Thread: Cleaning Copper

On Jul 15, 6:54*am, "jmcquown" <j_mcqu...@comcast.net> wrote:
> Ketchup! *from the following website (and also a recommendation by a maid
> service):
>
> http://www.realsimple.com/home-organ...-surprising-na...
>
> Use ketchup to: Remove tarnish from copper and brass cookware. Squeeze
> ketchup onto a cloth and rub it on pots and pans. They should go back to
> their coppery color in minutes. Rinse with warm water and dry with a towel.
>
> I don't like ketchup, but like a lot of people I do have a bottle of it. *I
> had no idea I could use it to clean my copper-clad Revere Ware. *Surprise!
>
> Jill

Copper cleaner or silver cleaner does it instantaneously. I guess
ketchup would be a good back up if you are out of cleaner.

jmcquown wrote:
>
> Ketchup! from the following website (and also a recommendation by a maid
> service):
>
> http://www.realsimple.com/home-organ...572/index.html
>
> Use ketchup to: Remove tarnish from copper and brass cookware. Squeeze
> ketchup onto a cloth and rub it on pots and pans. They should go back to
> their coppery color in minutes. Rinse with warm water and dry with a towel.
>
> I don't like ketchup, but like a lot of people I do have a bottle of it. I
> had no idea I could use it to clean my copper-clad Revere Ware. Surprise!
>
> Jill

LOL!
I have lots of Revereware with copper bottoms. Try the ketchup and report
back. I'll bet it's a joke and won't work at all. I used to scrub mine
clean for a short while but finally gave up as it takes way more time than
the average cook has.

IMO, if you see shiny copper bottoms of pans hanging in a kitchen....that
person never uses them or they hire someone to polish them each week.

My Revereware pots and pans are black on the copper bottoms and they can
stay that way as far as I'm concerned. They still work fine. :-D I'll use
my ketchup for dogs & burgers.

Gary

ImStillMags wrote:

> Copper cleaner or silver cleaner does it instantaneously. I guess
> ketchup would be a good back up if you are out of cleaner.

Ketchup only has a trace of vinegar and citric acid. I'll bet it takes
at least an hour.

On 15-Jul-2012, Gary <[email protected]> wrote:

> jmcquown wrote:
> >
> > Ketchup! from the following website (and also a recommendation by a
> > maid
> > service):
> >
> > http://www.realsimple.com/home-organ...572/index.html
> >
> > Use ketchup to: Remove tarnish from copper and brass cookware. Squeeze
> > ketchup onto a cloth and rub it on pots and pans. They should go back to
> > their coppery color in minutes. Rinse with warm water and dry with a
> > towel.
> >
> > I don't like ketchup, but like a lot of people I do have a bottle of it.
> > I
> > had no idea I could use it to clean my copper-clad Revere Ware.
> > Surprise!
> >
> > Jill
>
> LOL!
> I have lots of Revereware with copper bottoms. Try the ketchup and report
> back. I'll bet it's a joke and won't work at all. I used to scrub mine
> clean for a short while but finally gave up as it takes way more time than
> the average cook has.

Salt and vinegar are commonly used to remove tarnish from copper pans; given
the amount of salt and vinegar in ketchup, I'd imagine it would do the job.
Of course, salt and vinegar are much less expensive than ketchup and,
generally, as widely found in the home.
--

Change Cujo to Juno in email address.

On Jul 15, 9:24*am, Gary <g.maj...@att.net> wrote:
> jmcquown wrote:
>
> > Ketchup! *from the following website (and also a recommendation by a maid
> > service):
>
> >http://www.realsimple.com/home-organ...-surprising-na...
>
> > Use ketchup to: Remove tarnish from copper and brass cookware. Squeeze
> > ketchup onto a cloth and rub it on pots and pans. They should go back to
> > their coppery color in minutes. Rinse with warm water and dry with a towel.
>
> > I don't like ketchup, but like a lot of people I do have a bottle of it.. *I
> > had no idea I could use it to clean my copper-clad Revere Ware. *Surprise!
>
> > Jill
>
> LOL!
> I have lots of Revereware with copper bottoms. Try the ketchup and report
> back. I'll bet it's a joke and won't work at all. *I used to scrub mine
> clean for a short while but finally gave up as it takes way more time than
> the average cook has.
>
> IMO, if you see shiny copper bottoms of pans hanging in a kitchen....that
> person never uses them or they hire someone to polish them each week.
>
> My Revereware pots and pans are black on the copper bottoms and they can
> stay that way as far as I'm concerned. They still work fine. *:-D *I'll use
> my ketchup for dogs & burgers.
>
> Gary

