How to clean copper at home?

One of the very first metals that people began to use to create household items was copper. It melts easily, beautiful and light. A lot of things were made from it, ranging from dishes and decorations to tools for agriculture.

Over the many years of copper exploitation, several effective methods have been identified for cleaning plaque and oxide from its surface. When cleaning any product, you need to make sure that there is no lacquer coating on it. If it is present and not damaged, then you can wash the item with a regular detergent:

1. It is enough to apply a solution of detergent and water in a ratio of 1 to 5 (100 grams of detergent for every 500 ml of water) on the surface of the product.
2. Wait at least 20 minutes.
3. Then simply wash the copper product with a dish sponge and wipe dry.

If the paintwork is chipped or has already lost its integrity, then it is worth removing it completely. This way you will be able to access the copper surface and continue to use the item without coatings. For this you need:

1. Immerse the item to be cleaned in a solution of baking soda and water. The solution is made at the rate of a tablespoon of soda per liter of water.
2. Put the container to boil for 30-40 minutes.
3. If the water boils away, then it is necessary to add the solution to the desired level during the entire boiling process.
4. When the copper object is removed from the solution, the remaining varnish can be easily removed with a stiff brush or cloth.

A quick way to clean any cookware, including copper, is to a solution of clear paper glue and soda ash:

1. We dissolve three cans of glue and a handful of soda ash in 5 liters of water.
2. We immerse the item that needs cleaning there. Boil 30 minutes.
3. Then we take out a still hot thing and sharply dip it into cold water.
4. Any kind of pollution after this procedure will go away easily. It is necessary to additionally wipe the product with a regular sponge or cloth.

You can clean and wipe off the green plaque with an ordinary lemon. For this you need:

1. Cut the lemon lengthwise.
2. Pour a teaspoon of soda on the half of the lemon at the cut site and clean the object with this surface.

The tool works great due to the use of citric acid. If there is no lemon, then experts advise using powdered citric acid. It must be diluted with water to a state of sour cream. Then you need to soak a cloth or toothbrush in the resulting mixture and wipe the copper object with them in a circular motion.

Cleaning with a solution of ammonia or ammonia can only be carried out outdoors or in a well-ventilated area. This method is good not only for cleaning green patina, but also for darkening copper. Using these tools is quite simple - you need to moisten the sponge with a solution and wipe the copper surface.

Lemon juice or dry citric acid mixed with wheat flour and table salt also gives a good result. It is necessary to dilute all the components with water to the consistency of sour cream and polish the copper with the resulting composition.

Since ancient times, kerosene has been used to clean copper objects. This method was especially popular with sailors on long-distance ships. They polished all the copper parts of the ship with kerosene to a shine. A kerosene-based cleaning agent is made very simply: crushed white chalk is poured onto a rag soaked in kerosene, and the copper surface previously moistened with water is wiped with this rag. Shine after the procedure is guaranteed.

Good for cleaning film on copper a mixture of toothpaste and soda, which is rubbed on the surface of the metal. You can also use a mixture of tooth powder and ammonia. The ingredients must be diluted to a suspension consistency. Wet a cloth or sponge with the resulting solution and rub the surface.

Reading with sodium borate:

1. For half a liter of warm water, 50-80 grams of sodium borate and 25 ml of ammonia solution (ammonia) are poured. Everything must be thoroughly mixed.
2. The resulting mixture is treated with a surface that needs cleaning.
3. If necessary, the process can be repeated several times.

Effective for cleaning copper and goy paste. A little paste should be applied to the surface with a felt or felt cloth, then polish the object in a circular motion. This paste is an abrasive material that contains chromium particles.

Also, experts recommend using a solution of salt and vinegar, in which it is necessary to boil the object to be cleaned for 30 minutes.

If the copper product does not contain impurities that can turn black, then sulfamic (another name is aminosulfonic) acid can be used for cleaning. Naturally, when using it, it is necessary to protect the skin and use gloves, as this substance can cause serious burns.

There are other variations of this method. using acetic acid. Vinegar, salt and bran are mixed in equal parts. The resulting mixture is rubbed onto a copper surface.

The outer surface can be cleaned using the methods described above. But with the inside, the situation is more complicated. This is especially true in cases where limescale is formed in a vessel for boiling water, whether it is a kettle, a samovar or a Turk.

You can use the proven method using potato peels:

1. The washed skins left after peeling the potatoes are poured into the object to be cleaned and poured with boiling water.
2. Then, for about an hour, boil water with skins in a dish to be cleaned.
3. After boiling, drain the contents of the dishes and wash them in the usual way.
4. After the end of the cleaning procedure, it is necessary to boil the water several times in a bowl with a change after each boil. This is done in order to remove the remnants of plaque.

Also works well when cleaning copper utensils vinegar essence 60-75%. The method of application is simple:

1. Pour 300 ml of essence into a cleanable teapot, samovar or Turk.
2. Top up with water (preferably warm) until the volume of the vessel is completely filled.
3. Let the solution stand for about two hours.
4. After that, drain the liquid and clean the vessel with a brush.
5. After that, the product is thoroughly washed with water. This is necessary so that the remaining acid is gone and does not further affect the taste of water.

Zest or citric acid works very well to remove scale from copper utensils. Use either peels from any citrus crops (lemon, tangerine, orange, lime), or the fruits themselves, or just dry citric acid:

1. Depending on the type of cleaning chosen, they are placed in a vessel: skins up to half the volume, chopped fruits in the same amount, or two or three packs of citric acid.
2. It is necessary to ensure that the heated vessel is not full to the brim, otherwise, when boiling, part of the liquid will splash out and stain the surface of the heating device and the vessel being cleaned.
3. It is necessary to boil the contents for half an hour.
4. After that, drain the water, wipe the walls of the product with a brush. If the limescale has not been completely removed, repeat the procedure.
5. After the end of the procedure, you need to boil several portions of water so that the citric acid contained in the fruits of citrus crops is washed out from the walls of the vessel.

The easiest and most affordable way to clean is to buy a special tool for removing scale from kettles.

Then we proceed according to the instructions attached to the tool itself. Cleaning copper dishes from scale is no different from cleaning dishes made of other materials. But I would like to make a small remark regarding samovars. It is made up of many different parts. Therefore, it is first advisable to disassemble the samovar and only after that clean it in the way you have chosen.

There are people who collect various coins. Often in collections there are also coins made of copper or copper alloys.They can also spoil the view from time to time.

If the composition of the coin is not pure copper, but also lead, then its surface is covered with a yellow film. You can remove it by immersing the coin in a solution of water and laundry soap. It is necessary to hold the coin there for three hours, then remove it and wipe it to the desired shine with a rag soaked in vinegar.

Using a solution of citric or oxalic acid, you can perform the following cleaning:

1. The solution is diluted from a proportion of 1 teaspoon of acid per 100 grams of water.
2. A cotton pad is dipped into it, with which the coin is wiped.
3. It must be remembered that after using the acid, the coin must be washed well, and in the process of cleaning, especially with oxalic acid, gloves must be used so as not to cause chemical burns to the skin of the hands.

Red plaque from the coin, as well as copper bracelets and crosses is removed at home using ammonia or ammonium carbonate. A coin is immersed in a solution of one of these substances, then washed with water. If the result is not satisfactory, then the process must be repeated.

How to clean copper at home, see the following video.