Melamine Serving Plates and Tableware Stains – Types – How They Occur – and How to Prevent Them and Remove Them If They Occur

According to statistics, more than 70% of households have encountered difficult-to-remove stains when using melamine tableware. Proper maintenance can extend the service life of melamine tableware to more than 10 years. Melamine serving plates and tableware are among the favorite choices for both home and commercial use. But like any ordinary tableware, they become stained if not cleaned properly after use constantly for a lengthy period.

Understanding the causes of these stains and how to remove stubborn stains on melamine tableware, and summarizing a set of melamine tableware maintenance tips, will be of great help in keeping the melamine tableware looking like new.

1. Causes of Stains

Several factors can lead to unsightly stains on melamine serving plates:

Food and Sauce Residues:

Delicate surfaces and edges may be damaged by dark colored sauces, oil, and foods with intense pigmentation, such as curry, tomato sauce, or soy sauce. Dark colored sauces, oils, and brightly colored foods (such as curry, ketchup, or soy sauce) often contain high concentrations of pigments, oils, and other organic compounds. When these substances come into contact with the surface of melamine dishes, they may leave difficult-to-remove stains on the surface due to penetration, adsorption, or chemical reactions. Especially when these substances remain on the dishes for a long time, they may interact more deeply with the surface material of the dishes, causing the stains to become more stubborn.

Hard Water Minerals:

Melamine serving plates are susceptible to mineral deposits, mainly due to hard water, leading to a spotted or cloudy appearance. Minerals in hard water (such as calcium, magnesium, etc.) tend to deposit on surfaces during heating or evaporation. When using hard water to wash melamine dishes, these minerals may flow onto the surface of the dishes and crystallize during the drying process to form spots or a cloudy appearance. This deposition phenomenon is the result of a combination of chemical reactions and physical deposition.

Improper Use:

Another way through which stains can be encouraged is by using melamine plates to hold foods that are very hot or highly acidic for a long time. Very hot food may cause pyrolysis or oxidation of the surface material of melamine dinner plates, causing the surface properties to change and making them more susceptible to stains. Strongly acidic foods may react chemically with the surface material of the dinner plates to form new compounds and leave stains. These chemical reactions may include acid-base neutralization, oxidation-reduction, and other processes.

Inappropriate Detergents:

Strong detergent products should not be used as they can alter the hygienic nature of melamine and create a rough surface on which food particles can stick and from which stains are easily formed. Heavy-duty detergent products often contain high concentrations of surfactants and other chemical ingredients. These ingredients, when in contact with the surface of melamine dishes, may damage the surface microstructure, making it rough. Rough surfaces are more likely to attract food particles and stains, which accelerates the formation of stains. In addition, certain detergent ingredients may also chemically react with melamine materials, causing further changes in surface properties.

Improper Cleaning Methods:

Rinse with steel wool or a rough sponge, which may leave brush-marks or micro-scratches on the surface, which will entrap food-stain particles. Using steel wool or a rough sponge to scour does cause micro scratches and brush marks on the surface of melamine dinnerware. These scratches and brush marks disrupt the smoothness of the surface, providing more attachment points for food particles and stains. Although this process does not involve a direct chemical reaction, it indirectly promotes the formation of stains by changing the surface topography.

2. Avoidance Methods

It is easier to prevent the formation of stains on melamine tableware than to try and bid them off. Follow these simple tips:

Wash in Time:

Use only water to wash these melamine plates, and do not soak them for a long time to avoid food particles’ sticking to them.

Choose the Right Detergent:

In washing the melamine, ensure you use a mild, non-abrasive washing detergent on the material. Do not scrub the surface with bleach or use any potentially abrasive cleaning agents.

Control the Temperature:

It is necessary to avoid using boiled water and putting stoves on it, which will adversely affect the strength and water resistance of melamine and the ability to obscure the stained surface.

Pay Attention to the Use Method:

Only serve food in melamine plates and do not cut on them using sharp instruments because it poses potential for scratching surfaces that attract even stains.

Here are some tips for washing dishes：

1. Removing residues: You can use chopsticks, spoons, soft brushes, rags, and other tools to remove residues. It is strictly forbidden to knock against hard objects or knock against each other.
2. Soaking: Soak the melamine tableware in a hot water pool with neutral detergent for about ten minutes to soften grease and residues.
3. Cleaning: When washing by hand, use a soft cloth or sponge to clean the melamine tableware and then rinse it with clean water. When washing in a dishwasher, make sure there is no residue on the surface of the tableware, and put it in the dish rack according to the position and direction in the instructions for use of the equipment.
4. Disinfection: You can choose to use a disinfection cabinet with ozone disinfection to disinfect melamine tableware. 【If a high-temperature disinfection cabinet is used, the tableware should be kept away from the heating pipe, the disinfection time should not exceed 5 minutes, and the temperature should be controlled at around 80℃ (the national standard is 77℃±3℃).】
5. Drying: During the drying process, the washed melamine tableware should be placed in a storage basket as much as possible to prevent it from falling and breaking due to unstable stacking.

3. Simple Removal Methods

If your melamine serving plates develop stains, here are some easy and effective ways to remove them

1. Wash with Rice Water: Rinse the stained plates and immerse them in rice water that has been left in the dining bowls for 20- 30 minutes. When the water is boiled, the starch rises and assists in removing stains from the plates, making them clean.
2. Wash with Overnight Tea: Using brewed tea of the previous day as a cleaner is another feature of using tea in different ways. In one part, mix with water and rub the tea over the stains; you let it act on the stains for few minutes, then wash with warm water.
3. Wash with Baking Soda: Keep upon the stain a paste of baking soda and water, and wash with a soft brush. Baking soda is a mild abrasive that is very efficient in cleaning hard stains.
4. Wash with Toothpaste: For mild stains, the ordinary white dental that you find in the market does the magic. It can be used as follows: wet a sponge in warm water, dip it in the gel, then wash the stained area.
5. Wash with Hot Water and Coarse Salt: Combine hot water with the coarse part of salt to wash or scrub the plates. The salt is, in a way, abrasive as the heat assists in un-bonding the food particles.

Here’s a comparison of the five methods for cleaning stains on melamine dinnerware:

Conclusion

Melamine serving plates and tableware are very easy to clean and maintain and will always look as good as the day they were bought if taken care of properly. When you know the causes of the stains, take preventive measures and use simple methods of washing your melamine tableware. It will be easier for you to maintain them in good condition for many years.