I have my grandpa's copper washtub (one of those oval things with
handles) - it has a lid, but the lid is zinc and ugly - I use the tub
as a decorative plant holder, putting a large potted plant inside -
don't actually put dirt in it, just use it as an outside container.

I polish it with Red Bear copper cleaner - works great - but because
it's such a large item, I put a buffer pad on my cordless drill and do
the polishing the easy way. :-) Works great.

N.

On 2012-07-15, l, not -l <[email protected]> wrote:

> Salt and vinegar are commonly used to remove tarnish from copper pans; given

Yep. Anything with vinegar will work if you rub long enough. In the
service, our DI told us to swipe the hot sauce off the mess hall
tables to polish the old brass faucets and plumbing fixtures in the
barracks. Later, when I ended up in the fire dept and could afford
Brasso to polish all that fire engine brass, I thought I was home
free. Nope. Damn stuff didn't work any better than Louisiana hot
sauce.

nb

--
vi --the heart of evil!

In article <jtuknk$cbo$[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
>
> On 15-Jul-2012, Gary <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > jmcquown wrote:
> > >
> > > Ketchup! from the following website (and also a recommendation by a
> > > maid
> > > service):
> > >
> > > http://www.realsimple.com/home-organ...572/index.html
> > >
> > > Use ketchup to: Remove tarnish from copper and brass cookware. Squeeze
> > > ketchup onto a cloth and rub it on pots and pans. They should go back to
> > > their coppery color in minutes. Rinse with warm water and dry with a
> > > towel.
> > >
> > > I don't like ketchup, but like a lot of people I do have a bottle of it.
> > > I
> > > had no idea I could use it to clean my copper-clad Revere Ware.
> > > Surprise!
> > >
> > > Jill
> >
> > LOL!
> > I have lots of Revereware with copper bottoms. Try the ketchup and report
> > back. I'll bet it's a joke and won't work at all. I used to scrub mine
> > clean for a short while but finally gave up as it takes way more time than
> > the average cook has.
>
> Salt and vinegar are commonly used to remove tarnish from copper pans; given
> the amount of salt and vinegar in ketchup, I'd imagine it would do the job.
> Of course, salt and vinegar are much less expensive than ketchup and,
> generally, as widely found in the home.

Or just lemon juice.

Janet

"Gary" <g.majo[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]..
> jmcquown wrote:
>>
>> Ketchup! from the following website (and also a recommendation by a maid
>> service):
>>
>> http://www.realsimple.com/home-organ...572/index.html
>>
>> Use ketchup to: Remove tarnish from copper and brass cookware. Squeeze
>> ketchup onto a cloth and rub it on pots and pans. They should go back to
>> their coppery color in minutes. Rinse with warm water and dry with a
>> towel.
>>
>> I don't like ketchup, but like a lot of people I do have a bottle of it.
>> I
>> had no idea I could use it to clean my copper-clad Revere Ware.
>> Surprise!
>>
>> Jill
>
> LOL!
> I have lots of Revereware with copper bottoms. Try the ketchup and report
> back. I'll bet it's a joke and won't work at all. I used to scrub mine
> clean for a short while but finally gave up as it takes way more time than
> the average cook has.
>
> IMO, if you see shiny copper bottoms of pans hanging in a kitchen....that
> person never uses them or they hire someone to polish them each week.
>
Sorry, sweetie. My aunt Jean was just about one of the best cooks I've ever
known. She also had copper-clad pans. She sure didn't hire someone to
clean it. She was legally blind. She also refinished furniture and did
ceramics as a hobby. For all I know she used ketchup to keep her copper
sparkling clean.

