To assemble a collectibles cleaning kit, consider rounding up the following items: soft bristled brushes, cans of moisture free compressed air, cotton swabs, distilled water and isopropyl alcohol.
Brushes can often be found when you're out foraging for garage sale finds. Artist's brushes, shaving brushes and soft paintbrushes are all great for dusting away loose particles. Canned air can be purchased at office supply stores and works well for cleaning items to delicate to brush.
When an item needs to be wet cleaned, if dry cleaning methods haven't quite done the trick, using distilled water avoids the chemical and minerals in tap water that can stain some materials. Isopropyl alcohol often comes in handy for cleaning many ceramics and porcelain pieces with a glazed finish.
Be careful though! Alcohol can take the finish off of wood and remove painting on glass. Also be careful when using detergents, since anything with bleach can be damaging to fragile items such as faux pearls adorning vintage clothing.
You'll find links to more specific information about caring for your collections in the "Related Resources" section above. Remember, if you're good to your antiques and they'll be good to you.
