How to judge a dish yourself

1. Clear glass, plain white ceramic, or plain stainless? Very likely safe. No pigment, no glaze decoration, no mystery (but still always a good idea to test).
2. Colored glaze, hand-painted, or vintage? Worth testing. Reds, oranges, and yellows are the highest-risk pigments. Imported pottery (Mexican, Chinese, Indian, Eastern European) and pre-1971 US dishes are the categories that fail most often. The risk lives in the decoration, not the substrate.
3. Underglaze or overglaze? Underglaze (color painted on, then sealed under a clear glaze) is generally safer. Overglaze, decals, and gold leaf sit on the eating surface itself, where acidic food can pull pigment out directly.
4. Age matters. Pre-1971 US pieces predate the FDA’s leachable-lead rules and are higher-risk by default. The 1970s–80s bright-color boom (Fiestaware reds, oranges, yellows) is its own special hazard. "Vintage" is shorthand for higher risk.
5. "Lead-free" or "for decorative use only"? "Lead-free" means the manufacturer ground up the piece and averaged the result, not that the eating surface is clean. "For decorative use only" is the label-side admission that the FDA leach test failed. Believe it.
6. When in doubt, test it. One drop of Fluoro-Spec on the food-contact surface (the well of the plate, the inside of the bowl, the inside rim of the mug). Wait 30 seconds, shine the UV light. Lead glows green.

How to test a dish with Fluoro-Spec

Fluoro-Spec gives you a yes/no answer in about 30 seconds. The whole workflow is drip, wait, shine, read.

1. Pick the right surface. Test where food actually touches: the well of a plate, the inside of a bowl, the inside rim of a mug. The underside, the bottom stamp, and the foot ring don’t matter. The FDA leach limit only applies to the food-contact zone.
2. Wipe it clean and dry. Food residue, dishwasher soap, or oil can interfere with the reaction. A quick wipe with a dry paper towel is enough.
3. Place one drop of Fluoro-Spec on the glaze. Use the Drip Tip Kit for individual pieces. For a whole stack or a serving platter, the Spray Bottle Kit covers wide areas in one pass.
4. Shine the included 365 nm UV light on the surface. The reaction is unmistakable when it’s there.
5. Read the result. Lead-positive glazes fluoresce bright green. Clean glazes don’t glow. There is no in-between: it either lights up or it doesn’t.
6. Wipe, label, repeat. Wipe the drop off with water. If the dish tested positive, mark it (a piece of masking tape on the foot ring works) and pull it from your rotation. Test the rest of the matching set, glaze runs come in batches.

Found one? A positive dish doesn’t automatically mean lead has spread through your kitchen, but if you’ve been hand-washing it daily for years, dust around the sink, the dish drainer, and the surrounding counters may need a wipe-down. The Lead Cleaning Wipes below handle that pass.