Jill

On 7/15/2012 9:54 AM, jmcquown wrote:
> Ketchup! from the following website (and also a recommendation by a maid
> service):
>
> http://www.realsimple.com/home-organ...572/index.html
>
>
> Use ketchup to: Remove tarnish from copper and brass cookware. Squeeze
> ketchup onto a cloth and rub it on pots and pans. They should go back to
> their coppery color in minutes. Rinse with warm water and dry with a towel.
>
> I don't like ketchup, but like a lot of people I do have a bottle of it.
> I had no idea I could use it to clean my copper-clad Revere Ware. Surprise!

I like alternative cleaning methods, especially since I have cats in the
house and no telling what they will get into. For copper I've read this:

Copper cleaner: Paste of equal parts vinegar, salt and flour. Be sure to
rinse completely afterward to prevent corrosion.

You can also use baking soda to clean stainless steal.

http://www.marc.org/environment/soli...w/saferalt.htm

Nancy2 <[email protected]> wrote:

> I have my grandpa's copper washtub (one of those oval things with
> handles) - it has a lid, but the lid is zinc and ugly - I use the tub
> as a decorative plant holder, putting a large potted plant inside -
> don't actually put dirt in it, just use it as an outside container.



I only have a small and a medium sauce pan with copper bottoms. If they
were on display I'd polish them up. But since the reside in a drawer I
don't bother.

I collect copper. Mostly junky copper/tin galvanized stuff. Maybe half a
dozen solid pieces. All of it from yard sales. On a few occassion I
bought one piece and they unloaded all the copper they had, gratis, just
to be rid off it.

I went to Williams & Sonoma to by a lemon/lime juicer when I spotted a
large solid copper salad bowl. I thought, what a show piece that is. Then
I saw the $400 price tag. I paid for the juicer and left. It's probably
still sitting there. It would be a waste of counter space and rarely get
used.

Andy

On Sun, 15 Jul 2012 10:24:53 -0400, Gary <[email protected]> wrote:

>jmcquown wrote:
>>
>> Ketchup! from the following website (and also a recommendation by a maid
>> service):
>>
>> http://www.realsimple.com/home-organ...572/index.html
>>
>> Use ketchup to: Remove tarnish from copper and brass cookware. Squeeze
>> ketchup onto a cloth and rub it on pots and pans. They should go back to
>> their coppery color in minutes. Rinse with warm water and dry with a towel.
>>
>> I don't like ketchup, but like a lot of people I do have a bottle of it. I
>> had no idea I could use it to clean my copper-clad Revere Ware. Surprise!
>>
>> Jill
>
>LOL!
>I have lots of Revereware with copper bottoms. Try the ketchup and report
>back. I'll bet it's a joke and won't work at all. I used to scrub mine
>clean for a short while but finally gave up as it takes way more time than
>the average cook has.
>
>IMO, if you see shiny copper bottoms of pans hanging in a kitchen....that
>person never uses them or they hire someone to polish them each week.
>
>My Revereware pots and pans are black on the copper bottoms and they can
>stay that way as far as I'm concerned. They still work fine. :-D I'll use
>my ketchup for dogs & burgers.
>
>Gary

The darker the exterior of cookware the better it cooks... those who
shine the exterior of their cookware to a mirror finish are no kind of
a cook, they're all show and no go.

On Sun, 15 Jul 2012 14:39:48 GMT, "l, not -l" <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>On 15-Jul-2012, Gary <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> jmcquown wrote:
>> >
>> > Ketchup! from the following website (and also a recommendation by a
>> > maid
>> > service):
>> >
>> > http://www.realsimple.com/home-organ...572/index.html
>> >
>> > Use ketchup to: Remove tarnish from copper and brass cookware. Squeeze
>> > ketchup onto a cloth and rub it on pots and pans. They should go back to
>> > their coppery color in minutes. Rinse with warm water and dry with a
>> > towel.
>> >
>> > I don't like ketchup, but like a lot of people I do have a bottle of it.
>> > I
>> > had no idea I could use it to clean my copper-clad Revere Ware.
>> > Surprise!
>> >
>> > Jill
>>
>> LOL!
>> I have lots of Revereware with copper bottoms. Try the ketchup and report
>> back. I'll bet it's a joke and won't work at all. I used to scrub mine
>> clean for a short while but finally gave up as it takes way more time than
>> the average cook has.
>
>Salt and vinegar are commonly used to remove tarnish from copper pans; given
>the amount of salt and vinegar in ketchup, I'd imagine it would do the job.
>Of course, salt and vinegar are much less expensive than ketchup and,
>generally, as widely found in the home.

