Cleaning crystal glasses

I have a number of crystal wine glasses that I cannot seem to rid of a red tinge from wine. How can I wash them to return them to sparkling new - dishwasher cycle, overnight soaking? What detergent or other medium should I use?

Your inquiry sent me scurrying to my favourite stain-removal text. For a book that includes ''marmalade on carpet'', ''rust on bath'' and a whole chapter on vomit, it is puzzlingly silent on this matter. My second-favourite stain-removal book (we have a lot of stains at our house) simply says ''never leave wine sitting in glasses because it will leave a mark''. Well, thanks a lot - that's precisely the problem.

Since the book in question had fallen abruptly from my preferred stain-ninja list, I resorted to four minutes online, cackling in disbelief while watching Martha Stewart wash crystal glasses. Martha, bless her jailbird socks, suggests lining the sink with a bath towel to prevent breakages.

She was not much chop on red-wine stains on crystal, so I foraged in the back of the Agony Aunt Good Crystal Cupboard looking for red-tinged glasses of my own on which to conduct experimental cleaning. I could have sworn I had several, dating from the days when my dinner parties routinely left my eyeballs with a matching pink hue, but I think they all broke. (If only I'd known about the bath towel.)

Undeterred, I poured the remains of a hulking, brutish Spanish red into several crystal glasses and left them to develop stains. The things that worked best for me to get rid of them were soaking overnight in a 50-50 mix of white vinegar and warm water, or dousing a soft cloth in white vinegar and wiping the bowls. Your stains sound more set than mine, so it may take more than one go.

I'm not discounting dishwashing: some modern crystal tolerates a machine at a low temperature. If you know the brands of your glasses, check their websites.

However, repeated dishwashing can lead to pitting and clouding so, if in doubt, wash by hand in warm water with just a bit of detergent and a soft cloth.

Finally, much as I hate to sound like a smug stain-removal author, avoid leaving red-wine dregs overnight. If you think it's too risky to drink and dry after a long dinner, at least rinse before tackling the task the following day.