Paper mâché is one of the easier materials to live with, as long as you know the one thing that will damage it. That thing is water. Everything below follows from it.
This is written about our own bowls — layered recycled paper, made by hand in Jaipur, painted and finished with a sealing coat — but most of it applies to any paper mâché object you own, including pieces you have made yourself.
The short version
- Dust with a dry cloth or a soft brush.
- Never use a damp cloth, water, or cleaning spray.
- Never put it in a dishwasher or a sink.
- Keep it out of bathrooms, conservatories and anywhere else that gets steamy.
- Keep it out of long direct sunlight.
- Hold it by the body, not the rim.
Why water is the problem
A paper mâché bowl is made by layering paper over a mould until the wall holds its own shape, then drying it, lifting it off, painting it and sealing it. The strength comes from the layers bonding as they dry. Reintroduce water and you start reversing that: the fibres swell, the layers begin to separate, and the surface goes soft. It does not happen instantly — a splash wiped off straight away is not a disaster — but it is cumulative and it does not undo itself.
This is why we describe our bowls as dry use only, and why we do not make food-contact claims for them. They will hold whole fruit, potpourri, keys or post. They are not waterproof and they are not dishwasher safe.
Everyday cleaning
Dust is the only routine maintenance a paper mâché bowl needs.
- Tip out the contents.
- Wipe the inside and outside with a dry microfibre cloth, working with the surface rather than scrubbing at it.
- For a textured or uneven finish where a cloth skips over the dips, use a clean, soft, dry paintbrush — a wide, soft make-up brush works just as well.
- For dust in the bottom, tip and brush rather than rinse.
Do not use furniture polish, kitchen spray, wipes, or anything described as antibacterial. They are all wet, and several are solvent-based, which will attack the sealing coat before the water gets to the paper.
If something spills in it
Act quickly and dry, in that order.
- Empty the bowl.
- Blot — do not rub — with a dry paper towel. Rubbing a wet painted surface is what lifts the finish.
- Leave it somewhere warm and airy to dry completely, right way up, away from a direct heat source. A radiator will dry it too fast and can warp the shape.
- Do not use a hairdryer for the same reason.
A small spill blotted straight away often leaves nothing behind. A spill left to sit will mark, and that mark is generally permanent.
Where to put it, and where not to
Good: coffee tables, sideboards, shelves, hall consoles, dressing tables, bedside tables — anywhere dry and reasonably stable.
Avoid:
- Bathrooms and en suites. Steam is water that gets everywhere, slowly. This is the single most common way a paper mâché piece is ruined.
- Next to a sink or a kettle. Splashes and steam, repeatedly.
- Conservatories and windowsills in full sun. Long, direct sunlight can fade hand-applied paint over time, and hot glass makes the problem worse.
- Directly on a radiator shelf or above a wood burner. Sustained dry heat can make layered paper brittle.
- Outdoors. Including a covered porch — humidity alone is enough.
Handling and moving
Lift the bowl by cupping the body, not by gripping the rim. The rim is the thinnest part of any moulded bowl and it is where stress concentrates, particularly on a wide, flared shape.
If you are stacking a set, put a sheet of tissue or a soft cloth between each one. Paper against painted paper will burnish over time, and you will see it as a shiny patch where they touched.
Storing them for a season? Somewhere dry and room-temperature, loosely covered. Not a loft, which swings between damp and baking, and not a garage. A wardrobe shelf is ideal.
Small repairs
Some things you can live with, and some you can fix.
A scuff on the paint. Usually leave it. These are hand-painted objects and the finish is not uniform to begin with, so a small mark disappears into the surface far better than a touch-up will.
A dent. Layered paper has some give, and a shallow dent will often relax over a few days if you take the weight off it. Do not try to steam it out.
A chip at the rim. A dab of PVA on the exposed edge, pressed flat with a clean finger and left to dry, will stop it lifting further. It will be visible. That is the trade for the piece continuing to be usable.
Anything structural — a crack through the wall, a foot coming away — is worth a message rather than a home repair. If a piece arrives damaged or fails in a way it should not have, tell us; our refund policy covers it and you have 30 days from delivery to change your mind for any reason at all.
What normal wear looks like
These are handmade objects and they are not going to stay identical to the day they arrived. The paint will settle. The surface will pick up the faint character of being handled. A bowl kept in daylight will shift very slightly in tone over years.
That is the material behaving as it should, not a fault. If you want an object that repeats exactly and looks the same in a decade, ceramic is the right choice. If you want one that shows the hand that made it, this is the material — and looking after it is mostly a matter of keeping it dry and leaving it alone.
More reading
If you are working out what to keep in yours, read what to put in a decorative bowl. For how the pieces are made, see about Aala India, or browse the paper mâché bowls.