How to clean cupronickel?

From time immemorial, cupronickel cutlery has been considered an invariable attribute of wealthy houses and owners with good taste. Silverware served a table for invited guests. However, cupronickel does not have the best property - it loses its luster under the influence of moisture. So the cleaning of knives, forks and spoons, as well as women's jewelry from this capricious alloy, leaves the hostesses a compelled space for “creativity”.

To understand why cupronickel fades, you need to imagine its origin. It was already established in Ancient China: a beautiful light metal is not really precious - it is copper, nickel and small impurities. Europeans, to whom nickel silver came under the name of Pakfong, dubbed the miracle alloy “new silver”. Then the French intervened and gave nickel silver the name of the chemical brothers.

Since copper in the alloy is half its volume, oxidation cannot be avoided. And small impregnations of iron and manganese add an almost black color to the “weathered” “new silver” with dark blue stains. Such is the nature of pollution.

It provokes a darkening of the silverware and dishwasher cleaning. Any, even minor contacts of the metal with agents that contain chlorine enhance the oxidation reaction. Here, as they say, the whole point is in chemistry.

To clean cupronickel at home is a tedious matter, but its rules are quite simple. For instance, you can prepare 50 grams of soda, the same amount of ammonia. Stir any of the ingredients in a liter of heated water and wipe the dull cupronickel. If the darkening is not very old, your silver will sparkle again.

Try to put the forks and spoons on the foil that is lined with the bottom of the pan. Pour water on top and salt. Devices should completely "drown". As it boils (about three minutes), the food foil will begin to darken, and the spoons and forks will lighten.

It’s easy to use chalk to upgrade alloy products. It is crushed, diluted with water to a creamy state and this cupronickel is cleaned with this porridge. The effect is impressive. Especially if after cleaning it is not too lazy and how to polish the devices.

By the way, toothpaste, which contains silicon oxide, tooth powder, is also suitable for this procedure. Using a wet cotton swab, paste is applied to products and they are actively wiped.

Perfectly brings cupronickel to the desired gloss dishwashing liquid. Dilute it a little in a saucepan with boiling water, froth it. Put dirty forks, spoons, knives, including those stained with fat, in the solution. Let them soak for a day, and you stir them periodically. The next morning, brush on all surfaces with a toothbrush.

If you decide to clean the tableware with a chemical composition, then choose the one that is specially created for cupronickel. Their consistency can be varied: gel, emulsion, paste. Remember to wear gloves and ventilate the room after work. And keep in mind: the cleaning powder will also be effective in this case, but it contains large particles that can scratch the vulnerable nickel silver. When using the powder, do not press on the surface of the products and do not apply special efforts - wipe them with soft movements.

Quick result gives sodium thiosulfatethat you buy at any pharmacy kiosk. It must be applied to a sponge, processed forks, spoons and knives, and then rinse the product with clean water.

There is such a way to clean the cutlery, as they soaking in warm whey. Immerse knives, spoons, forks from cupronickel in fresh whey. Let the heated solution work for 20 minutes. Then remove and wipe dry.

Using the galvanic method, nickel silver is also brought to a radiant appearance. To do this, cupronickel instruments and some other metal object, for example, a nail, are placed in one basin. A weak current is passed: the minus is connected to the things being cleaned, and the plus is connected to the “third-party” metal. 24 volts is enough to clean the spoon from cupronickel. But here you have to be in tune with physics, not to confuse anything. This is an extreme method to achieve your goal.

Many housewives believe that forks, cup holders, other utensils from cupronickel are not effectively cleaned, but washed. Here again, a good recipe for washing spoons or knives using food foil (the solution is prepared by boiling the foil in a pan with salt; try pouring potato broth instead of a liter of water).

It is easy to bring to shine the darkened accessories with the help of such a popular recipe: pour a liter of water into a container, boil, put the crushed shell of two chicken eggs and a tablespoon of salt. With this composition, my cupronickel.

