How to Save Money When Buying China Drinking Glasses Company

After tests discovered that millions of Americans' drinking water were contaminated with lead, infrastructure quickly became a hot topic while average Americans looked for new ways to prevent lead contamination. Unfortunately, though, your drinking water might not be the only issue. You could be voluntarily contaminating your food with lead and cadmium and not even realize it. Here&#;s how.

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Although glassware is generally considered safe, your drinking glasses may be contaminated with lead and cadmium metal. These two heavy metals are often added to low-quality glass products to help them melt during the manufacturing process, but they can have adverse effects on your health. Therefore, you should know how to identify lead or cadmium-contaminated products. 

In this guide, we&#;ll help explain why glassware sometimes contains lead and cadmium, how these two metals can affect your health, and how you can quickly spot bad drinking glasses. Use this information to buy safe products and protect your family at home.

What is Lead?

Despite its bad reputation, lead is nothing more than a naturally occurring metal found within the Earth&#;s surface. Yet, unlike iron, aluminum, or gold, even small amounts of lead can leach into our bodies and wreak permanent havoc on our internal systems. What&#;s worse is that it&#;s so easy to find small amounts of lead in our everyday lives.

Lead exists in the soil around us, in the water we use to wash our clothes, and even in the air we breathe&#;mostly as a result of fossil fuels and other chemical processes. For decades, common household products such as gasoline, paint, and even our dishes were laced with lead to help stabilize the compounds. Unfortunately, though, all that lead was seeping into Americans&#; nervous systems.

Today, the OSHA and EPA have worked hard to reduce the amount of lead in our everyday consumer goods, but you still have to be careful to avoid it in both imported and antique products.

Is Lead Glass Safe?

You likely won&#;t show signs of acute lead poisoning unless you&#;ve been exposed to a high level of lead in a short amount of time. If you have, though, you may experience sudden:

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 Fatigue and physical weakness

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 Headaches

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 Tingling sensations

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 Abdominal pain and constipation

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 Loss of appetite

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 Irritability and moodiness

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 Short-term memory loss

Unfortunately, though, most victims don&#;t show signs of lead poisoning until months or even years of exposure have passed. This is what makes lead poisoning so insidious. You could be slowly poisoning yourself over many months without even realizing it and, by the time you do realize it, the damage could be permanent.

Long-term lead exposure can cause nerve damage, permanent memory loss, intellectual disabilities in children, and even miscarriages and death. Therefore, it&#;s crucial that you inspect your glassware for lead before it affects your health.

What is Cadmium

Like lead, cadmium is another naturally occurring metal found within the Earth&#;s surface. It has a soft, whitish-blue tone and is commonly found alongside zinc ore. Today, it&#;s commonly used in jewelry and accessories, rechargeable batteries, and other industrial products and is sometimes used as a coating for electronics, solar panels, plastics, and dyes, and pigments.  

Although it&#;s less well-known than lead, cadmium is also a highly toxic heavy metal. Unfortunately, it&#;s far more commonly used in everyday products&#;from electronics to cookware and kitchen utensils.

Is Cadmium Glass Safe?

Just as lead takes a while to accumulate in the body, cadmium poisoning doesn&#;t happen overnight. However, once enough toxins have built up, you can suffer equally severe symptoms that persist for years or even a lifetime. These symptoms include:

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 Kidney disease

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 Loss of bone mass

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 Nerve damage

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 Cardiovascular weakness

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 Cancer

Your body can process cadmium and remove it through the urinary system, but it takes time to completely eliminate the heavy metal. During that time, cadmium continues to wreak havoc as it circulates through your blood, liver, and kidneys.

Lead and Cadmium Used in Drinking Glasses

Although lead and cadmium have been used for decades in industrial processes, it wasn&#;t clear just how common these two metals are in common kitchenware&#;especially drinking glasses. However, in a study completed at the University of Plymouth, researchers discovered that roughly 70% of all drinking vessels contained traces of lead and cadmium.

Although not all of those drinking glasses contained dangerous amounts of lead and cadmium, the sheer volume of glasses that contained heavy metals is noteworthy. Furthermore, some of the tested glassware proved to have hundreds and even thousands of times more lead than what the EPA deems safe for human use.

