Have you known the right way to choose and preserve ceramic?

Ceramics on the market today are very diverse, not only domestic ceramics, but also pottery from China, used pottery purchased from Cambodia is also occupying a large market share due to its low cost. Consumers need to have certain knowledge when buying ceramic utensils, using poor quality ceramic dishes will not be safe for food storage and use because the heavy metal content in glaze has not been completely reduced if ceramic is only baked on low heat (below 1000 celsius degrees), in the long run will affect the health of users.

How to choose pottery: Feel the quality of pottery with your senses.

• Hearing: When buying, use your fingers to knock porcelain, if you hear the clear, resonant sound, the ceramic has been heated to a high temperature and there is no surface damage. If the sound is muddy and low, but the profession still calls “cach” “om”, you should remove that pottery from the cart. “Cach” and “om” ceramics are cracked ceramics due to many reasons that Nam An Craft mentions: Lesions in the internal mass. The transport ceramic meets the collision that causes the inner structure to crack, but the ceramic has not completely cracked and will easily crack even with light impact.

• Sight: Observe the enamel surface to see whether the enamel is coated evenly, stretched on the surface. Enamel is thick or thin. Depending on the taste of each person, some people like irregular glaze that is dark, light and thin, some people like thick glaze, even color, so you can see and love your own way. Enamel has needle puncture holes, moles (black dots) or enamel, the above three errors are completely unavoidable in handmade pottery due to the causes of clay, soot in the kiln, taste ceramic placement in the kiln. The manufacturer will base on these characteristics to identify first grade, second grade, third grade ceramics, etc. You also need to turn the bottom of the product to check if the bottom is ground to smooth the remaining soil particles. sticking by contact with the grate, ceramic with a smooth bottom will help reduce unwanted scratches when in contact with the surface of shelves, cabinets, and dining tables.
• Touch: Check the pattern on ceramic if it is patterned decal, please touch the patterned part to make sure the pattern adheres to the product. Some ceramic products, after being finished, are imprinted at low temperature, the pattern can be peeled by hand, so this is absolutely for decoration, and can not be used to contain food or drinks. When you have experience using many different types of ceramics, you will feel the difference when holding handcrafted ceramics or ceramic made by industrial machines.

Ceramics preservation

After a long period of use, some types of ceramic utensils may stain due to containing potentially colored foods such as tea or coffee. Nam An Craft suggests to you a few ways to make your pottery become like new again:

• With drinking cups, bottles, jars, cornstarch mixed with water, you can add a few drops of lemon essential oil to increase the antiseptic and better deodorizing properties. Wipe through once on the surface and wait 15 minutes after wiping with a soft cloth.
• You do not use the dishwasher to wash ceramic, crockery, patterned porcelain with thermal decal stickers, cracked glaze, co-glaze, dry glaze, cracked glaze (non-glossy glazes).

• It is recommended to wash ceramic utensils with warm water and wash water (with mild or completely natural detergent properties such as water with lemon essential oil). Washes made from natural ingredients will help ceramic to maintain a beautiful durable enamel surface. Wash a second or third time with water at the same temperature and use a clean, soft cloth to dry before storing.
• Epoxy adhesive can cure a crack or crack in ceramics, however it does not apply to ceramics. You need to clean the ceramic surface, make sure there is no dust or dirt on the surface. Wash the ceramic dish with mild detergent and blow dry with a hairdryer. Cover the cracks, batch with epoxy adhesive, followed by drying with an alcohol towel. If you are re-attaching the cracked ceramic to pieces, after attaching to the epoxy adhesive, secure the pasted fragments with wire for at least 24 hours.

Nam An Craft ceramic is baked at high temperature, hand-painted pattern, no industrial decal. Ceramic is heated at temperatures from 1,180 – 1,250 celcius degrees depending on the type of glaze on the product. Nam An Craft pottery is safe for food storage. As a smart consumer, you should choose your favorite pottery with full standards and quality, so that ceramics are not only exhibits but also essential in daily life and safe for your health.