Foggy Wine Glass

March 23, 2007 11:34 AM

I left water in a wine glass for a couple weeks. Now the wine glass is all foggy. Is my glass doomed or can this be undone?
posted by umlaut to Home & Garden (12 answers total)

Plain glass? Can't you just wash it, possible with something that removes mineral deposits?
posted by DU at 11:46 AM on March 23, 2007

It's probably just minerals once dissolved in the water, that are clouding the glass, but it could be some algae growth, too. A couple ounces of vinegar (which is dilute acetic acid) swished around in it will probably dissolve them completely. Heat the vinegar a bit in a microwave before putting it in the glass, for faster action.
posted by paulsc at 11:48 AM on March 23, 2007

Response by poster: It's the Riedel "O" series. It was a gift; not sure if it's crystal or not. Looks like the fog you get after years of dishwasher washing. (Which I wouldn't do to a wine glass.)
posted by umlaut at 11:49 AM on March 23, 2007

Let some white vinegar sit in it for an hour.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 12:23 PM on March 23, 2007

Vinegar should work. I use it to remove water marks inside glass vases. Efferdent (fizzy denture cleaner) also works.
posted by wryly at 1:06 PM on March 23, 2007

toothpaste.
posted by Hugh Jorgan at 1:33 PM on March 23, 2007

2nd toothpaste.
posted by matty at 2:36 PM on March 23, 2007

Most toothpaste contains powdered silica, which can permanently fog glass if you rub it. Don' t try using toothpaste unless other approaches fail, and only use it after trying that toothpaste on some other glass that you don't care about.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 3:32 PM on March 23, 2007

Lime-Away!
posted by snsranch at 4:34 PM on March 23, 2007

I use a small amount of baking soda and water to remove tea and coffee stains in mugs and coffee pots, rather easily. If you are in the mood to experiment I would try it.
posted by Brian B. at 5:46 PM on March 23, 2007

I learned recently the power of vinegar to clean stainless steel pans; I'd surely give it a try, the stuff is amazing as a cleaner.
posted by dancestoblue at 6:30 PM on March 23, 2007

It can be undone. You should specify if the glass is glass or crystal.
posted by Four Flavors at 11:57 AM on March 26, 2007