Under current regulations set by the US Office of Environmental Health and Hazard Assessment, any lead concentration higher than 200 parts per million is too high for human consumption. This means that some drinking vessels had as much as 400,000 parts lead for every 1,000,000 parts. At this concentration, you and your family would surely be at risk for lead poisoning.

So, if the average person knows that lead and cadmium are toxic in high volumes, why do manufacturers continue producing drinking vessels with such high heavy metal concentrations? It comes down to cutting costs and improving the overall look of their products.

When manufacturers mix lead with glass, it oxidizes and helps the glass melt at a lower temperature. The glass is then easier to manipulate and bend into an aesthetic shape without having to heat it for longer periods. Additionally, many decorative drinking glasses are coated with a lead or cadmium-based enamel that, if scratched, flakes off, leaving lead and cadmium in your drink.

Lead and Cadmium-Free Drinking Glasses

If you are concerned about your family&#;s health, rest assured that not all drinking glasses contain lead. While the University of Plymouth study does highlight just how common lead and cadmium are in drinking vessels, you can avoid contaminating your beverages by purchasing higher-quality lead-free glasses.

There are plenty of lead and cadmium-free drinking vessels available on the market if you know how to look for them. Before you start shopping, though, take a moment to inspect your own glasses. If they&#;re already lead and cadmium-free, there&#;s no point replacing them. Follow our guidelines in the next section to figure out if your glasses are lead-free.

Buy our high-quality, lead and cadmium free, European made glassware products. Take care of your family.

Click here to see our test results.

How to Tell if a Drinking Glass Contains Lead

First and foremost, if you are not drinking from crystal, antique glassware, or decorative glass, your glassware is most likely lead-free. However, it doesn&#;t hurt to check. Start by picking up a glass and feel the weight in your hand. Lead glass is typically much heavier than lead-free glass due to the higher metal content in the crystals.

After feeling the weight of the glass in your hand, tap the side of the glass with either your fingernail or the tongs of a fork. If it makes a gentle clink, your glassware is most likely safe. However, if it makes a long ring, it may contain heavy metals. The longer the ring goes on, the more lead or cadmium your drinkware contains.

Another way to tell if your drinkware is lead-free is to hold it up to the light. Standard glassware is better at refracting light, meaning you should be able to see a prism of light breaking into a rainbow. If you struggle to make a rainbow no matter how you hold the glass, it could contain lead.

If you are still unsure, you can test your glassware by leaving a cup of distilled white vinegar in one of your drinking glasses overnight. Because vinegar is naturally acidic, the lead will quickly dissolve into the vinegar and you can test it after 12 hours for signs of contamination. Lead test kits are cheap and easy to find at most hardware stores.

Is it Safe to Drink from Antique Glassware?

As beautiful as your inherited glassware might be, your great-grandmother&#;s set of stemware could be contaminated with high levels of cadmium and lead. Products produced prior to the s weren&#;t subjected to the same stringent tests and regulations as today so lead and cadmium were likely both added during the production process.

If you&#;re attached to your antique drinking glasses, we recommend testing them for lead before using them and, if they test positive, only keep them as decoration. Using them as drinkware could put your and your family&#;s health at risk.

Are Drinking Glasses from China Safe?

Chinese products are often subject to a lot of skepticism &#; and rightly so. Over the years, China built a reputation of having low quality products and especially with kitchenware, drew lots of criticism over the safety of the products that they were exporting to the US. After years and years of bad experiences by consumers, there has been a general pull away from Chinese-made products and more focus on European-made products instead because of their well-known and trusted manufacturing process. But of course knowing where the glass is from isn&#;t enough, so, how do we know what glasses are really safe?

Beyond checking every glass for lead and cadmium, you can follow a few standard rules to avoid low-quality products:

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 Only buy glassware from a reputable store.

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 Check the company&#;s testing documents online and look for lead-free and cadmium-free labels on the packaging

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit China Drinking Glasses Company.

