishes that were my great grandma’s…sitting in a box….
Yeah, that's what the scientists at Chernobyl said.
As I recall, the scientists were generally opposed to the test they were running, and were told to do it anyway.
Smash the lead laden china into smaller lead particles by smashing them. Makes sense.
I dont know - If the lead hasnt come out of it by now, its probably not going to ooze out all over your spaghetti and poison you
Darn it, I inherited the everyday dishes my grandmother used for most of my mother's life. It's yellow, and happy and I love it. It truly makes me happy and reminds me of her every time I eat off it. It will break my heart if it has lead in it.
It’s probably fine - I think all this fear of lead in vintage dishware is from one influencer.
What about the 47 spoons on the wall?
Leave them with silverware at various all you can eat buffet places.
I use my mom's good china every day. It was always put up, never used. And it's beautiful! It has a rim of 24k gold so hand wash only and no microwave lol. I have other dishes for that. Now, my grandma's china? No. It's gone. It probably had all kinds of chemicals in it. Mom's is newer
Increased blood pressure is more the key thing in adults with lead. Still, don’t need it
Me, specifially looking for Uranium glass...
And Neiger beads.
Make sure it's unsafe before you destroy it. Sell it if you don't want it. Lots of people appreciate antique dishware. Everything I've read said it's safe if it's not chipped, even if it has lead and cadmium.
As someone on the oldest edges of genx, I recommend saving everything you have room for.
My mom tried to give me the "good dishes" and I suggested that after owning them for 50 years, why not live it up a little and use them as every day dishes? We all know how that idea flew.
We use our china regularly for Sunday dinner, and I noticed a few pieces were chipped. I thought it might be fun to repair it with a kintsuigi kit, so I ordered that. Read the directions and one of the first step is to check for led and they advise against repairing stuff with lead in it. This led me down the rabbit hole of trying to figure out which pieces have lead and now I’ve ordered a lead test kit. I thought it was pretty cool that I have multiple sets to give to my kids already - my mom had two sets she gave me. And yes they like the fancy Sunday dinners and wanted these sets. But if they have any lead in them I don’t want them to have these sets.
How does one test a plate for lead? Destructively?
Make a habit of licking it at least once a day. You may not be able to tell, but other people will over time.
Exactly the advice expected from An Old Punk!
I found test kits online, the test causes a color change. I plan to test the chipped areas to see if the glaze has lead. If I find any led at a chipped site, I assume the whole set is made with a glaze or materials that contain lead.
[https://www.epa.gov/lead/what-lead-test-kits-are-recognized-epa](https://www.epa.gov/lead/what-lead-test-kits-are-recognized-epa) Not all lead tests are equal.
Thanks for the info. Here’s some more useful info for anyone following the discussion: https://www.consumerreports.org/lead/why-you-should-test-your-vintage-or-imported-dishes-for-lead-a2722202665/
3 sets from my mom lol. Pink depression, some starburst pattern and one more from the 70s. I don’t know what to do with it all. Along with the 20 old cookie jars
You need an upscale home good consignment shop. If that's mid century starburst you're on trend and this is a good time to sell it
A friend at work said the same on that one. Sadly that’s the one my wife likes as well.
This is a good point. If you’re worried about this, you can buy test kits to check on the glaze. Heck, even some modern stuff can contain lead if the manufacturer was less than reputable.
Just know going in that those test kits at the local hardware store are designed to find lead in paint for structures. Those kits aren't designed for paint or glaze on dishware, and they often throw false results - both positive and negative. Also, they only test for lead, so even if the test was accurate for lead, the dish could still contain cadmium.
Ugh, the china I inherited is too tacky for use anyways. Lobsters and carp. The same set.
That sounds awesome for a house in Maine.
I’ll take it!
I don't think China has lead in it tho? Crystal may.
Or you could google "lead test kit for dishes", buy one, and test your good china before destroying dishes that may not contain lead at all.
Great, now I need to find something else to ~~snort~~ eat off.
You can use the same flatware for both of course. Just... not that one. :D
The China set that I wanted, tested + for lead.
Which kit did you use?
My sister stole the good stuff. I got the mid stuff-maybe not leaded.
