At a glance
| Environment | What lands on the glass | Relative pressure | Interval |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lobby near a kitchen or restaurant | Cooking grease film, then dust sticks to it | High | [ ] |
| Bar, lounge, fireplace or candles | Smoke and vapour film, dust | High | [ ] |
| Spa or pool hall | Humid air, limescale marks, chloride on metal | High | [ ] |
| Coastal or sea-facing | Salt film on glass and metal | High | [ ] |
| Dust-heavy: fit-out, entrances, air supply | Fine dust and plaster | Medium | [ ] |
| Quiet room or private dining | Light dust | Low | [ ] |
Relative pressure is our reading, not a sourced ranking. Intervals are blank on purpose: no source gives one for decorative glass, and the maker and operator set them together (HSE HSG38 para 76: it depends on the type and the environment).
How the team will reach it
The cleaning team meets the chandelier after the designer has gone, so how they will reach it is a design decision. The drawing shows four ways of reaching a hanging chandelier and the rule attached to each; the table gives the detail. Whether a given arrangement falls under these regulations at a given hotel is for a competent person to say.
| Method | What the rules ask | Design point |
|---|---|---|
| Pole or reach tool, from the floor | Whether dusting is allowed at all is for the maker’s care sheet. The greatest threat to a hanging chandelier in conservation practice is contact with the stepladder (JAIC 1998). | Keep stems and drops clear of the route. |
| Steps or podium | Work at height is not to be done where it can reasonably be done safely otherwise (Work at Height Regulations 2005, reg 6). HSE says ladders can suit low-risk, short-duration tasks but should not automatically be the first choice. | Floor clear beneath; two people: one to steady, one to hand parts. |
| Mobile tower or platform | Where work at height cannot be avoided, sufficient work equipment to prevent a fall, with the work planned, supervised and done by competent people (reg 6 for the equipment; HSE for the planning). | Floor loading, space for the tower, padding beneath. |
| Lowering gear | Lifting equipment under LOLER: lifting operations planned by a competent person, supervised and safe (reg 8); thorough examination after installation and before use (reg 9(2)), then at least every 12 months, or an examination scheme, where exposed to conditions causing deterioration (reg 9(3)); written reports kept (regs 10, 11). | Specify at the design stage; name who examines it and keeps the reports. |
| Off-site, dismantled | Care sheet and specialist. Packing and re-assembly: see the packing sheet. | Plan the downtime and the spare lamps. |
Lowering the fitting to the floor can remove the work at height, which is why a lowering winch is worth settling at the drawing stage. It brings its own duties: the Regulations define lifting equipment as work equipment for lifting or lowering loads, HSE says the person who examines it should be independent of the person who does its routine maintenance, and if there is doubt whether equipment is covered HSE’s Infoline is the place to ask. For the delivery and installation side see packing, shipping and installing glass chandeliers.
What soils it, and a regime with blank intervals
The table at the top of this sheet lists what lands on the glass in each kind of room. No source we read gives a cleaning interval for decorative glass. The Health and Safety Executive’s lighting guidance says how often lamps and luminaires are cleaned depends on the type and the environment, that out-of-reach fittings in dirty, corrosive places need more attention, and that there must be safe and easy access to remote luminaires (HSG38, paragraph 76). Electrical equipment in wet, dirty, dusty or corrosive conditions must be built or protected so as to prevent danger from them, so far as reasonably practicable (Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, regulation 6). The conservation article on glass chandeliers makes the trade-off plain: a chandelier in a city setting needs frequent cleaning, with the handling and wear that brings. So the regime is a ladder, with gentle and frequent at the bottom and rare and skilled at the top:
| Tier | What it is | Who and how | Interval |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Dust | Dry, soft brushing or a dry cloth, as the care sheet says. | Trained operator; pole or steps | [ ] |
| 2 Wipe | Each glass element wiped with the maker’s named solution on a pad. | Trained operator; steps or tower | [ ] |
| 3 Deep clean | Lowered or dismantled, cleaned and re-dressed. | Specialist | [ ] |
| Look over | Loose elements, chips, bent pins, lamp holders, canopy, chain, wiring. | Competent person | [ ] |
| Winch | Thorough examination and inspection, reports kept. | Competent person | [ ] (see LOLER) |
Leave the intervals blank until the maker and the operator have set them together, and write them on the care sheet. The “relative pressure” column in the first table is our reading of how soiling and corrosion rise, not a sourced ranking.