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 Look for other labels warning you not to consume food or beverages from the glassware such as;

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 Decorative

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 Not for Food Use

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 Toxic

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 Lead-Based Glaze

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 Glaze Contains Lead

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 Food Use May Cause Contamination

If you live in California, you can also look for a mandatory lead warning. Under California Proposition 65, manufacturers must label goods if they contain lead above FDA-approved levels. This warning reads as follows:

&#;WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals including lead, which is known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.&#;

Is it Possible to Find Lead and Cadmium-Free Crystal?

For nearly all of history, crystal glass has been produced using a mix of lead and cadmium. By adding these two heavy metals during the manufacturing stage, crystal makers were able to create strong and beautiful glass with intricate designs. However, as the general public has learned just how dangerous lead and cadmium can be, it&#;s left many wondering if they can still safely use crystal glass.

Fortunately, modern manufacturers have devised a unique way to make high-quality crystal glass without polluting it with toxic heavy metals. Instead, they add a mixture of potassium oxide, barium oxide, and zinc oxide. Although this process still requires added metals, potassium, barium, and zinc are all safe for human use.

Nonetheless, always be sure to check the manufacturer&#;s webpage the next time you&#;re shopping for expensive crystal drinkware. Don&#;t let your posh taste destroy your health.

What is the Safest Glass to Drink From?

Although it&#;s hard to know exactly what goes into the manufacturing process, the safest drinking glasses are those produced by well-known, well-respected, and well-established glassware companies. Any glassware company worth its reputation has allowed their products to undergo rigorous testing for lead and cadmium to guarantee their customer&#;s safety.

Click here to buy our high-quality, lead and cadmium free, European made glassware products. Take care of your family.

Click here to see our test results.

Although no company readily advertises that their products contain dangerous levels of heavy metals, recent research has shown that a majority of drinking vessels contain trace amounts of lead and cadmium. Protect your and your family&#;s health by inspecting your drinking vessels and investing in guaranteed lead/cadmium-free products. It&#;s not worth it to save a few dollars on glassware and put your health at risk. If you take the risk with your health, you could suffer life-long consequences.

I absolutely love the thrill of finding something of value at the thrift store. It&#;s an addicting feeling, especially when you know that you might be able to resell a piece for a profit. One area of the thrift store that could have some hidden gems is the glassware aisle. It can be overwhelming to know what types of glassware are valuable, so I put together this quick little guide to help you spot something that might be worth more than what you paid.

How do you know if glassware from the thrift store is valuable? There are a few key factors that it&#;s important to look for when shopping for valuable glassware at the thrift store. Feel the weight of the item as higher quality glass is usually heavier. Look for markings embossed in the glass which might indicate a brand or manufacturer. Look at the glass through light to check if it&#;s cloudy or produces a rainbow prism. Lastly, familiarize yourself with some of the more popular types of valuable glassware.

What To Look For When You Are At The Thrift Store

When browsing through the glassware aisle at the thrift store or an estate sale, there are a few key tips to keep in mind if you are trying to spot something that has value.

• Feel the weight of the item

• Look at the quality of the glass

• Look for seams, bubbles and flaws

• Search for markings or numbers

Types of Valuable Glass And How To Identify Them

There are many different types of valuable and antique glassware. I will touch on some of the most popular ones that you may spot at the thrift store. While this might not be a fool-proof guide, hopefully it will give you a little bit of knowledge as to what to look for as you head into your next thrifting trip.

Crystal Glass

Crystal is one of the more common forms of glassware that has potential to be valuable because it is made up of lead oxide and is more labor intensive to make than regular glass. It is helpful to know a few facts about crystal so that you can quickly identify it while you are at the thrift store.

how to tell crystal from regular glass:

Look for a rainbow prism

When light is passed through a fine piece of crystal, it should form a rainbow prism. Hold the piece of glassware up to the light to look for these rainbows.

Do the tap test

Tap the piece of glassware. If it produces a reverberated ringing sound, then chances are it is crystal. In contrast, if you hear a dull sound then it may be regular glass.

Compare it&#;s weight

Crystal has a higher lead content than conventional glass, so it tends to be heavier. Try comparing the piece of suspected crystal to a similar sized piece of glass to determine if it is heavier.

Crystal is thinner than glass

Another factor to consider when trying to determine if the glassware in question is crystal is to observe how thin it is. Crystal glass can be worked to be thinner in the production process, but is still sturdy due to the lead content. Regular glass tends to be thicker around the rim.

