My grandmother would always put the salt in the vinegar until it stopped dissolving, then put it on the challenging spots and let it sit for about 2 hours - wiped away first swipe.
Grandmothers always know, they learned from their mother/parents, the further back you go, people knew how to solve problems with things they already had in the house, including healthcare! People who lived on farms were especially knowledgeable of these things because they were more isolated, it was kind of a matter of survival!
My grand mother told me that her grand mother's maid in the south of france would gather all the copper things that needed cleaning on a specific day and then all the other maids of the area would gather and each would bring 5 litres of vinegar and a lot of salt and they would pour all the vinegar in an empty wine barrel in which they had placed all the copper that needed cleaning which had been coverer in salt with a paste made from something, and then they would just go back home doing their daily job and would come back at the end of the day to get their copper stuff and it would be spotless clean. My grand mother as a child thought that this was some sort of magic/
I cleaned a decorative copper plate that my father had made at school many yrs ago. I forget how I did it but was a tip from RU-vid. I am going to clean it again now. It has lasted well and I think the tip was to rub it in wax and polish off as I can see now the bits that got missed from wax finish.
The all time best way to clean the copper bottom pans; without harming them is with a slightly samppend soft cloth rag baking soda and elbow grease!!! Tightly wrap the rag around the middle and index fingers dip tip of the cloth in water; just to dampen it then scub away the dark! Won't harm the pan and comes new penny bright!
When traveling in the Middle East I discovered amazing prices on copper vessels. All were old and tarnished but gorgeous. I learned the locals utilized tomato paste and salt to clean brass. I rented half a 'can' to ship brass vessels and some pieces of furniture to the USA, my travel partner did likewise. (The 'can' refers to shipping containers on planes. We stuffed them full including our clothes so more delicate items could be in our carry-on and checked luggage. Shipping via ships usually included saltwater damage and wharf rat issues. My backpack aka purse was always full of brass items, I clanged as I traversed airports.) I am not a chemist so I do not understand the chemical interactions, I only know it worked/works for me.
Bar Keepers Friend I suggest a liquid over the powder for convenience, a green abrasive pad or bronze wool ( bronze versus steel wool as bronze is softer and can be used on Chrome and such)
Hi Are your pots Paul Revere ware? My mom's are nearly 70 years old and still beautiful. The logo is getting a little faint though. We used copper twinkle on them for years but it's hard to find. Now we use the vinegar/salt made into a paste with flour. It works fine as long as the pots get regular cleaning. But I have a frying pan that's very tarnished that's why I'm here. Your straight vinegar/salt is way faster then the paste. I have left the mixture soaking on the pan a few times now then sprinkling the pan with salt again and soaking a magic eraser with vinegar and scrubbing...... slowly the deep tarnish are coming off. Read further down the comments....someone suggested lettting it soak in a pool of solution, so trying that now.
Mine are Revere ware as well, not sure on the age of mine but I would guess they are from the 60's. I love them and use them every day but they are hard to keep clean!
@@TheOldCountryPorch right. Best to clean each use and immediately towel dry (air drying isn't fast enough) I've neglected a frying pan. It's taken 2 days of soaking in your solution with scrubbing from time to time but it's finally sparkling again. Thanks for your video and rely. Ours are from the early 50's. Yours look similar so maybe from the 50's too. Long lasting!!
It's easier to just dissolve salt in white vinegar to make a solution to clean the pots. About 1 tsp or more per cup of white vinegar. Rinse with plain water and dry afterwards. Burned on food will come off with barkeeper's friend powder.
Barkeepers Friend is the best thing ever for Revere Ware. After using your pan, just sprinkle a little on the bottom and shine it up. It will keep a very old pan looking great!
I also just viewed a tuber using Coke Cola Soda, which worked without scrubbing. "How to clean a copper pot with COCA COLA". Ketchup, Lemon and Vinegar all are the Acidic and the Salt or Diamacious Earth the abrasive for scrubbing.
not sure if this has been asked on here because i have not read any comments yet but what if the only salt you have is pink himalayan salt??will that work just as well to mix with the vinegar?
Just get Twinkle Copper Shine at the grocery store. Wet the sponge pad and get some of the Twinkle paste on it, and in two seconds your pot will be shiny and tarnish free. It's pretty amazing.
After vinegar salt treatment, wash it with a mixture of baking soda and water to remove/neutralize the acid. Then dry it completely. Then lacquer (coat) it with olive oil or wd40 to prevent air and moisture (which causes oxidation) to get in contact with copper surface . That's the complete procedure.
I didn't catch the second method, I heard you say Earth & water, but I know I misheard. I have never heard of......the second one, what is it? Salt & vinegar looks to be more effective, yes. I've been experimenting with copper coins to make batteries, & some coins have scorch marks to do with chemical reactions, the coins are solid copper & I left in vinegar & salt solution for about half hour, the scorch marks remain.
Dang the sheen on copper disappears so quickly. I bought a copper chain necklace and I started wearing it Saturday, and now Tuesday the shine is gone lol. Guess I gotta stock up on some vinegar and salt to soak it in every weekish; my sweat probably accelerates the process though I'm sure.
@@marcb6290 Copper is indeed interesting; it's almost like a living metal that develops an outer skin. I bought a small carry flashlight recently that's made out of copper, and it already has a patina after a week; it's funny because underneath the pocket clip it still has a shine where it wasn't touched.
The salt and DE are abrasives. The ketchup, vinegar and lemon are acids which makes the copper react. Lemon and vinegar have the higher amount of acid (chemical) which is why they work so fast. The biggest thing about copper is to be gentle and you have to maintenance it often. You don't want to scrub it or you will REMOVE the copper. You want to rub it with a softer cloth like an old cotton t-shirt (don't use any plastic clothing like polyester.) If you want an abrasive, try the special Bar Keepers Friend for delicate items like copper. Edit for typo.