The thing is that salt and vinegar will damage copper and other
cookware, it will cause pitting. If one insists on shiney cookware
then use a metal polish made specifically for that particular metal...
acid and salt is the last thing I'd use for polishing any metal.

On Sun, 15 Jul 2012 07:54:58 -0700 (PDT), Nancy2
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Jul 15, 9:24*am, Gary <g.maj...@att.net> wrote:
>> jmcquown wrote:
>>
>> > Ketchup! *from the following website (and also a recommendation by a maid
>> > service):
>>
>> >http://www.realsimple.com/home-organ...-surprising-na...
>>
>> > Use ketchup to: Remove tarnish from copper and brass cookware. Squeeze
>> > ketchup onto a cloth and rub it on pots and pans. They should go back to
>> > their coppery color in minutes. Rinse with warm water and dry with a towel.
>>
>> > I don't like ketchup, but like a lot of people I do have a bottle of it. *I
>> > had no idea I could use it to clean my copper-clad Revere Ware. *Surprise!
>>
>> > Jill
>>
>> LOL!
>> I have lots of Revereware with copper bottoms. Try the ketchup and report
>> back. I'll bet it's a joke and won't work at all. *I used to scrub mine
>> clean for a short while but finally gave up as it takes way more time than
>> the average cook has.
>>
>> IMO, if you see shiny copper bottoms of pans hanging in a kitchen....that
>> person never uses them or they hire someone to polish them each week.
>>
>> My Revereware pots and pans are black on the copper bottoms and they can
>> stay that way as far as I'm concerned. They still work fine. *:-D *I'll use
>> my ketchup for dogs & burgers.
>>
>> Gary
>
>I have my grandpa's copper washtub (one of those oval things with
>handles) - it has a lid, but the lid is zinc and ugly - I use the tub
>as a decorative plant holder, putting a large potted plant inside -
>don't actually put dirt in it, just use it as an outside container.
>
>I polish it with Red Bear copper cleaner - works great - but because
>it's such a large item, I put a buffer pad on my cordless drill and do
>the polishing the easy way. :-) Works great.

Yes, Red Bear is a very good product and is safe for copper. Another
good copper cleaner is Twinkle... but for gays! LOL

http://www.amazon.com/Red-Bear-Coppe.../dp/B000ROIG6Y

On 7/15/2012 6:08 AM, Cheryl wrote:
>
> I like alternative cleaning methods, especially since I have cats in the
> house and no telling what they will get into. For copper I've read this:
>
> Copper cleaner: Paste of equal parts vinegar, salt and flour. Be sure to
> rinse completely afterward to prevent corrosion.

This sounds like a good, effective, mix. I like the idea of using just
vinegar and salt for cleaning copper, which has the advantage of
cleaning instantaneously - no scrubbing required! Like your method, you
have to rinse completely. OTOH, the piece is just going to corrode
again. If you're just displaying it, you might want to consider spraying
it with a clear finish.

I was into that copper bowl craze of the 70s. Those bowls sure did look
purdy but I never found a way that I could live with them since I wanted
to actually use the bowls for cooking. I'm so done with those things!

