How To Clean Brass In Your Home!
14 January 2015
Brass is a common material for lots of objects in your home to be made out of, but it can tarnish easily and be tricky to clean. If you use the wrong materials or products to clean your brass belongings then you might find that you’ve caused some damage! If this is something that you want to avoid, and if you’re looking for brass cleaning solutions that are cheap and efficient, then here are some household objects that you can use to clean your brass like a professional!1) What to use to clean your brass.There are lots of products and household items that can be used to clean brass. If you want to clean your brass to the highest standard possible, then it’s worth keeping a container of brass polish in your cleaning cupboard. You can use everything from a mild detergent to tomato ketchup to clean your brass, so make sure you have these in your house, along with polishing cloths, newspaper, clear lacquer and varnish remover.2) Know your brass!Before you begin cleaning your brass belongings it’s important to know that the material that you’re working with is definitely brass. The following cleaning tips and methods should only be used on solid brass, not brass-plated items. If you’re unsure, try taking a magnet to your items to see if it sticks – if it does, your item is likely to be brass plated, as solid brass will not attract magnets!3) Washing your brass.Once you’ve determined that your object is brass, take a mild detergent in water and use this to clean off the surface oils on the brass. Make sure your cleaning cloth is damp, and not wet, and use this to gently wipe at the item. This will remove marks and you should see a big difference in the appearance of your brass already!4) Dealing with tarnished brass.Lots of brass items have a lacquer coating, which is there to stop the oxidisation process. Although this does work, the coating doesn’t stop tarnishing from taking place. For a proper clean, you might need to strip the coating – to do this, simply strip it off using a paint or varnish remover. Once this is done, polish the brass using your brass polish, and re-lacquer the item to keep it protected. You should always polish brass in the direction of the grain. Polishing may take some time if you want the best results, but putting in the elbow grease will definitely pay off!5) Using household items to clean your brass.You can use tomato ketchup to clean your brass by simply buffing it in and wiping away – the vinegar does a great job at keeping your brass clean! After cleaning your brass, you can always try rubbing in a small amount of olive oil – this will prevent tarnishing in the future!6) Hiring a cleaning company.If you want cleaner brass without having to put in the effort, or if you have qualms about cleaning your delicate and expensive brass antiques then it’s a good idea to hire cleaning contractors for the job. Your local cleaning company should offer a cleaning service that can help you, so get in touch with cleaning agencies in your area to see if you can find dependable brass cleaning specialists!
