Tips on Cleaning Insulators
by Bill and Irma Conrad

Reprinted from "INSULATORS - Crown Jewels of the Wire", September 1970, page 21


Many of you new subscribers have missed our past articles on cleaning insulators and have been reading about the pitfalls of using acid on the carnival and factory flashed insulators. We would like to give you a few of our methods of cleaning. We have used a cleaner called Whink, which is a strong acid and used primarily for removing the rust stain in your bathroom bowl. This cleaner will etch the older and
more porous type glass if you leave your insulator in too long. Use this preparation with extreme caution.

We haven't been able to get Whink in our market lately, but are now using "Morrison's Miracle Water Stain Remover. This is also an acid and will remove any flashed on color. We just tried it on some capacitors that were a milky white. We won't say that this was put on at the factory, as we are not sure, but the white finish came off, leaving a beautiful finish to the glass. It will remove soot and smoke also, for we tried it on a quite dirty beehive. Be sure to read the instructions before you use any cleaning agent.

Alice Martin gave Redu a good try and has found that if you leave your insulators in overnight or even two days that they come clean with a rinse. This cleaner is put out by Amway and cannot be purchased in a store, but from a dealer that calls at your home.

We would like to inject a few strong words into this article now. Never, never mix two cleaning agents together. They can become toxic and when breathed into the lungs can result in severe illness or even death. We do not print this to scare anyone, but as a warning to be extremely careful with any cleansing agent you may use.

We have one more suggestion on showing off your jewels. We use Endust, a commercial product that may be purchased at the grocery, to make our insulators shine. Here again we will warn you to be careful of the carnivals: use lightly on a clean cloth for these beauties. We do hope this will be some help to you in cleaning and shining.