>
> You can also use baking soda to clean stainless steal.
>
> http://www.marc.org/environment/soli...w/saferalt.htm

On Jul 15, 10:24*am, Gary <g.maj...@att.net> wrote:
> jmcquown wrote:
>
> > Ketchup! *from the following website (and also a recommendation by a maid
> > service):
>
> >http://www.realsimple.com/home-organ...-surprising-na...
>
> > Use ketchup to: Remove tarnish from copper and brass cookware. Squeeze
> > ketchup onto a cloth and rub it on pots and pans. They should go back to
> > their coppery color in minutes. Rinse with warm water and dry with a towel.
>
> > I don't like ketchup, but like a lot of people I do have a bottle of it.. *I
> > had no idea I could use it to clean my copper-clad Revere Ware. *Surprise!
>
> > Jill
>
> LOL!
> I have lots of Revereware with copper bottoms. Try the ketchup and report
> back. I'll bet it's a joke and won't work at all. *I used to scrub mine
> clean for a short while but finally gave up as it takes way more time than
> the average cook has.
>
> IMO, if you see shiny copper bottoms of pans hanging in a kitchen....that
> person never uses them or they hire someone to polish them each week.
>
> My Revereware pots and pans are black on the copper bottoms and they can
> stay that way as far as I'm concerned. They still work fine. *:-D *I'll use
> my ketchup for dogs & burgers.
>
> Gary

Ugh - bad childhood memory. My mother had a set of that Revereware
plus the hanging rack. Of course, she wanted the copper gleaming, so
it added to the elbow grease performance during the dish washing
gig. When she moved, the hanging rack was never used again. I bet
someone in the family tho is still using those pans.

On 7/15/2012 11:27 AM, Janet wrote:
> In article <jtuknk$cbo$[email protected]>, [email protected] says...

>> Salt and vinegar are commonly used to remove tarnish from copper pans; given
>> the amount of salt and vinegar in ketchup, I'd imagine it would do the job.
>> Of course, salt and vinegar are much less expensive than ketchup and,
>> generally, as widely found in the home.
>
> Or just lemon juice.
>
Or a squeezed out (used for other purposes) lemon, dipped in salt.

Very old news.

jmcquown wrote:
> Ketchup! from the following website (and also a recommendation by a
> maid service):
>
> http://www.realsimple.com/home-organ...572/index.html
>
> Use ketchup to: Remove tarnish from copper and brass cookware. Squeeze
> ketchup onto a cloth and rub it on pots and pans. They should go back
> to their coppery color in minutes. Rinse with warm water and dry with
> a towel.
> I don't like ketchup, but like a lot of people I do have a bottle of
> it. I had no idea I could use it to clean my copper-clad Revere
> Ware. Surprise!
> Jill

George M. Middius wrote:
> ImStillMags wrote:
>
>> Copper cleaner or silver cleaner does it instantaneously. I guess
>> ketchup would be a good back up if you are out of cleaner.
>
> Ketchup only has a trace of vinegar and citric acid. I'll bet it takes
> at least an hour.

It does take a very long time and isn't nearly as effective as copper
cleaner.

Gary wrote:
> jmcquown wrote:
>>
>> Ketchup! from the following website (and also a recommendation by a
>> maid service):
>>
>> http://www.realsimple.com/home-organ...572/index.html
>>
>> Use ketchup to: Remove tarnish from copper and brass cookware.
>> Squeeze ketchup onto a cloth and rub it on pots and pans. They
>> should go back to their coppery color in minutes. Rinse with warm
>> water and dry with a towel.
>>
>> I don't like ketchup, but like a lot of people I do have a bottle of
>> it. I had no idea I could use it to clean my copper-clad Revere
>> Ware. Surprise!
>>
>> Jill
>
> LOL!
> I have lots of Revereware with copper bottoms. Try the ketchup and
> report back. I'll bet it's a joke and won't work at all. I used to
> scrub mine clean for a short while but finally gave up as it takes
> way more time than the average cook has.
>
> IMO, if you see shiny copper bottoms of pans hanging in a
> kitchen....that person never uses them or they hire someone to polish
> them each week.
>
> My Revereware pots and pans are black on the copper bottoms and they
> can stay that way as far as I'm concerned. They still work fine. :-D
> I'll use my ketchup for dogs & burgers.

Yep. I no longer polish my copper bottoms. My grandma and parents used to
do it all the time. They were proud of the results.