I used vinegar and salt, but a little differently. I took an old, large pan and put in enough vinegar to cover the copper bottoms of my RevereWare. Add a liberal helping of salt, set the pot in it, and boil it for 5 to 10 minutes. Then take the pot out and wash it off. It worked great for me. I love RevereWare. I have a 4 quart pot and lid that was a wedding gift from my Grandmother 50 years ago. I also have a 2 quart pot and lid that was my Mother's from before I was born70 years ago. Other than the size, the two are identical. I can't even telll the lids apart. They are my go-to pots for nearly everything.
I thought your video was very well made, instructional and practical. I loved it. My wife bought a beautiful lamp at a flea market that had some old brass and copper on it and I was assigned the job of cleaning the lamp. The comparison of all four solutions was VERY helpful. Thank you.
I have a huge collection of copper, mostly antique, including copper pans. The easiest and quickest way to clean them is by using citric acid, which I buy by the kilo in the local market. I put about a cup of citric acid (lemon salt) in a plastic bath, add a kettle of boiling water as a starter, and then fill it with cold water. It takes seconds of dipping a pot in the bath for the copper to turn pink. Sometimes, I use wire wool to scrub up a really good shine. For just a few pans, try half quantities. The mixture will not harm the inside of a stainless steel pan but will dissolve a tin alloy.
there not really dirty, it is just called " patina " which is the natural oxidisation, of the copper, which protects the copper from corrostion. the copper pans etc, are tin coated on the inside, if they are a of good quality.
I just cleaned a Revere pot that someone left empty on a hot element. I dry sanded starting with 400 grit dry sandpaper. From there I went 600 dry, 800 dry, 1200 wet, 1600 wet, 2000 wet and finally 2500 wet. I did the inside and outside as the pan discoloured from over heating. The pan has never looked better. It, too was a thrift shop purchase.
Thanks for showing this. I have copper pots, and I usually use either the lemon and salt, or the vinegar and salt. Your pots and pans look really nice. I might be wrong, but I think they are a Paul Revere set. My aunt had the same set.
This was a great demonstration - giving people 4 different cleaning methods in a rather controlled experiment and seeing the first hand results. I think it's important for people to understand the science behind it all. Chemically Cleaning: The salt (sodium chloride) and vinegar (acetic acid) combo works best due the chemical reaction that takes place between the two ingredients. Salt and vinegar create hydrogen chloride which is a strong acid which helps to remove the oxidation or tarnish from the copper. The Ketchup method - Ketchup has by volume 5% acetic acid in it so the principle is similar to the salt and vinegar method but in a much weaker more dilute way. Hence it takes more time and labor for it to do the job The Salt and Lemon is similar to the salt and vinegar method again but the vinegars acetic acid is substituted with weaker citric acid from the lemon resulting in less hydrogen chloride production and less strong acid and less cleaning power. Physically Cleaning: The diatomaceous earth and water is simply abrasive. The small silica "fibrous glass" in diatomaceous earth scratch/erode the tarnish thereby physically removing it. I'm not so sure I would want to use diatomaceous earth on my cookware or in my kitchen as it can be a skin irritant and unpleasant to ingest. And Yes you can combine the chemical means with physical means for possibly faster cleaning. And Yes acids are irritants to the skin as well so please be careful when using them and use appropriate personal protective equipment
Pickle juice is real magic. IM gonna guess temp must have some effect because sometimes everything works great and other times not so much. But Pickle juice, 100%.
Regarding diatomaceous earth: please use respiratory protection, because it is a silicate. I'm sure your viewers still have some masks lying around! ;)
Technically, Ketchup has vinegar in it which is an acid as is the tomato in it. Basically Tomato, sugar and vinegar and salt. So- the only difference- is the amount of vinegar and salt compared to the vinegar and salt method haha! The Diatomaceous earth is just an abrasive where the lemon and salt is that acid and abrasive mix. The best way really is the Vinegar and salt- but instead, put it in a larger pan- make a paste of the vinegar and salt, and cover it in that for a few minutes- then pouring boiling hot water with some baking soda over it to neutralize the acid.
I watched another video where the person used flour to make a paste with the salt and vinegar, 1 TSP salt, 3 TSP flour, and enough vinegar to create a paste, apply thick, let sit 30 min. wipe. 👍 EDIT - I think premix salt and vinegar works best, experiment to make paste
would there be a problem if you use sand paper ? there is fine and coarse i was thinking of using fine with water running .....i found these same pans at a yard sale i was wondering if they were good pans...
I wouldn't use sand paper on them, even fine sandpaper could ruin the pans. Vinegar and salt work really well for bringing them back to life! These are really good pans, I highly recommend them!!
I had a Revere ware pot in the dishwasher. I couldn’t remember if I ran the dishwasher or not so I ran it again. And again because the electricity went out and it may not have finished running. So the pot was washed 3 times in hard water and Lemishine. Very spotty copper and dark spots. I was in a hurry to leave so I poured cleaning vinegar over the copper bottom and nothing happened. Then I remembered about salt and how jewelers use it to make a pickle solution for when they solder, so I poured on some regular cheap salt and instantly it shined up. Minimal scrubbing. Now I will get some BarKeeper’s Friend and try to polish it up better.
When I was young my mom made us polish the copper bottoms every time the pans were used as part of our dishwashing chores. We had a scouring powder for copper pots.
Thank you so much for this presentation. I have something copper that has all kinds of grooves and hard to get to spot on it. I love how the vinegar and salt does most of the work for you.
I had just used salt and lemon on an old copper bottom pot. Went back and used the vinegar/salt combination and got the rest of the tarnish off. Thanks for such a clear video.