How clear is it?

Typically, crystal will be extremely clear. Because of the lead content, there should not be any bubbles or cloudiness.

Depression Glass

Depression glass is clear glassware that oftentimes has a color or hue to it. It gets it&#;s name because it was inexpensive glass that was popular during the great depression. Even though it isn&#;t the highest quality glass, it can be valuable because it has become a popular collector&#;s item. Here are a few ways to identify depression glass at the thrift store.

Look for pink, blue and green glassware

Pink, green and blue are the most valuable colors of depression glass. Pink tends to be the most valuable because it is more rare. Yellow and amber colored depression glass is more common and therefore less valuable.

Look for small bubbles or seams

True depression glass oftentimes will have tiny bubbles throughout the glass. You might also find seams in the glass since it was mass produced. Replicas usually will not have these bubbles.

How thin is it?

Depression glass is fairly thin because it is lower quality than other kinds of glass.

Intricate patterns

Many types of depression glass will have intricate patterns pressed into the surface of the glass.

Milk Glass

Milk glass is one of my favorite types of glass to find at the thrift store. It is pretty easy to find milk glass at the thrift store because of it&#;s popularity. However, not all milk glass is not as valuable as others.

Milk glass refers to white glassware and sometimes it can be transluscent. You can typically find pieces such as vases, candleholders, drinkware, serving bowls and plates.

How transluscent is it?

Newer milk glass is almost opaque and will be more bright white. This type of milk glass was made after . It is not as valuable as older milk glass, but it is still a collector&#;s item and can hold some value.

Older milk glass is more transluscent and even can produce a rainbow prism if held up to the light. This type of milk glass can hold more value.

Look for larger milk glass pieces

Larger pieces like serving dishes, footed bowls and large vases are more valuable than smaller pieces. Once you start looking for milk glass at the thrift store, you will become familiar with the pieces that are most common.

Jadeite

Jadeite glassware is similar to milk glass but it has a mint green hue. Jadeite is a popular collector&#;s item, so it could be valuable if you happen to find some when you are thrifting!

Check the density

Read jadeite is heavy and dense. A reproduction might be lighter weight or even made from plastic

Check for markings

Jadeite was most commonly made from 2 different companies: &#;McKee&#; or &#;Fire-King&#;. Look for embossed markings that say &#;Fire-King&#; or &#;McK&#; to see if it&#;s the real thing. Not all real pieces will have these markings.

It might glow in the dark!

Yes, you read that correctly! Some older pieces of Jadeite actually glow in the dark when placed under a black light. Obviously you can&#;t test this in the thrift store unless you are really hardcore and bring a black light in with you!

Glass bottles

Vintage glass bottles have the potential to hold value, but there are a few things that you should keep an eye out for when you spot a glass bottle on the shelf at the thrift store.

Pontil marks

Pontil marks are small circular marks or scars oftentimes at the bottom of a glass bottle. These marks are an indication that the bottle was hand blown. If the pieces does not have a pontil mark, it was most likely made with a mold.

How sharp are the images?

Earlier pieces will have sharper mold lines, images and designs. If the designs are more smooth and rounded then it may be a newer piece or a reproduction.

Look for numbers or labels embossed in the bottle

Oftentimes vintage glass bottles will have numbers, labels or words embossed into the side or bottom.

Look at the seams

If the glass bottle has seams on the sides that stretch all the way up the length of the bottle, then that is a good indication that it was mass produced with a mold and was made after .

Where To Find Valuable Glassware

Most thrift stores will have a section dedicated to glassware. This is the best spot to head to when you are on the hunt for something valuable. That being said, it&#;s always good to browse the all of the home decor sections at the thrift store. Oftentimes milk glass can be found along with vases and candleholders. Sometimes glassware is placed with the decorative figurines or even in the seasonal section.

You can also hunt for glassware at Estate sales and antique stores. However, most of these stores have been appropriately priced by someone knowledgeable about vintage items, so you will be paying a premium price.

Good luck on your thrifting journey! For more tips on thrifting, check out this post:

Tips For Thrifting During Covid

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