What not to do
Conservation literature is written for old chandeliers, and parts of it are dated: in March 2023 a private-practice conservator on the American Institute for Conservation forum said two of the three articles she listed were then 20 to 25 years old and some of their practices were not what she would recommend. Read the table as a list of what has gone wrong, not as a method; the maker’s care sheet for the glass and finish supplied overrules it.
| Do not | Why | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Clean with the supply on | Isolate and disconnect first, and make sure it stays dead. | EAWR 1989 regs 4(3), 12, 13; JAIC 7.9 |
| Spray liquid onto the fitting | Spray onto a pad and wipe the glass with it. It also keeps liquid out of the electrics. | Conservator, AIC forum, 2023 |
| Use alkaline cleaners or ammonia mixes on glass | Above about pH 9 a solution can potentially dissolve glass. A conservator says leave ammonia out. | JAIC 7.2; AIC forum, 2023 |
| Use ammonia or very hot water on lacquered or imitation gilt metal | It removes spirit-lacquer imitation gilt and can blacken the brass beneath. | JAIC 7.1 |
| Use vinegar, or common washing-up detergents, on historic glass | One conservator would not recommend them. This is advice for old glass: the maker states what suits the new glass. | AIC forum, 2023 |
| Polish gilded metal | Gilding is fragile; see the gilding sheet. | NPS Museum Handbook, App. N |
| Turn the fitting to reach the far arms, or twist a glass arm | It may not be hung to rotate and may unscrew; a glass arm takes only so much twist. | JAIC 4.1, 5 |
Gloves are a case where sources differ for different jobs: the 1998 article does not recommend them when dismantling, because they catch on pins, while the National Park Service guide says skin oils speed oxidation of gilt. The care sheet should say. For gilded parts see gilding and gold leaf on lighting, and for other metal cleaning and maintaining metal finishes.
Changing a lamp in a glass arm, and spares
Changing a lamp is the job most often done by the operator, and the one most likely to break a glass arm. The sequence is practice, and three points in it come from sources: switch off the supply or unplug before removing or replacing a lamp (Electrical Safety First guide on retrofit LED lamps, 2014; the 1998 conservation article says to interrupt the supply and disconnect before any operation); support a glass arm while a lamp is pressed in or turned, because pushing and twisting a bayonet lamp puts a downward load on it; and fit a lamp that is compatible with the fitting and its control gear in type and size (HSG38, paragraph 78). Letting the lamp cool first is common practice that we did not find in a source.
- Isolate. Switch off at the supply, label it, and check the fitting is dead.
- Let it cool. A hot lamp and a hot cup can burn and can crack on a wet cloth.
- Support the arm close to the cup while you push or twist.
- Fit the same type as the care sheet: cap, rating, size and dimming. See lamping glass lighting.
- Check and record. Switch on, test dimming, and write the date, the tag and the lamp batch in the log.
Keep spares, labelled with the fitting tag, reference and batch: lamps of each type from one batch, a driver of each type, lamp holders, glass elements of each type (arms, cups, drops), pins, chain links and small fixings. The handover pack lists them: see O&M information for decorative lighting and handover and O&M pack.
Specification wording
Paste into your schedule or specification and replace anything in [square brackets] with your own figures. Wording is a starting point: your specification governs.
The maker is to provide, for each glass and finish supplied, a care sheet by reference stating: how and how often to dust; the cleaning solution and method for the glass, named; what must never be used; how the fitting is reached, and by whom; how a lamp is changed, including supporting the glass arm; what to look over on each visit; and when to stop and call. Intervals for [environment] are to be agreed with [operator] and written on the sheet [ ].
