I just remembered something from a few years back that I think ya'll might get a chuckle or two from:
I had a mate who went out and bought himself a 6" reflector scope. He was a raw, green, totally inexperienced amateur astronomer, mind.
He called me in a panic several months after he got the scope and said his it was "acting funny". Very upset, he was.
I asked what had happened and he said "I dunno - all I did was run the big mirror in it thru the dishwasher to clean it up good and now the views thru it are really weird-looking!"
Some mothers do 'ave 'em....