Crystal chandeliers have come a long way from the days as traditional, stately pieces only enjoyed in the most formal of spaces and positioned to impress guests in the dining room or the foyer. Crystal’s are found in various lighting applications of all shapes and sizes and their sparkling, elegant affect is energizing areas of the home from powder room and office to kitchen and bath.

More crystal means more cleaning, but it does not have to be too taxing. A few simple guidelines will help to keep your crystal chandeliers looking their best.

How to clean it

If you do not wish to remove the crystal components from the piece, you can use a spray. After the piece is sprayed, wipe off the solution with white cotton gloves. Crystal chandelier manufacturer Schonbek recommends a solution of one part isopropyl alcohol to three parts distilled water, while Waterford’’s chief lighting designer Billy Canning says hot soapy water will do the trick. Both agree that special cleaning formulas aren’’t needed.

“A real no-no in the area of cleaning chandeliers: …If the chandelier is adorned with a traditional polished gold finish or polished silver finish but it i’s not stainless steel, people will use these sprays that you can buy,” says Eileen Schonbek Beer, Creative Director for Schonbek Worldwide Lighting. “Basically, what the manufacturers say is you spray the chandelier and let the stuff drip off, that cleans the crystal. But in fact what it does is ruin the frames of the chandelier.”

If more aggressive cleaning is needed, the crystal parts will need to be removed from the frame. The crystals can then be hand-washed in soapy water, rinsed clean and dried with a cloth. Schonbek provides trim diagrams that detail reassembly of the chandelier.

For dusting between cleanings, Schonbek recommends using a feather duster, lambswool duster or a make-up brush.

How often to clean it

In general, crystal should be cleaned every two to six months. The frequency of cleaning required depends on where it is used and how easy it is to get to the piece.  According to Canning, extremely large pieces like 20-foot chandeliers can get away with being cleaned only once a year.

Since crystal lighting is being featured in virtually every room of the house these days, some pieces may need more frequent cleanings based on their location. Chandeliers used in kitchens will need more detailed cleaning due to oil and grease buildup, as well as dust sticking to the components due to moisture from sinks and stoves.

“The beauty of crystal, of course, is the prismatic refraction of the light passing through the crystal ornament,” says Beer. “So the minute it’s got any kind of residue of dust or even moisture — like in moist climates in Florida — the humidity will cause dust to adhere to the crystal and the salt in the air will kind of make it cloudy. So you actually have to clean crystal pretty regularly.”

Maintaining a regular cleaning schedule for crystal will always keep it sparkling. Yet if a piece is neglected, all it takes is a little extra effort with the methods listed above to make it shine like new.

“In my personal experience, I have been asked by many auction houses to identify Waterford products many times,” says Canning. “In most cases the difficulty with identification would have been that the chandelier was allowed to get dirty and the crystal would appear dull. But in all cases, when properly cleaned, they can look as good as the day they were bought.”

For the Chore-Challenged

For customers who aren’t ready to get into the nitty gritty of cleaning their crystal by hand, suggest the Da Vinci chandelier from the Geometrix collection by Schonbek. The crystals stay attached to a stainless steel frame that can be placed directly in the dishwasher. The Da Vinci is available in a 10-inch or 36-inch diameter. The only Da Vinci that will not make it to the dishwasher is the dramatic 5-foot model.

Are you still struggling to lower your electric bill? Maybe you have made a conscious effort to turn off lights and shorten your showers and you are not seeing that big of a difference. There is more you can do that will not change the way you go about your daily routine. It is by reducing your phantom power usage. What is phantom power, you ask? An electrician in Glendale, like those at The Electric Connection is here to explain what phantom power is and why it is costing you money every month.

Phantom power is the electricity that is used by anything that is plugged in. Your toaster, your cell phone charger and even your television are all pulling a small current even when they are not powered on. Just because you shut off your television, it doesn’t mean it isn’t using electricity. To reduce phantom power, you will need to unplug things that you are not using. When you leave for work in the morning or before you go to bed at night, unplug anything you won’t be using. You may discover you don’t use your toaster for a week.

