I have 6 old copper tea kettles that are absolutely beautiful and have porcelain (SP?) handles. They are extremely tarnished. Does anyone know how I can clean them up and make them beautiful and shiny again?
To clean the inside of a stainless steel tea kettle -- Fill the kettle with a 50/50 mixture of white vinegar and water then bring mixture to a boil for a while Remove from heat and let kettle sit with vinegar & water mixture for a couple hours or over night to loosen mineral deposits then wash out mineral deposits - Note: sometimes a second cleaning may be needed. To remove vinegar smell from kettle just simply boil some water a couple times. I do not recommend any harsh commercial chemicals to clean a kettle especially if you plan on using it.
lemon juice on cotton cloth when clean rinse off then to set the shine put out in the sunshine they will gleam. if really bad add a little table salt. but don't rub too hard as the salt may scratch.
You could buy what is called Barkeepers Friend it is very good at cleaning any copper. I have Revereware with copper bottoms and that is what I use and they come out new and shiny everythime. If it has been awhile since these have been cleaned use your elbow greese :) !
Is barkeepers friend available in Canada?
There are a lot of different home remedies for polishing copper like lemon juice and salt, ketchup and 100's more but I've found them to be terribly inefficient. Yeah, we want to clean the copper but not take all day! So listen to your 2nd poster and go get some Barkeeper's Friend! It's wonderful for anything metal! And cheap! Dampen the item and give it a good sprinkle of the Barkeeper's. Take a sponge and smear the product around to get a fairly even coating. Then walk away for 10-15 minutes to let the product work. Come back and start scrubbing. If your items are pretty heavily tarnished, it's going to take come time and probably a couple of sprinkle, smear and wait sessions but it will work! I have several copper tea kettles and a big copper bowl I use for decoration in my kitchen and I don't use anything but the Barkeeper's on them. Oh! After your finished scrubbing, give each item a quick wash in warm soapy water to remove any residue and dry them with a soft towel. This prevents water spots which will retarnish your items.
