A Green Spell

earth. love. yoga. magic.

Cleaning Metal Naturally

Posted on | March 6, 2010 | 4 Comments

Thanks for stopping by to read this in the middle of my messy blog transfer!

If you’re in the midst of spring cleaning, as I am, then you might be looking for simple, cheap, eco-friendly ways to clean your house. Click here for a quick list of eco-friendly cleaning items that can be used for multiple purposes. Click here for my personal cleaning staples, and here for cleaning wood naturally. As for metal…

Aluminum

Never use baking soda on aluminum. Natural Healthy Home Cleaning Tips (NHHCT) recommends a mixture of two cups of boiled water, 1 cup vinegar, and 1 tsp. of any citrus essential oil. You can place aluminum items directly into this mixture, or, I assume, sponge it onto large aluminum material. You can let this sit for an hour, then rinse and dry.

According to the same site, you can soak aluminum utensils in 1 cup sliced rhubarb (or fresh or canned tomato slices) and 2 cups water (or more, if necessary), and simmer for half an hour. Rinse, and dry.

Eartheasy.com recommends washing aluminum with a mixture of cream of tartar and water (no measurements were given). Simply rub on with a soft cloth, and rub off with another.

Brass & Bronze

NHHCT suggests the following for cleaning bronze: “put on protective gloves and rub the item vigorously with a cloth moistened with a solution of 1 cup vinegar, 1/8 cup grapefruit juice, and 6 drops pine or cedar essential oil. Rinse in warm water and dry completely with a soft, clean towel.”

You can find a great paste recipe for brass here.

For both tarnishing on both metals, Eartheasy.com suggests mixing lemon juice and baking soda, or vinegar and salt, then rubbing onto the metal with a soft cloth. They also recommend ketchup!

Chrome

NHHCT suggests simply cleaning chrome with club soda or vinegar and a soft cloth. Undiluted peppermint or eucalyptus essential oils supposedly remove cooked-on grease stains.

Copper

Eartheasy.com says:

Soak a cotton rag in a pot of boiling water with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 cup white vinegar. Apply to copper while hot; let cool, then wipe clean. For tougher jobs, sprinkle baking soda or lemon juice on a soft cloth, then wipe. For copper cookware, sprinkle a lemon wedge with salt, then scrub., A simpler method is to apply a dab of ketchup on a soft cloth and rub over tarnished spots.

Click here for more copper tips.

Gold

Eartheasy.com suggests toothpaste for cleaning gold, or a paste made from equal parts flour, salt, and vinegar.

Silver

Click here for instructions on a simple, cheap way to clean silver.

Stainless Steel

According to Mommyfootprint.com, a shammy soaked in vinegar will take care of  stainless steel.

As with my post on wood cleaners, I want to state that I have not tried any of these methods. I don’t have much metal in my home, and the items I do have have not needed special attention (so far). I cannot say whether or not these items will be effective for cleaning metal, but if you choose to try them, please leave a comment and let me know the results.

Here’s a quick video on some easy metal cleaners. (Use cloths instead of paper towels, though!)

Copyright: A Green Spell

http://agreenspell.com

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Comments

4 Responses to “Cleaning Metal Naturally”

  1. EcoYogini
    March 6th, 2010 @ 9:47 pm

    holy moly, this looks AWESOME. I LOVE the difference a few hours can make. you’ve been working hard on your new space and it looks fantastic!!!! (can’t wait to read your newest blog…! tomorrow morning when I am awake lol).

    Congratulations!!!!! :)

  2. Rachel @ Suburban Yogini
    March 7th, 2010 @ 8:51 am

    Yay for new blogs!

    I haven’t forgotten your banner dilemma. I will get back to you xx

  3. Greenspell
    March 7th, 2010 @ 10:07 am

    Thanks! I found some CSS banner instructions, but they seem to be written for people who know how to manipulate CSS in the first place – which I don’t! Any tips would be much appreciated!!

  4. Greenspell
    March 7th, 2010 @ 10:10 am

    Thanks! I’m so so so happy with this layout. My only problems are that YouTube videos don’t quite fit into the post area (even the smallest possible video size) and…of course…the banner. I haven’t designed it yet, but I’ll have it done soon. Regardless, I have NO IDEA how to upload it!! A lot of free wordpress blogs have a place to upload custom headers. This one doesn’t, but it has CSS that you can manipulate. Provided you know HOW to manipulate CSS! And I’ve never used CSS in my life. So….Rachel (Suburban Yogini) will hopefully be able to tell me how her BF did it…cross your fingers!

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    Greenspell

    Here in my garden, you'll find Downward Facing Dogs, cloth toilet paper, herbal teas and remedies, homemade shampoo, magic, and lots and lots of love. Read more about me here.


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