Maintenance and care

On this page you will find some simple tips to fix technical malfunctions and how to clean a chandelier.

The wiring and fittings of all of our lamps have been checked carefully. 
If, however after you installed the lamp, one of the lightbulbs fails to work, there is probably something wrong with the fitting/screwcap. If the lamp does not work at all, it is mostly caused by the dimmer-switch.

The Dimmer-switch.
A defect light-bulb can cause a short-circuit and will blow out the fuse in your dimmer-switch. 
So hold some of these fuses of 1 or 2 ampere in reserve. You can buy them at a hardware shop. 

The Fitting.
If a lightbulb fails to work (and it has no defect) the problem is mostly situated in the fitting. The bulb makes no contact with the lamp in the fitting. 
These pictures show the two most common fitting systems. These systems and other variations are used in small and large fittings.

In the small fitting on the left the problem is that the semicircular brass tab has been pushed downwards too far. You can use a piece of iron wire to lift it up again. Make sure the power is turned off!

In the large fitting on the right the problem is that the outer lip (sometimes there are two opposite each other) makes no contact with the lightbulb. You can use a voltage tester (isolated screwdriver) to pull this tab slightly inwards. Don't pull too far because the lightbulb will push it in the opposite direction and then you make a short circuit and a big bang.

Cleaning.
On this photo you can see number of products for cleaning a chandelier.

These (blue) microfiber cloths make cleaning very easy because of their smooth surface.
If the lamp is not very dirty, we use hot water and cleaning-vinegar. The frame and drops we clean by hand.
If the lamp is very dirty or old, we disconnect the drops from the chandelier and put them in a solution of hot water and St. Marc or soda. Next we rinse them with clean hot water an dry them one by one with a dish towel.
Sometimes we spray a chandelier clean with a solution of St. Marc or Dasty, it works fast but you have to be carefull, you may damage the metal or painted parts of the chandelier.
We do not clean the metal frame to intensly, we just take off the grease and leave the old patina in place.
The brass Dutch chandeliers can be made shiny with copper polish. The ones that are coated with a layer of lacquer can not be polished.

We use a small cone-shaped pair of tongs and wire cutters to attache the drops to the chandelier.

For the patinating of brass pins and wire we use a solution of hot water with a dash of ammonia and a dash of liquid bleach.
Coated brass parts and brassed steel can not be patinated.