One thing I have found that works well to clean ceramics you are nervous about hand cleaning is the foaming type bathroom cleaner. The type that is like "scrubbing bubbles". I use a generic brand. Place the ceramic item on newspapers, old towels or paper towels and spray liberally. Let sit for a few minutes and then rinse with hot water. The dirt washes off and there is no scrubbing necessary. I recently did this with a textured white angel ceramic which would have had to be scrubbed with a brush of some sort which really concerned me. It was quite fragile. It was dirt and dust stained and tobacco stained. It cleaned up wonderfully and was snow white and clean again.

I have used the foaming type bathroom cleaner on both the exterior and interior of my refrigerator to clean with. Spray down and wipe off the dirt. I have a textured refrigerator that can be hard to clean because of the grooves. Also works well on smooth surfaces. Works great on most any surface other than wood items as well! I use it on my microwave, counter tops, bathroom fixtures, stove top, and almost everything. Rinse well.

To clean a microwave that is heavily soiled, place a cup of water in the microwave and heat on high for a minute or two and let it sit for at least 5 minutes. BE CAREFUL WHEN REMOVING THE WATER. IT IS VERY HOT. Then simply wipe off most spills with a damp cloth or sponge.