It will be useful for devices from cupronickel and procedure with citric acid. Per liter of water you need 100 grams of acid. A piece of copper wire should be put there. Lay contaminated spoons and forks and boil for 15-20 minutes. The spots are moving away. Then the forks and spoons should be rinsed, wiped and hidden for storage.

This is not a complete list of options for washing cupronickel. With not the most catastrophic pollution, soaking spoons and forks in carbonated drinks (for an hour and a half), boiling with garlic husk, a solution of hyposulfite with water in a ratio of 1: 5 gives a good effect. This substance is usually used to process photographic films.

Of course, on the festive table you always want to see the most luxurious appliances. Therefore cupronickel knives, forks and spoons are often decorated with gold plating. These cutlery sets must be cleaned separately from all others. To do this, moisten a cotton swab in wine vinegar or turpentine and walk it over gilded surfaces.

Cupronickel is quite popular for making not only the attributes of the dining room, but also for creating original jewelry. It is believed that cupronickel looks quite presentable in rings, earrings, bracelets, pendants. But taking into account the specifics of the alloy, such jewelry must be cleaned from time to time.

It’s better not to experiment, and use a chemical agent specially purchased at the store for delicate cleaning. As a rule, the recommendations for use describe in detail what needs to be done. So you just have to put on gloves and follow the instructions. The mixture that you can easily prepare, apply to the ring or bracelet and carefully cover the entire surface with it.

The stones that adorn the cupronickel ring, bracelet or ring, you have to clean separately. Most dust and dirt accumulates in the frame under the stone. The stones themselves also fade. There is an easy way to bring them shine and transparency.

You can cope with the task of a regular cotton swab or a match with a wound piece of cotton. Dip a cotton wool in a bottle with cologne, wipe the stone and the frame from the bottom and top. Your tool should not be sharp, otherwise you will damage the jewelry. Finally, carefully polish the ring with a flannel cloth.

Since nickel silver products are perceived as silver, they certainly should shine no worse than a precious metal. At home, this is quite possible, although not so simple. Cupronickel must be polished. To achieve a sparkling effect, the options below are suitable.

The "pasta" method:

• Boil water in a saucepan.
• Put the pasta in it and stir them with dark cupronickel spoons.
• Leave the spoons with cooked pasta for another 20 minutes.
• Take out, dry on a towel and polish. Shine is easily returned.

Chalked:

• Crush the chalk, collect soap shavings and fill it with a liter of water.
• Soak a cloth with a composition and polish objects with it. Then wipe dry again.

With Toothpaste:

• Apply any detergent to the product.
• Apply toothpaste on top and rub it thoroughly. Tooth powder is also suitable for this.

In order for any items made of nickel silver to maintain their brilliant appearance, and you should be freed from quite a long time cleaning operations, you need to learn a few simple rules for storing devices made of this metal.

Experienced housewives always have at hand the tightly twisted natural caskets, wooden drawers, where you can also hide for safe storage spoons, knives, jewelry. In this case, be sure to add a piece of chalk to the products. It will inhibit oxidation due to its chemical composition.

In general, all your actions to keep cupronickel things clean should be aimed at creating maximum dryness. Make sure that after use and washing, the cutlery is thoroughly wiped and free of any drops. Well stored cupronickel wrapped in food foil.In no case do not stack cutlery from different metals in one pile. New Silver should always be packed separately for storage.

Prevention of pollution and dullness is the washing of cupronickel only in cold water. After each use, the products must be treated with a bleaching agent containing soda or alcohol. Close to cupronickel it is impossible to “let in” chlorine - a catastrophic reaction arises for him, and it immediately darkens.

When you know all the rules for caring for appliances, your table for a gala dinner will be served only with mirrored appliances, in which cheerful lights of bright chandeliers play. A pleasant evening with friends is guaranteed.

For more details on how to clean cupronickel, see the next video.