I love my light yellow, Southern Living plates I bought years ago, but I am not thrilled with the dark marks on them! What the heck are they? Why do they appear? Well, it is time to save those dishes from the trash bin (or donation pile!).

What the heck are those dark marks on my dishes?! (And how to get rid of them!) From SimpleSolutionsDiva.com.
What the heck are those dark marks on my dishes?! (And how to get rid of them!) From SimpleSolutionsDiva.com.

 

The marks are from the utensils used to eat off the dishes. Why this happens? There seems to be many answers:

  1. They are cheap dishes (They weren’t cheap when I bought them at a Southern Living Home Party!).
  2. They are old and the protective coating (ceramic glaze) has thinned on the surface of the plate, allowing the utensils to make their marks. (Quite possible, considering I bought these about 8 years ago – how long are dishes supposed to last?)
  3. Something in the composition of the plate reacts to the utensils.

Here is the trick to removing the marks off the plates:

Bar Keepers Friend, the key to removing dark marks from dishes!
Bar Keepers Friend, the key to removing dark marks from dishes!

 

Instructions:

Be sure to wet your plate and sprinkle with Bar Keepers Friend (it also comes in liquid form). Using a sponge, gently scrub surface of plate in a circular motion. Rinse once you see the marks gone. Hand wash with liquid soap or place in dishwasher for thorough cleaning.  That is it!

Check out how well Bar Keepers Friend worked!
Check out how well Bar Keepers Friend worked!

 

Last year I covered this for my “Putting Pinterest To The Test” video series, comparing this technique to another technique using Cream Of Tartar. The video is below:
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Thank you to WTLV-TV’s First Coast Living for inviting me on to speak about this handy technique! And here is the video from First Coast Living:

 

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