Access to [fitting tags] for cleaning and re-lamping is by [steps / mobile tower / lowering gear], as shown on the shop drawing. Where lowering gear is specified, the installer is to supply the equipment details and marked safe working load, the report of the thorough examination after installation, and the schedule of examinations, and [operator] is to name the competent person who will carry them out [ ]. [Operator] is to confirm the access method with a competent person before first use.
Lamps are to be changed with the supply isolated and labelled, the lamp cool, the glass arm supported, and a lamp of the type on the care sheet. Spares: [10] per cent lamps of each type from one batch, [ ] glass elements of each type, [ ] lamp holders and [1] driver of each type, labelled with tag, reference and batch and listed in the pack. A cleaning and lamp-change log is to be kept: date, tag, who, lamp batch, defects.
Terms used on this page
- Chandelier winch
- A manual or motorised hoist that lowers a heavy fitting to floor level for cleaning and re-lamping.
- LOLER
- UK regulations requiring that lifting equipment used at work, which can include chandelier winches, is properly planned, installed, examined and recorded.
- Competent person
- Someone with enough practical and theoretical knowledge of the equipment to detect defects and judge how serious they are. HSE says they should not be the person who does the routine maintenance.
- Isolation
- Disconnecting and separating electrical equipment from every source of energy in a way that is secure. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 define it (regulation 12(2)).
- Re-dressing
- Refitting the glass elements, such as arms, cups and drops, to the metal frame after cleaning or repair.
Standards and sources
- LOLER 1998 regs 2, 8 to 11; Work at Height Regulations 2005 reg 6; Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 regs 4, 6, 12 to 14: legislation.gov.uk revised text, read 6 Nov 2026.
- HSE INDG422 Thorough examination of lifting equipment; HSE ladder pages; HSE HSG38 paras 76 to 80: INDG422 web version 2008, modified 2011; read 6 Nov 2026.
- Reilly and Mortimer, JAIC 37(2), 1998; AIC forum reply, March 2023: conservation of old chandeliers; partly dated.
- No standard applies: we found no standard for cleaning decorative glass chandeliers.
Questions we are asked
How often should a hotel chandelier be cleaned?
No source we read gives an interval for decorative glass. HSE says it depends on the type of fitting and the environment, and a conservation article notes that a city chandelier needs frequent cleaning with the handling and wear that brings. Set the intervals with the maker and the operator and write them on the care sheet.
What can I use to clean a Murano glass chandelier?
Whatever the maker’s care sheet names for the glass supplied. For historic glass one conservator recommends isopropanol or ethanol with distilled water on a cotton pad or clean cloth, not sprayed on the glass, and advises against vinegar and common washing-up detergents; another conservation article warns that a solution above about pH 9 can dissolve glass. These are for old glass, not instructions for new pieces.
Do I need a lowering winch for a hotel chandelier?
It is a design choice. The Work at Height Regulations say work at height is not to be done where it can reasonably be done safely otherwise, and lowering the fitting to the floor is one way of avoiding it. A winch is lifting equipment under LOLER, with examination and record duties, so settle who examines it at the drawing stage.
Is a chandelier winch covered by LOLER?
LOLER defines lifting equipment as work equipment for lifting or lowering loads, and it applies to employers and those in control at work. Whether a particular winch at a particular hotel is covered is for a competent person; HSE’s Infoline will answer if there is doubt.
Who can change a lamp in a glass chandelier?
A trained operator, with the supply isolated, the lamp cool, the arm supported and the right lamp type. A driver, wiring or holder is a job for a competent electrician. The access method for the height must meet the Work at Height Regulations.
What spares should I keep for a glass chandelier?
Lamps of each type from one batch, a driver of each type, lamp holders, glass elements of each type, pins, chain links and small fixings, labelled with tag, reference and batch and listed in the handover pack. The maker sets the quantities.
Download the factsheet
A two-page A4 PDF with what soils glass by room, the four access methods and their rules, a three-tier regime with blank intervals, and handover wording.