This article describes the author's attempts to find a solution to recent problems found in art glass on display in museums. In 2003, Pamela Vandiver, the author of this paper, was a scientist in glass and ceramics at the Smithsonian Institution. A problem with glass preservation was observed at the Renwick Gallery - some modern artists glasses were growing white crystals and scummy films. Consultation with conservators at other museums confirmed that the problem was not confined to the Smithsonian's collections. Some glass surfaces on the art had become cloudy overall and some were deteriorated where cords or colour-joints occur. At the Museum Conservation Institute, the Smithsonian's research laboratory could not even take small samples of the contemporary glasses in collections, but were able to sample the white crystals. These proved to be high in sodium salts and sometimes silica. Some of the scummy films that did not dissolve with washing were tested by SEM-EDS and shown to contain sodium, potassium and phosphorous. The soap used to wash the glasses contained sodium and phosphorus. After re-washing these and other glasses with soap lacking in these minerals, the films which were not washed off produced the same analysis, so the soap was not the problem.
