In a renewed struggle against dish hoarding, several House superintendents have planned a round of spring cleaning over spring break.

Students in Adams and Eliot Houses learned from their superintendents this week that they could face fines for any dining hall dishware found in their rooms during routine spring break maintenance inspections.

“Due to the huge amount of china missing from the dining hall anyone who has china in their room will be charged,” wrote Eliot superintendent Francisco Medeiros in an e-mail to all House residents.

In an e-mail posted on the Adams Schmooze list, House superintendent Jorge Teixeira specified a per-item fine.

“If any dishes from the dining hall are found,” he wrote, “students will be charged $5 for each one.”

But despite his statement, Teixeira said, no charges will actually be levied against Adams House residents.

In Winthrop House, superintendent David Simms said he plans to have his staff collect dining hall china from student suites but does not plan to impose fines. And some other Houses, such as Leverett and Dunster, have no plans to collect dishes during spring break room inspections.

In Houses where maintenance officials will seize dining hall china, the moves to curb dish hoarding come at a time when more traditional methods have failed.

This morning in Eliot and Kirkland Houses, Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) held a scheduled dishware pick-up where students could drop off silverware and other dining hall supplies they had stashed away in their rooms. The events had been well publicized but the results were dismal, said Rosemary E. McGahey, HUDS director for residential dining.

“We collected only one mug and a couple of bowls,” she said. “So it was a little bit disappointing.”

HUDS was not involved in the decision to announce fines for dining hall china in Adams and Eliot, she added. But she said HUDS welcomes the assistance of House maintenance staff in trying to alleviate an ongoing dish shortage.

“Each year, we spend tens of thousands of dollars to replace missing and broken china and flatware,” McGahey said.

But she estimated that only a small portion of these replacement costs are due to normal wear and tear.

And by the end of the year, when rooms are thoroughly cleaned and dishes are finally reunited with the dining hall, it’s often too late.

“By the time we get the dishes, some of them are so damaged that we couldn’t use them again because they are so soiled and because of health concerns,” she said.