There are many ways to clean and polish copper and to be honest I was skeptical of a few of them… Today I found 3 copper pots at a yard sale for $2! They looked pretty bad and I wasn’t sure if the natural remedies and cleaning tricks where going to work on these copper pots. After doing a little research I decided to try three different cleaning methods.
Lemon and Salt
The first pot I used the lemon and salt method. This method is simple. Cut a lemon in half and dip it in salt. Then rub it all over the pot, dipping into the salt as needed.
My daughter loved helping with this one and as you can see in the photo it started working right away! This made me very excited because I wasn’t sure how well the natural cleaning tricks would work.
Vinegar, Flour and Salt
The next pot I mixed 1/4 cup flour with a 1/4 cup salt and poured just enough vinegar in it to make a paste. I spooned the paste onto the pot and scrubbed it down with my scrub pad. This worked great!
The vinegar is the true cleaning agent in this method but the flour helps keep it from just flowing off the pot. The paste keeps the vinegar on the surface of the pot for a satisfying result.
Ketchup
Now to try the Ketchup. I know by now the vinegar and lemon both work well. Both vinegar and lemon are both acidic and that seems to be the trick. Ketchup is also acidic both from the tomatoes and the vinegar in the ketchup. So in theory this should work…
And it did! I was actually very surprised with the ketchup method but it works really well.
Copper Pots Results
Now let’s look at all three compared to each other.
I’m super impressed! And a little disappointed that they all work so wonderfully. I thought I would be able to compare and tell you all which one work better and which one didn’t work. So let me see if I can find fault in one of these methods…
Lemon and Salt:
This one worked great but I felt like I couldn’t scrub it the same as the other. I still used my scrub pad and got a little cleaner. As I scrubbed I felt like I couldn’t keep the lemon juice where I wanted it like I could do with the vinegar paste and ketchup.
Vinegar and Four:
I like this one the best. Although the results of all three turned out the same this was the easiest to scrub with. I could see the vinegar at work because of the flour and I could paste the worse areas with more and let it sit there for a while for an easier clean. I could not do that with the lemon as well.
Ketchup:
Ketchup worked just as well as the other! This one was super easy to just grab out of the fridge and clean with. Its a little sticky because of the sugar but it all washes off well. For simple cleaning/maintenance for my copper pots I will probably just use ketchup. It was quick, simple and worked great. Although, if I have another deep clean that needs to happen I will use the vinegar and flour.
In Summery – Before and After
Whichever method you decide on should work. Lemon, Vinegar and Ketchup are all acidic and clean the copper equally well. So there are no needs to buy any special cleaner or harsh chemicals to get your copper clean. You can use natural cleaner that you already have in your kitchen.
Want a Natural All Purpose Cleaner?
Did you know that you can make your own lemon scented all purpose cleaner? Its really easy and effective. Simple take lemon peels and put them in a jar. Fill the jar with vinegar and let sit for a week or two before you use. Pour into a spray bottle and you have a natural, effective all purpose clean!
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