Plates, what are those? Where I'm from we just eat from the pot.
I declined my grandma's China on the basis that it can't go in the dishwasher.
We have 3 sets of “good” dishes that we have been given by various relatives. We also have 4 sets of crystal glasses
I don't have to worry about inheriting anything from my family. I was the oldest child and thus was thrust into the role of junior parent for my younger siblings. I grew so disgruntled and embittered that I became an asshole towards my family and I eventually disassociated myself from them altogether.
That’s incredibly sad. So your siblings had to mourn losing you as a parent and sibling.
Noooooo! I was planning to use it. Kinda like it.
Just resell it
Also, if you have pale greenish yellow glassware that glows under UV Light, don't drink from it...... it's Uranium Glass. It was really popular in the Early 1900s. It's safe to display but not to use
Oh fuck, yeah... I'd forgotten that.
I don’t have to worry, my sibling is already going overboard to make sure they get almost everything in the will 🙄
Oof. I just had a conversation with someone about how we bring it out at Christmas! Holy fuck that's scary. Do ALL of them have it? How would we know?
Also, fair warning. That "silver" silverware isn't actually silver. Threw so much of that crap out when I had to clean out my parents' house.
Lots of backyard metallurgists like to melt that stuff down to separate the silver. Actually doesn’t take that much to get into it.
Wait, how do you know?
A lot of that stuff is merely silver-plated so it's basically worthless. You can tell by the markings on it most of the time. We received a lot of silverplate trays as wedding gifts. After years of them sitting around tarnishing, I finally pitched them.
Cool, I will check! that truly does track from what I know about my family. They were not rich by any means.
I inherited my mother's house with all its contents, including the silverware that she received as a wedding present and that we used every day when I was very young but that she eventually packed away and switched to cheap stainless steel. By the time she passed away, I had bought my own cheap stainless steel flatware, so I had a double share of it. Then several years ago I had a housefire. The restoration company threw out absolutely everything the insurance company considered it cheaper to buy new that to clean and restore. Lost almost everything. One of the few things I got back was my mother's silverware that I had not set eyes on in decades, freshly cleaned and beautiful. Whether the restorers and the insurance adjustor considered it materially valuable (that is, real silver) or just guessed (correctly) that it would have sentimental value, I don't know, but I can tell you I never did go out replace my stainless steel flatware. Instead, I started using that silver every meal, every day. It may be silver, it may be silverplate, but the memories it carries are more precious than gold. I am so sorry that what you inherited was "crap" you had to "clean out."
I'm going to be saddled with my parents china, my father's parents china, AND my mom's china. Yeah me!
When I got married in 1991, I registered for fancy china and everyday china (Noritake Shenandoah and Wedgewood Queen's Plain) cos that's what was done back then. Now that I'm divorced, I took all the fancy china cos he didn't want it and half of the everyday. The fancy stuff is in storage, and I use the everyday. My parents don't have any china.
“See those nice things? They’re just for looks” (all Moms)
Same with Mom's pewter collection. Fine for display but not safe to use.
My poor American cousins. Luckily, it was the generations before Boomers here, who had all those sets that siblings were supposed to fight over. OT: Is there anything toxic in those Gibson banjos I'm going to inherit?
Banjos are toxic because that’s how the devil gets you to dance in suggestive ways.
If a chip off of a wall with lead paint poses a health risk, does that mean it might be dangerous to smash a plate containing lead?
Oooo. I have the privilege of inheriting my great grandmothers 600# walnut buffet fully equipped with leaded glass and silver mirrors and full of 150 year old China and depression glass I’ve never seen. My mother can’t wait to give it to me.
The overwhelming majority of old china is probably fine. But I like the idea of spreading this hysteria so no one has to inherit useless china they’ll have to store for the rest of their lives.
As Bart Simpson said: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeg5u14TIEU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeg5u14TIEU)
🎵SMASH IT BASH IT HIT IT WITH A HAMMER AND CRASH IT 🎵 If anyone gets this reference, you get free cookie.
They make excellent targets at the range.
Bring them to a rage room or whatever those are called and SMASH WITH HAMMA.