Cleaning the German silver cutlery at home: in low, medium and heavy contamination

Cutlery made of nickel silver is very popular in Russia. The main cause of a great love for him is the extreme similarity of German silver dish with silver, because originally the alloy is proceeding from this common feature.

Cupronickel alloy is a complex type, which is based on a mixture of red copper and nickel.

History alloy

For the first time such an alloy has been established at the very beginning of our era. More familiar to all appearance he acquired only in the XIX century thanks to the French inventor. In addition to these copper and nickel alloy now It decided to add zincBut in some cases Melchior also found traces of silver, which is added for more accurate simulation is silver cutlery.

Melchior quite inferior quality products made of precious metals it is as strong, durable and not amenable to corrosion. But it costs much cheaper than the same silver, and that is one reason why it has gained popularity.

Causes browning

Despite the abundance of pleasant qualities, yet Melchior darkens with age, With a similar plaque is not soluble in soapy water. And spoon, covered with dark spots, do not want to eat.

This plaque is called a patina, and there he was not due to dirt on the alloy. There are three most common causes of black:

1. high humidity, accelerating the oxidation processes on the metal surface;
2. time;
3. wrong care products and ignorance than pure nickel silver.

Of course, coated with a patina of spoons and forks do not carry any risk, but they are purely aesthetic look repulsive. Therefore, it is important to properly care for cutlery made of nickel silver. If the plaque already formed, then do not panic, because the German silver cleaning at home without difficulty.

Methods for purification cupronickel

There are so many ways in which you can easily clean nickel silver on black, but prior to any manipulation of the product should wash with warm soapy water. This is done in order to prevent the occurrence of unwanted chemical reactions and for better cleaning of favorite dishes and spoons.

After washing the crockery and cutlery you need to assess the degree of contamination of products: small, medium or strong. And depending on the results of the chosen method of cleaning.

slight plaque

Light touch on the spoon can be almost invisible, but if you are planning a dinner party or simply want to be in the kitchen was a perfect purity, it is possible to cope with the problem. Here are a few effective ways to clean cutlery made of nickel silver:

• It required 50 g of baking soda and 1 liter of warm water. Rinsed with a solution turbid products. You can be rubbed with a cloth soaked in the solution. After the devices are washed with plain water and wipe dry.
• For the second method will require a minimum of five shell eggs. It is necessary to pound as finely as possible, add water and bring to boil. The boiling solution placed soiled spoons, forks and other articles. After several minutes of boiling apparatus are rinsed with water and wiped.
• The third method is also simple. It needs crushed chalk and cloth, preferably made of suede or microfiber. Chalk powder was applied to the fabric, then rubbed devices to shine.
• Similarly, the third method can be used toothpowder or toothpaste. The main condition - the lack of these abrasives.
• Cutlery and perfectly clean warm potato broth. It cupronickel placed and left for several hours, then washed with running water.
• Cooked pasta, too, proved to be excellent cleaners of this alloy. No need to drain the water and pull the pasta after boiling. They are placed directly in the devices, which must be removed at the darkening water.

The average degree of pollution

The middle type of pollution include both uniform noticeable plaque on the cutlery and pinpoint black spots and stains on dishes. Clear german-silver tableware in such a situation is somewhat more complicated than for minor contamination, however, is still not very difficult:

• To cleanse cutlery with any irregularities it is better not to use powders as they cleaned out the engraving will be difficult. However, you can use such an unusual means like sweet drinks! Suitable for all familiar "Fanta", "Pepsi" or "Cola", you can even take a kopek lemonade or plain mineral water. Dirty cutlery left in the drink for several hours, and after washing with water, spoons it will be seen as they are clean.
• Spots and stains cleans alcohol, colorless cologne or vodka. Soaked rag or cotton swab is necessary to treat the dot product.
• Spot cleaning is suitable and ammonia. A bit of the alcohol diluted in water, then cleaned with a cloth or sponge devices.

Strongly ingrained patina

It does not matter if you got an inheritance from her grandmother almost black alloy cookware? The main thing - to know how to clean cupronickel spoons at home even by the most powerful patina. There are a few proven recipes for generations, can get rid of a strong raid on the dishes:

• Baking soda is poured into a bowl or basin with warm water. After cupronickel devices prolezhat in solution several minutes patina scour coarse sponge.
• Peel garlic pour a liter of water and boil. At the moment of boiling water lay spoons, forks, jewelry - in short, everything that needs to be cleaned. The longer the product will "stew", the cleaner they will eventually.
• The bottom pan of aluminum foil dim light, and then stacked on it contaminated devices. The water level should be two fingers above products. Come to the boil in a pan is filled with a few tablespoons of baking soda spoons, and then everything is boiled for about 15 minutes. Rinsing products under cool water, it will be seen a real silver glitter.

The main enemies are the nickel silver humidity and improper careSo after each use utensils must be thoroughly cleaned and wipe dry. You can also wrap the spoons and forks in plastic film to prevent the alloy of contact with air.