How to care for a set you intend to keep

A good mahjong set will outlast you. It will pass to a child or a niece or a friend who finally learns. The way you treat it for the next thirty years matters.

Wipe tiles with a soft dry cloth after a long night. If something has spilled, a barely-damp microfiber and an immediate dry pass.

Never, ever, run tiles under a tap. Never use a chemical cleaner on the faces. The pigments are more delicate than they look.

Store the case flat, not on its edge. Keep it out of direct sun -- ivory and bone yellow over decades, and even high-quality resin can shift in tone.

If a rack splinters, it is replaceable. If a tile chips, it is replaceable. The set itself is not. Care for the set; replace the parts.