Almost every light fitting wants the same three things: switch off and let it cool, dust it dry, and never spray anything at it. Where materials differ is in what liquid they will forgive — glass and glazed ceramic will take a damp cloth, brass and plaster will not, and fabric shades want a brush, not water. Clean gently and rarely, and a good fitting will outlast the room it was bought for.
A light fitting is one of the few objects in a home that is looked at every evening and touched almost never — which is exactly why the wrong five minutes with a cleaning spray can do more harm than years of ordinary use. Most of the damage we see is not wear at all. It is a lacquered brass pendant wiped with lemon, a plaster wall light "freshened up" with a wet cloth, or a linen shade that met the kitchen tap. This guide sets out what each material actually wants, and the short list of things to do before you touch any of them.
Before you clean anything
Switch the fitting off at the wall and let it cool fully — halogen and filament bulbs run hot enough to crack a glass shade the moment a damp cloth touches it, and even LED fittings hold heat in their drivers. Never spray a cleaner directly onto a fitting; anything that runs into a lampholder, a driver or a cable entry is a fault waiting for a damp evening. Apply to the cloth, wring it out, and keep it well away from any visible wiring or electrical components. If a fitting needs more than a wipe, take the shade or diffuser off and clean it at the sink rather than in situ, and refit it only when it is bone dry.
| Material | Routine | Never |
|---|---|---|
| Plaster | Soft, dry cloth or a clean paintbrush | Any liquid — it stains the surface permanently |
| Brass (lacquered) | Soft, dry cloth | Lemon, vinegar, polish, abrasives — they strip the lacquer |
| Brass (unlacquered) | Dry cloth; brass polish sparingly if you want it bright | Abrasive pads; anything that leaves residue in seams |
| Chrome & nickel | Barely-damp microfibre, dried straight after | Cream cleaners and scourers — they haze the finish |
| Glass & opal | Damp cloth, mild glass cleaner on the cloth, dry thoroughly | Cleaning while warm; drying with a rough towel |
| Fabric shades | Soft brush or vacuum on lowest setting with an upholstery tool | Wet cleaning — it stains, warps and shrinks |
| Glazed ceramic | Damp cloth with a little mild soap | Soaking; abrasives on decorated glazes |
| Unglazed ceramic & stone | Dust only | Water — it soaks in and marks |
Plaster
Plaster is porous, so treat it as you would a limewashed wall: dust with a soft, dry cloth or a clean, dry paintbrush, and never use a liquid cleaner — even plain water leaves a tide mark that will not come out. Raw plaster fittings are designed to be painted, and this is the answer to a mark that will not dust away: two thin coats of matt emulsion in the wall colour, each allowed to dry fully before the light is powered on again. Keep plaster out of bathrooms and other damp rooms unless the fitting's IP rating specifically allows it; there is more on this in our plaster-in downlights guide.
Brass and other metals
Brass is the material people worry about most and the one that needs the least doing. Left alone it develops a natural patina — a softening and darkening that most owners come to prefer, and which is the whole point of buying solid brass. To keep the finish where it is, wipe gently with a soft, dry cloth and nothing else. If you would rather it stayed bright, a brass-specific polish used sparingly will bring it back — but check first whether the brass is lacquered. Lacquered brass must never meet polish, lemon, vinegar or anything abrasive: they cut through the lacquer in patches and the damage is irreversible. Polished chrome and nickel are more forgiving and will take a barely-damp microfibre cloth, dried straight afterwards so it does not spot.
Selene · brass and opal glass
Two materials, two routines: the brass gallery wants a dry cloth and time; the opal sphere lifts off for a proper wash at the sink, dried before it goes back.
Glass
Glass is the easy one, with two caveats. Wipe with a soft, damp cloth and dry thoroughly — it is the drying that stops water marks, not the washing. For stubborn marks, a mild glass cleaner is fine, applied to the cloth rather than the shade. The caveats: never clean glass while it is warm (thermal shock cracks it), and take faceted or ribbed shades off the fitting where you can, because dust settles in the cuts and a cloth pushed into them in situ tends to twist the shade against its fixings.
Fabric shades
Linen, cotton and silk shades are dusted, never washed. A soft brush, or a vacuum on its lowest setting with the upholstery attachment, lifts the dust that dulls them; do it in the direction of the weave. Wet cleaning is the one thing to avoid — the fabric stains, the backing warps and the shade shrinks off its frame. Spot-clean a small mark only with a barely-damp microfibre cloth, dabbed rather than rubbed, and let it dry away from the bulb.
Tiber · flecked stone and linen
The base is unglazed, so it is dusted only; the linen shade gets the brush. Neither has seen water in its life and neither should.
Ceramic and stone
Glazed ceramic behaves like crockery: a soft, damp cloth with a little mild soap solution, then dry. Unglazed or matt ceramic, and natural stone, are porous and should be kept dry and dusted only — water soaks in, carries the dust with it and leaves a shadow. Decorated or crackle glazes sit somewhere between the two: damp cloth, no soap, no rubbing.
Outdoor fittings
Exterior lights collect more than dust — pollen, salt near the coast, and the film that rain leaves behind. Rinse the body with clean water from a cloth, not a hose, and dry it; check the seals and gaskets once a year and replace any that have hardened. Brass and copper outdoors will weather quickly, which is intentional; if you want to slow it, a light coat of a wax made for the purpose after the first summer does more than any polish. Black powder-coated steel needs only a wipe, and chips should be touched in before winter so the steel beneath does not rust.
