HOW TO CARE FOR A SNOW GLOBE
How to care for a snow globe? Here you will find some ideas to keep your snow globes in the best possible condition for a long time.
Bubbles in a snow globe
The appearance of bubbles doesn’t mean that there is a liquid leak in a snow globe. Traditionally these bubbles were considered a defect, however this is no longer the case. Although it sometimes takes a long time, it is practically certain that air bubbles will appear in any snow globe sooner o later. At first it is usually practically unnoticiable but little by little it will increase in size. Usually temperature is the most common reason. High temperatures favor the evaporation of the liquid inside. On the contrary, extreme cold can contract the piece of rubber that encloses the water inside the glass sphere, the subsequent expansion can allow air to enter.
Sometimes bubbles are produced during the shipping from the manufacturing site to the distribution point. Vibration and handling during movement can cause that tiny bubbles that may have been trapped in the closure piece, escape into the liquid. Today most snow globes producers attach a warning to them that the bubbles cannot be identified as a product defect.
The best way to try to delay the appearance of the bubbles is to place the snow globe in a place away from heating and somehow protected from direct light . Protecting them from direct light is also a good way to prevent the figures inside the snow globe lose their color over time and from chemical reactions that can cloud the water. A good place may be between the books on a shelf. If you are a collector and you have your snow globes in a display case, try not to place it near a source of light or heat.
How to clean snow globes
If you want your snow globes to look nice for as long as possible, avoid accumulating dust. Cleaning them is very simple: apply glass cleaner or a similar product to the glass globe and for the base a damp cloth with a little non-abrasive cleaner. With this is enough. It is also convenient to shake the snowballs from time to time, in this way you avoid that the “snow” or glitter inside get caked.
In some cases, the water inside a snow globe becomes cloudy or yellowish. This is usually due to the fact that non-distilled water has been used and no product of those that exist in the specific market has been added to prevent chemical reactions from occurring inside the glass globe. The one I use is quite affordable and easy in specialized craft stores is Water Clarifying Agent for snow globes of the FIMO brand. An alternative to this type of product that I have read frequently is to add alcohol to the water. Personally I have never tried it.
These are the basics about how to care for a snow globe. If you want to know more about how to remove bubbles or replace water that is already cloudy, see How to repair a snow globe.
If you feel like it …
Remember that in this Blog and on the page “Tutorials” from QueNieve you will find other great ideas related to snow globes.
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Hi Giannis, Based on my experience the glass doesn’t scratch easily. In this case I wouldn’t know how repair it, but the are several products that they are supposed to be made for this sort of fixing. In Amazon you can easyly find them and I guess it is also possible in smaller shops. I have seen a homemade system based on the toothepaste but I never tried it. Following with your last email, here you can see how to change the water inside the snow globe. I’m afraid the post is in Spanish but with automatic translation I guess you won’t have any difficulty. Anyway, if you have any doubt please let me know it.
Hi again,
Does glass on snow globes scratch easily? Is there any safe way to remove minor scratches ?
Here you are: info.quenieve@gmail.com
Can you send me an e.mail, where I can post you a couple of photos of my snow globe?
Hi Giannis, thaks a lot for you email. It would be easier if you send me some pictures. Anyway I think that the confetti type could be the reason. Maybe some confettis couldn’t be clean enough, confetti may have dust attached to it, which would float because it weighs less. As they are new snow globes, I don’t think it is worth trying to clean them. It’s a pity¡¡¡ In any case, if you think that I
can be of help to you please do not hesitate to let me know. Best regards
Hello, I just bought a large christmas snow globe and I noticed that there are tine dust-like particles floating in the water that wouldn’t really settle. These become obvious when light hits the globe. I have two other globes, the one is perfectly clear and the other one is more or less like the new one but with a lot less of these dust-like particles. Do you think that is normal. The confetti type is different in all three of them.
Thank you.