How to clean copper – a beautiful mess -

Copper bowls, mugs and home decor items are both beautiful and functional. Exposing your copper to everyday use, such as water, cooking oils, and even air, can cause the copper to tarnish or patina.

Patina is when a green or brown film appears on the surface of metals such as copper, brass or silver. When copper patinas naturally, it can become darker or mottled, and in some cases it can develop a beautiful turquoise patina.

Many people take for granted the natural patina of copper, but what if you want to restore it to its original lustrous appearance? There are many ways to clean copper to restore it to its former glory.

In this post, I’ll show examples of many of the most common cleaning solutions for copper, including vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda, ketchup, and cleaning products such as: Bar Keepers Friend:.

You will be able to see the results and choose what works best for you, and hopefully find a solution with ingredients you already have at home.

Before I started my tests, I assumed a chemical based cleanser would work best, but I was shocked at the results and will never go back.

Cleaning copper pots with vinegar

In a bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of salt, 2 tablespoons of flour, and enough white vinegar to make a paste.

Use a spoon or your finger to spread the paste over the copper surface you want to clean. Use a wet cloth to apply it and rinse with water when you’re done.

As you can see below, the results of this method are amazing. As soon as I applied the paste, the color started to change instantly. For dark spots, apply a second coat and let it sit for a few minutes before wiping.

My review for this method is 10/10 because these are the ingredients I always have on hand, the results were great and I was able to avoid any harsh chemicals. If you have these ingredients, this is the first method I would recommend trying.

Copper cleaning with lemon juice and baking soda

The next method I wanted to try is lemon juice with baking soda. I was very optimistic about this method because the ingredients have worked great for me in other cleaning contexts.

The results, however, were quite disappointing. You can see in the second picture that the baking soda makes a big bubble mess (be sure to do this in the sink). I mixed equal parts fresh lemon juice and baking soda.

When the bubbles settled, the mixture was very watery, so I tried pouring it directly onto the surface and dabbing it with a paper towel.

I would rate this method 4/10. You can see that it did do some discoloration on the surface of the copper, but it didn’t clean as deeply as the vinegar versions.

I would only recommend this method if you don’t have any of the remaining ingredients on hand.

Copper cleaning with ketchup

I tried to clean the copper with ketchup. I had seen this done before so I assumed it would work. But I was curious how it would compare to the vinegar method.

I squirted some ketchup directly onto the copper and spread it over the surface with my finger. I let it sit on the copper for a full minute before wiping it off with a cloth and washing it off.

This method worked perfectly. If you want a slightly gentler clean that leaves more of a patina texture, I would recommend this. It’s not as powerful as the vinegar method, but it works really well.

I also love that ketchup is an easy ingredient to find and most of us already have it on hand. 8/10

Copper cleaning with a bar keepers friend

i used A friend of bar keepers to clean my copper pots many times in the past. They make a liquid and a powder version that is useful for various things. I like that it is efficient and fast.

I don’t like that it has harmful ingredients and is not safe to keep in a child friendly home. Important to use gloves While cleaning with Bar Keepers Friend.

Before trying these other methods, I fully expected Bar Keepers Friend to be the clear winner. After doing this test, I can honestly say that the vinegar mixture works just as well for cleaning copper.

So while Bar Keepers Friend is fully effective, you should make sure to wear gloves and keep it safely away from small children. It cleans equally well but is more toxic so I give it a 7/10.

The last good thing about the Bar Keepers friend is that it cleans different types of surfaces. I actually use it to remove small stains from my quartz countertops.

I hope this post has provided you with more than one option for cleaning your copper at home. Let us know in the comments if you have a method that has worked well for you.