Cleanning Your Decorator Tips

Decorating By shadowgypsie Updated 24 Jan 2014 , 8:25pm by MBalaska

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shadowgypsie Posted 23 Jan 2007 , 11:33pm
post #1 of 28

As a Wilton Instructor I have had several of my students tell me they heard you can remove Buttercream frosting grease from your tips with vinigar, DON'T DO IT! Using harsh products on your tips will remove the protective coating that seperates the base metal from your food. When this happens you must discard the tips. Also some Dishwasher Liquids that contain vinigar or bleach will ruin your tips. I always tell my students to hand wash their tips in hot water and Dawn dihswashing liquid.

Washing your tips is a pain I know, but better to be safe, so hand wash your tips It's also cost effective.

Wilton will not replace any tips that have been damaged by vinigar or bleach.

27 replies
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nadineelyce Posted 24 Jan 2007 , 3:19am
post #2 of 28

Well thank you!
I never planned on using vinager, but I'm sure people have!
Good thing to know

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fronklowes Posted 24 Jan 2007 , 3:25am
post #3 of 28

That's so interesting to hear because my Wilton instructor told us to use a bleach/water solution to clean ours. I don't, though, I use Dawn, too.

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TexasSugar Posted 24 Jan 2007 , 3:26am
post #4 of 28

I boil my tips in how soapy water, replacing the water 2 to 3 times. In the last boil I have been adding a little vinagar to the tips and haven't seen a problem. Mine are discolored (mainly because I have a bad habit of leaving them sitting in water) but the discoloration has not affected them in any way.

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korensmommy Posted 24 Jan 2007 , 3:29am
post #5 of 28

My Wilton instructor told the class there is no need to take the couplers out of the bags and just wash the bag with the coupler inside. Has anyone heard of this? I use parchment but when I use regular bags, I always take the coupler out before washing.

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Parable Posted 24 Jan 2007 , 3:33am
post #6 of 28

I put mine in a tall coffee mug totally covered with water and a splash of dawn. Microwave for 1.5 minutes (not 2 because it will boil and bubble over). Then just let it sit until you are ready to rinse. They come out squeaky clean.

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Derby Posted 24 Jan 2007 , 4:04am
post #7 of 28

whew....I already use Dawn and REALLY hot water. Works fine for me.

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fronklowes Posted 24 Jan 2007 , 4:23am
post #8 of 28

Parable, that sounds so much easier than what I do. I'll have to try it. Thanks for sharing!

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MommyBunny Posted 24 Jan 2007 , 5:49pm
post #9 of 28

I was doing the dawn in the hot water and letting it sit.

Thanks for the 1.5 min in the microwave tip with water....LOVED IT. thumbs_up.gif

Patricia

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SILVERCAT Posted 24 Jan 2007 , 7:31pm
post #10 of 28

This is a great info to have thanks! I have only washed my tips once in the dishwasher but won't anymore! I do usually wash them in hot soapy water! Thanks for the tip on the microwave.

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shadowgypsie Posted 24 Jan 2007 , 9:19pm
post #11 of 28

Please Do remove your couplers before washing, It helps to remove any grease left behind but it also will remove any bacteria that ma have found its way between the coupler and the bag.

If you are Decorating your cakes for sale to the public you want to make absolutly sure your equipment is as squeaky clean as you can possibly get it.

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TexasSugar Posted 24 Jan 2007 , 11:11pm
post #12 of 28

I just wanted to add this to this post. In a Newsletter that Wilton sends out to their Instructors they said the following:

A note on washing tips...

Please do not advice your students to clean their tips with vinegar. This causes tarnishing and Wilton has been receiving complaints from students. Instead, use hot, soapy water or put them in the Tip/Coupler Dishwasher and Storage Bag and place on the top rack of the dishwasher. They'll come out sparkling clean!

--- --- ---

A I said above, if you leave your tips sitting in water or even soapy water they will discolor or tarnish as well. It doesn't hurt the tip and they are still very usable. But if you want to keep them the pretty shiney metal, then you want to do as suggested above.

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DianaMarieMTV Posted 24 Jan 2007 , 11:17pm
post #13 of 28

Does anyone have any tips for returning shine to tips that have tarnished? Is this even possible? Thanks!

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chqtpi Posted 13 Feb 2013 , 6:02pm
post #14 of 28

I also put them in a washed out mayo jar, add a little dawn and a little hot water and shake it until the water is "colored". Replace the water a few times until its basically clear, and then rinse them individually. It takes most of the icing out of the tips, and you avoid the eons of time using the tiny little brush. 

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Norasmom Posted 13 Feb 2013 , 6:28pm
post #15 of 28

How do you microwave metal tips?  Don't they spark?  I put mine in the dishwasher with the forks/spoons.  I also pre-soak them in boiled water.

