Author Topic: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?  (Read 33208 times)

mustachepungoeshere

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Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« on: March 31, 2017, 04:45:45 AM »
Need Mustachian input.

Our dinner set (bone china but from Target) is eight years old and several of the plates have four or five chips on the rim.

I've heard that chips and cracks become dangerous, both from compounds in the unglazed china leeching into food and from bacteria remaining after being cleaned.

I do have a double set of Royal Doulton Platinum (wedding present) in a cupboard but it's not dishwasher safe.

Options:

- keep using plates, chips and all

- toss the chipped plates and try to get by with the rest of the set, which should be fine most of the time for the two of us

- keep the chipped plates for just in case but make an effort to use unchipped ones

- toss all chipped ones and replace with Target cheapies

- buy a new dinner set of better quality so I'm not asking this question in another eight years

HappierAtHome

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #1 on: March 31, 2017, 05:00:48 AM »
Are chipped plates REALLY dangerous? I use chipped plates (and bowls, and mugs...) all the time. We're clumsy, we chip things easily.

Another Reader

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #2 on: March 31, 2017, 05:03:13 AM »
Throw out chipped plates?  Really?  Not at my house, or my parents' house, or my grandparents' houses.  Buy a set of Corelle if this bothers you.  Generally those break if something happens, and the decision is made for you.  Cracked plates are a different matter.  They tend to break at inopportune times, ruining the food on them.  Seriously cracked plates are discarded here.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #3 on: March 31, 2017, 05:26:30 AM »
I haven't heard about chipped plates being vulnerable to bacteria growth, but if could be an argument for throwing away the worst cases. As you say, you will have enough of them to use the remaining for daily use. When having guests, just use the wedding present and wash by hand, even though especially with guests you would like to use your dishwasher.

Alternative: Start using the wedding present for daily use, use the dishwasher and accept that the gold/silver decorations disappear. As you have a double set, you could do that with a few dishes and keep the rest for when you get visitors.

Another alternative, depending on who gave you the wedding present and if they expect to be served with it: sell the wedding present and buy a new set of cheap plates.

matchewed

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #4 on: March 31, 2017, 05:54:35 AM »
Oh keep them. None of the things you mentioned are actually a problem other than the cracks.

stashgrower

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #5 on: March 31, 2017, 09:13:41 AM »
Thrift store time if you want "new" ones? I'd say keep chips but not cracks.

Khaetra

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #6 on: March 31, 2017, 09:21:08 AM »
I have chipped plates and still use them everyday.  I did have a couple that went from chipped to having slight cracks and those I tossed for safety reasons.  As long as you keep an eye on them they should be fine.

Spork

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #7 on: March 31, 2017, 09:21:30 AM »
Meh.  We've got lots of chipped items.

If you're sending this through a dishwasher... I'm pretty sure the heat (and caustic soaps) are killing bacteria.  I can't say for sure about the dangers of unglazed compounds... but I'm skeptical.  Or to put it another way: If they were dangerous without the glaze, I'd be pretty certain they'd quickly become dangerous with the glaze.  I am sure there are micro fissures and such.  There is almost always an unglazed ring on the bottom where the plate rests when it is fired.  I bet you stack that unglazed part right on a glazed part in your cabinets.

patchyfacialhair

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #8 on: March 31, 2017, 10:05:35 AM »
All of our plates are cheap, chipped, and mismatched. We've also never had food poisoning from home cooked food, eaten on these plates.

Just throw them in the dishwasher; ours has a high heat setting, which sanitizes the dishes. Nothing to worry about.

Kapiira

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #9 on: March 31, 2017, 10:40:41 AM »
I would keep them, but if you really want to replace them you can get cheap dishes from Target that will last all of eternity.  Someone else mentioned Corelle dishes and I'll second that.  I'm currently using a set of Corelle dishes that my grandparents bought in the 70s.

I would recommend looking for them in thrift stores except that they are hard to come by.

HipGnosis

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #10 on: March 31, 2017, 11:00:22 AM »
I've seen LOTS of plates at thrift stores.
The ones with metallic trim are really plentiful and cheap - I think it's because most people don't want them because you can't put them in a microwave.  I've seen multiple full sets of them.
I've also seen ceramic plates at the bigger dollar stores.  I bought 2 of them - one isn't quite flat.

Spork

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #11 on: March 31, 2017, 11:11:54 AM »
I've seen LOTS of plates at thrift stores.
The ones with metallic trim are really plentiful and cheap - I think it's because most people don't want them because you can't put them in a microwave.  I've seen multiple full sets of them.
I've also seen ceramic plates at the bigger dollar stores.  I bought 2 of them - one isn't quite flat.

They wear poorly in dishwashers, too.  Anything added on top of the glaze is going to wear poorly (including stuff on unglazed glass like Pyrex measuring cups, old painted Pyrex designs, etc.)

Pigeon

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #12 on: March 31, 2017, 12:12:58 PM »
A set of 6 white Corelle plates is $16 at Target.  I think that's a reasonable expense for something that you use at least once a day.

Lis

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #13 on: March 31, 2017, 12:53:57 PM »
The only danger I've had with chipped sets is the chipped mug I continuously use and still occasionally cut my lip on. It holds an obscene amount of coffee though, so I'll hold onto that until it breaks or I find a cheap alternative.

Cranky

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #14 on: March 31, 2017, 02:29:45 PM »
I love dishes, and there are millions of cheap beautiful dishes at the thrift store, so I would toss out the ugly chipped ones and spend $5 on some new ones.

I just bought a set of plates from Crate and Barrel with the prices tags still on them, and spent $4 for 7 plates.

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #15 on: March 31, 2017, 03:13:56 PM »
Thanks guys.