Phantom power isn’t costing you a ton of money, but when you reduce the amount of phantom power you are pulling, you can help add to the savings you have already implemented. By combining your phantom power reduction, limiting the lights and taking shorter showers, you can save more than 20 dollars a month on your Glendale electrical bill. As you know, every dollar saved counts. You can help make reducing your phantom power a little easier by using power strips in areas where there are several items that are plugged in, like your entertainment area or computer area. Unplugging a single power strip is much easier than unplugging numerous devices. If you have any questions about phantom power or would like to learn more about energy savings, give The Electric Connection a call today.

Let’s face it—halogen and incandescent headlight bulbs are a thing of the past. fanless, driverless LED headlight bulbs were used in this installation.

If your vehicle allows for horizontal adjustments, mark the distance between your headlight centers with two vertical lines of tape. These lines are important for projector headlights and/or lining up beam cutoff points. Repeat these tape lines for your other headlight.

6. Remove your headlight assembly if necessary, remove the current bulbs, and install your new LED bulbs. Check your owner’s manual for specific instructions on how to replace your headlight bulbs.

7. Depending on your vehicle, you may have to adjust your headlight beam before or after the assembly has been reinstalled. Your owner’s manual will explain how to adjust the beams. Align each headlight so that the top edge of the beam is at the same height as your horizontal line(s). If your headlights can be adjusted horizontally or produce two light cutoff points, use the vertical tape lines to align them properly.

3. Shake the vehicle to ensure that your suspension system is settled. For more precise adjustments, inflate all tires to their designated psi capacity and have someone sit in the driver’s seat. Also, make sure that your vehicle’s gas tank is at least half full.

4. Measure from the ground to the center of your headlight assembly where the bulb is located. This step must be done for all vehicles. If your vehicle allows for horizontal headlight adjustments in addition to vertical adjustments, it’s important that you also measure the distance between the centers of both headlight bulbs. The vehicle featured in this video allows for vertical headlight adjustments only; therefore, center lines aren’t necessary but are shown for demonstration purposes.

5. Turn on your low-beam headlights. Using painter’s tape, mark your headlight measurements on a flat wall. Measure from the ground up, and apply a horizontal line of tape to the wall; this line represents the top of your headlight beam. You can either apply one long, continuous line or small sections where the brightest areas of the headlight beams are shown.

If your vehicle allows for horizontal adjustments, mark the distance between your headlight centers with two vertical lines of tape. These lines are important for projector headlights and/or lining up beam cutoff points.

Whether your home is old or new, there are probably some things you would like to change about it. While the layout and existing construction is often the first thing you think of, wouldn’t it be nice to make your work for you a bit more? If you have been dealing with a breaker that trips frequently or have to turn off everything in order to use a certain tool or appliance that is a bit of an energy hog, you could probably benefit from an electric panel upgrade. An electrician in Pasadena, like those at The Electric Connection, can help bring your home up to your electrical standards.

If your home is older (more than 50 years) it wouldn’t hurt to have an electrical inspection. During the inspection, the condition of your wiring will be evaluated to determine if your electrical problems may be due to faulty or deteriorating wires. You have to imagine 50 years ago, the average home had a handful of items that needed electricity. Today, almost every outlet in the house is in use with various computer cords, cell phone chargers and a long list of gadgets that make our lives easier.

Because of this, your Pasadena electrical needs are a little different and an electric panel upgrade will support all the gadgets you need and want without having to share outlets or unplug everything so you can use one appliance. In some cases, the panel itself may be just fine and you will just need an additional breaker installed. All of this can be determined after the electrician does the inspection and talks with you about what your needs are. From there, you can make a decision about what will work best for you. When you are ready or if you would like to learn more about an electric panel upgrade, give The Electric Connection a call today.