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Vista Posted 13 Feb 2013 , 7:06pm
post #16 of 28
Quote:
Originally Posted by Norasmom 

How do you microwave metal tips?  Don't they spark?  I put mine in the dishwasher with the forks/spoons.  I also pre-soak them in boiled water.


This thread is 6 years old...As long as the tips are covered completely with water they will not spark.

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Norasmom Posted 13 Feb 2013 , 11:36pm
post #17 of 28

AH, so it is 6 years old.    It showed up on the new postings though...wonder why.  Shouldn't matter how old a thread is though, if it's useful.icon_wink.gif

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Annabakescakes Posted 14 Feb 2013 , 1:34am
post #18 of 28

A

Original message sent by Norasmom

AH, so it is 6 years old.    It showed up on the new postings though...wonder why.  Shouldn't matter how old a thread is though, if it's useful.:wink:

I agree! I love the old threads with the members that are all gone... So many were so knowledgable, and so giving. I wonder where they have gone?

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denetteb Posted 14 Feb 2013 , 1:59am
post #19 of 28

Norasmom, the person who posted before you brought it back up and made it a new posting.

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p632 Posted 24 Jan 2014 , 5:04am
post #20 of 28

I've actually has some success with boiling them in water that has creme of tartar in it.  I found this method when trying to get the discoloration out of an aluminum pot so I tried it on my decorating tips!

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hbquikcomjamesl Posted 24 Jan 2014 , 5:50am
post #21 of 28

ANever even imagined doing anything other than a full field-strip, and washing the parts the same as anything else that has to be hand-washed.

As to bags, I'm still just cutting the corner out of a 1-quart zip-top food storage (or freezer) bag. (Sandwich bags are too light; they'll rupture!)

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p632 Posted 24 Jan 2014 , 4:19pm
post #22 of 28

I've never heard of a "full field-strip".  May I have the details of the procedure?

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hbquikcomjamesl Posted 24 Jan 2014 , 5:48pm
post #23 of 28

"Field-strip" is a term that originated in the military, meaning to disassemble a weapon (for cleaning and/or emergency repair) as completely as practical outside of a repair facility.

It has since been expanded to non-military, non-weapon contexts, for example, field-stripping a desktop computer (particularly one like a Mac Mini, that has no obvious way to open it) to add memory. In this case, I simply meant completely disassembling the tip, coupler, nut, and bag, and washing (or discarding, in the case of a disposable bag) each piece separately.

 

Typically, when I field-strip a piping bag after use, I toss the coupler nut into a bowl of warm water as soon as it comes off, then I remove the tip, using thumb pressure to drive the frosting out of it, before rinsing it in running water and tossing it into the bowl, then remove and either save or discard the frosting, then remove the coupler body from the bag, again driving out any remaining frosting, rinse, and toss in the bowl, then (since it's just a zip-top bag with a corner cut out) discard the bag. Then the parts stay in the bowl of water until the next sink load of pots, pans, knives, &c get hand-washed.

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p632 Posted 24 Jan 2014 , 6:09pm
post #24 of 28

Oh, how stupid of me, that's how I do it but, they go in the next load of dishes in the dishwasher.  Maybe the hard water from my well is what's getting the tips so tarnished!  Thanks for explaining even though I should have known!

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hbquikcomjamesl Posted 24 Jan 2014 , 7:04pm
post #25 of 28

I can't imagine why anybody would do it any differently.

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denetteb Posted 24 Jan 2014 , 7:30pm
post #26 of 28

p632, I hand wash and dry my tips.  I don't like what the dishwasher does to other metal things and don't want my tips to get ugly. 

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gscout73 Posted 24 Jan 2014 , 7:56pm
post #27 of 28

Quote:

Originally Posted by denetteb 
 

p632, I hand wash and dry my tips.  I don't like what the dishwasher does to other metal things and don't want my tips to get ugly. 

I also only hand wash and dry my tips. I want to make sure there is no residue.

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MBalaska Posted 24 Jan 2014 , 8:25pm
post #28 of 28

Quote:

Originally Posted by denetteb 
 

p632, I hand wash and dry my tips.  I don't like what the dishwasher does to other metal things and don't want my tips to get ugly. 

 

Me too danetteb:  and sit them to dry on a nice tea towel.  Metal abhors water. Personally I'd rather leave my tips sitting on a paper towel, just off the bag, even with icing in them, until I can get to them, than to leave them in water.  metal hates water.

 

I only takes a second to put the kettle on and boil a little water and pour it on a bowl of icing tip parts.

Once the water cools enough to handle the tips, I hand wash. 

 

{ ps: I field strip my weapons, not my tools. My weapons are for destruction, my tools are for creation and repair.}

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