I'm happy to keep using them if the consensus is that a few chips won't kill anyone.

The aesthetics don't worry me, and no-one else has commented. marty998 has eaten off my plates a dozen times, everything from Friday night tacos to his birthday dinner, and he wouldn't dare say anything. :)

Spork

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #16 on: March 31, 2017, 03:33:31 PM »
Thanks guys.

I'm happy to keep using them if the consensus is that a few chips won't kill anyone.

The aesthetics don't worry me, and no-one else has commented. marty998 has eaten off my plates a dozen times, everything from Friday night tacos to his birthday dinner, and he wouldn't dare say anything. :)

Who in their right mind would complain about a plate that had a taco on it?

matchewed

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #17 on: March 31, 2017, 04:26:59 PM »
Might depend on what's alongside the taco. Goose turd? I'll probably complain. :)

Spork

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #18 on: March 31, 2017, 05:49:16 PM »
Cover it with a napkin.

matchewed

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #19 on: April 01, 2017, 07:50:48 AM »
:)

PMG

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #20 on: April 01, 2017, 08:45:09 AM »
If you're worried about bacteria this I'm thinking a solid google search and a ceramics forum would give you real answers.  Or try to manufacturers website. They might have recommendations. 

Here, of course everyone is going to tell you not to worry, but I haven't seen any responses with more than anecdotal support. I'm also too lazy to do the google search for you. 

PMG

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #21 on: April 01, 2017, 08:47:10 AM »
Ugh. Weird mistakes in my previous post and the forum won't accept my edits.  The word bacteria is not supposed to be in the first sentence.

matchewed

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #22 on: April 01, 2017, 09:06:40 AM »
So what is then? :)

stackorstarve

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #23 on: April 01, 2017, 12:54:20 PM »
I think the consensus is sort of made here: keep chipped, toss cracked. The bacteria is more likely to not get washed out of cracks. I'm assuming when you say chips, there aren't "valleys" or anything that can contain bacteria. Anything surface level will wash off easily, chipped or not. Just my 2 cents.

PMG

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #24 on: April 01, 2017, 01:11:21 PM »
Ok. Ok. I googled it.

The big concern is lead, in the glazes of handmade stuff and in the ceramic of factory made stuff, hence the worry about chips and cracks and ingesting it. Likely trace amounts. Maybe not a big deal. Definitely cause for concern for children. 

Spork

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #25 on: April 01, 2017, 02:15:48 PM »
Ok. Ok. I googled it.

The big concern is lead, in the glazes of handmade stuff and in the ceramic of factory made stuff, hence the worry about chips and cracks and ingesting it. Likely trace amounts. Maybe not a big deal. Definitely cause for concern for children.

I'll mention again, this time with pictures:

This is the bottom of your typical ceramic:


See the ring?  That's unglazed.  Now, put that in your cabinet with 15 other bowls just like it.  I bet you're going to stack them, right?

Almost anything ceramic has an unglazed ring where it sits when fired.  If you are really worried about lead from a chip, then don't use anything ceramic... because you're already eating off of a surface that has been in direct contact with something unglazed.

MrsPete

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #26 on: April 01, 2017, 04:12:59 PM »
How is it that all of you are chipping your plates?  I literally own no chipped plate.  No, I'm not throwing them away -- I've never chipped one.  However, I LOVE china and glassware and tablecloths, love setting a pretty table, and I have moderately nice stuff -- Pfaltzgraff, Johnson Brothers, FiestaWare ... no Corelle, no Target stuff.  Perhaps the cheap stuff chips more easily? 

marty998

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #27 on: April 01, 2017, 05:17:28 PM »
Can't really comment on the chemistry.

I'm still alive, so I haven't been killed by anything in the plates :D

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #28 on: April 01, 2017, 05:41:31 PM »
Can't really comment on the chemistry.

I'm still alive, so I haven't been killed by anything in the plates :D

Or anything on them, I'd like to add!

Goldielocks

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #29 on: April 02, 2017, 12:35:46 AM »
Missed an option -- toss chipped plates, continue using set.  Buy the closest matching or complimentary plates you can find from the thrift store.   I did this to expand my setting of 8 for a thanksgiving dinner for 12.  Mixing in bone china plain white plates did the trick nicely.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #30 on: April 02, 2017, 12:52:42 AM »
How is it that all of you are chipping your plates?  I literally own no chipped plate.  No, I'm not throwing them away -- I've never chipped one.  However, I LOVE china and glassware and tablecloths, love setting a pretty table, and I have moderately nice stuff -- Pfaltzgraff, Johnson Brothers, FiestaWare ... no Corelle, no Target stuff.  Perhaps the cheap stuff chips more easily?

Maybe only cheap plates chip. I have one set of pasta plates that came for free in a business christmas present. The look and feel cheap and are lighweight. I think 2 of those are damaged with a chip and a crack. Some other plates that I bought as a student feel more solud and are still unchipped after 20 years. My present plates that are good quality are not chipped either after 10 years.

m8547

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Re: Chipped dinner plates - keep or toss?
« Reply #31 on: April 03, 2017, 09:47:16 PM »
I usually cover the chip with JB Weld to prevent further chipping. It's held up in the dishwasher for a few years on some of my plates. I only use it on parts of the plate that don't touch food, because I doubt it's food grade. Epoxy is literally made of plasticizers like BPA.

I have one cracked bowl where I filled the crack with superglue and also patched the chip with JB Weld. It held up for a while, but now the crack is stained brownish and it leaks a little. I should probably throw that out.

The dishwasher will kill any bacteria that will make you sick, as long as it gets hot enough (basically all of them do, as far as I know). You can even cook fish in it. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dishwasher-salmon-with-a-piquant-dill-sauce-recipe