How to Clean Tarnished Brass Easily | 6 Proven Methods

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There may be brass in many places of your house, such as doorknobs, handles, and other household materials. That brass can be tarnished easily after some time. Not cleaning them will lead the tarnished brass towards destruction. It will also have a bad impact on the beauty of your house, along with destroying your image in front of others.

To keep your house fresh and beautiful, you should learn how to clean tarnished brass easily. When you will learn the easier processes, you can do that effortlessly without any extra expenses. There will be no necessity of calling the professionals as you can easily clean these all by yourself.

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6 Proven Methods to Clean Tarnished Brass Easily

You can clean the tarnished brass of your house easily by going through the proper methods. It will become a whole lot easier when you will achieve the basic knowledge about cleaning these. There are some proven methods for cleaning tarnished brass, and the six of those methods are:

Method 01: Vinegar-Salt-Flour Paste

Vinegar is one of the most used household materials for cleaning many furniture and goods. You can also use it for cleaning the tarnished brass in your house, and the process will not be hard as well.

Step-1: Making The Paste

You will have to make a paste of vinegar with some other household items. Take ½ cup vinegar into a small bowl and pour 1 tablespoon of salt in there. Keep mixing both of these until the salt is dissolved into vinegar.

Later, add two tablespoons of flour into the mixture to make it thicker. You will have to make a thick paste with all these materials by mixing them for at least five to ten minutes.

Step-2: Applying On the Tarnished Place

Then comes the most important task, as you will have to rub the paste over the tarnished brass. Make sure the full tarnished spot is covered by the thick paste. You have to let the paste sit on there for at least 10 minutes.

Step-3: Rinsing and Drying

Then rinse the place with warm water several times and wipe with a clean and fresh piece of cloth to ensure no water is left. You can also use spongy foam for the wiping process.

Let the tarnished place dry for a bit. After drying, you will find no signs of tarnish, rust, stains, or paleness in the brass, and the items will shine like new ones.

Method 02: Sour Milk, Butter Milk, or Yogurt

Sour milk, buttermilk, and yogurt can be a nice weapon for removing the tarnish and rust from the brass-made doorknob or other objects. Take any of these three items, and they will work in the same way against the tarnish, stains, rust, and paleness of any brass-made objects.

Step-1: Preparing The Sour Milk, Butter Milk, or Yogurt

Take some portions of yogurt, sour milk, or buttermilk in a small bowl and grind these to make a better paste.

Step-2: Pasting The Tarnished Spot

Apply a layer of the paste to the tarnished brass and make sure to cover up every corner of the tarnished place. Let the yogurt, sour milk, or buttermilk paste rest for a bit to sit on the tarnished, rusted, or stained place of the brass.

Step-3: Rinsing, Wiping, And Drying

Ten minutes later, rinse that place with medium warm water twice or thrice to make sure no pastes are left. When the rinsing will be completed, wipe out the water with spongy foam.

Still, some amount of water will remain in there, so you will have to let it dry for 30 minutes. Hopefully, all the tarnish, rust, and stain will be gone, and the brass-made thing will get back its shiny look back.

Method 03: Using Tomato Ketchup

The weirdness will hit a new level as you will find out that you can clean your tarnished brass by using tomato ketchup. Tomato ketchup is highly capable of reviving the tarnished brass as it comes with a mixture of tomatoes, spices, and vinegar.

Step-1: Preparing The Necessary Materials

At first, take a portion of tomato ketchup in a cup or a small bowl according to the area that is tarnished. Choose a toothbrush and clean it to make sure it is ready for brushing work. Prepare a piece of cloth for the wiping process as well.

Step-2: Tomato Ketchup Applying

Then apply it in the tarnished place of your brass-made doorknob or other objects. Make sure every spot of the tarnished area is covered up with tomato ketchup. You can use a toothbrush for the application process.

Let the ketchup sit in there by waiting for thirty to forty seconds. Then wipe the tomato ketchup with the damp cloth you kept beside. Continue this applying and wiping process several times.

Step-3: Rinsing, Cleaning, And Drying

After that, rinse the tarnished brass with warm water twice or thrice to make sure no tarnishes are left. Take another piece of clean cloth to wipe that place and let the rest of the water dry for thirty-odd minutes. There won’t be tarnish or rust left in that area, and the brass-made object will be back in its shinier form.

Method 04: Cleaning The Brass with Lemon and Baking Soda

Lemon and baking soda are the two of the most powerful cleaners gifted from nature. You can use these to clean up the tarnishes from your brass-made objects, as you will have to make a thick paste using both of these materials first.

Step-1: Paste Making

Take half of a lemon and squeeze out the juice from it, and put that in a small bowl or a cup. Then pour a tablespoon of baking soda into that cup or small bowl, and mix these two items with a spoon to make sure the mixture becomes a thick paste.

Step-2: Applying and Polishing the Paste

Apply the paste to the tarnished place with a piece of clean cloth. Polish that place with the cloth several times to make sure no rusts are left in there.

Step-3: Moping and Cleaning

You will need to mop the place with a wet cloth first, and then wipe a dry cloth to drain out the rest of the water. Later, you will see your brass-made item getting its better and older shine back.

Method 05: Cleaning Tarnished Brass with Toothpaste

Wait, the wondering period is not over yet as you will hear that you can clean the tarnish, rust, stain, and paleness from the brass-made objects with toothpaste. This household ingredient is capable of cleaning the rust and stain from the other metal objects as well.

Step-1: Preparing The Necessary Materials

This cleaning process is much easy as you will have to take the necessary toothpaste in a cup. You will have to choose a toothbrush to spread the toothpaste all along with the tarnished areas.

Step-2: Pasting The Rusted Areas

Apply the simple and white toothpaste over the rusty and tarnished parts with that toothbrush. The whole tarnished area should be covered with toothpaste, as you may need to put extra force on the dense and stubborn rusted areas.

Apply and brush the paste until you are satisfied with it. Wait a bit after applying the toothpaste to let it sit on the tarnished parts.

Step-3: Polishing and Cleaning

Then polish the pasting with a piece of clean cloth. After polishing, rinse the whole tarnished and rusted parts with clean and cold water. Keep rinsing until all the tarnishes and rusts are gone. Once done, wipe that part of the brass with a dry and clean cloth, and you will have your shinier brass-made objects back.

Method 06: Soap and Water

You can use the basic soap and water to revive your older brass objects of yours.

Step-1: Preparing The Solution

Take a few tablespoons of soap and pour it into a bowl of warm water. Mix these two items with a stick or your hands.

Step-2: Bathing The Brass-made Objects

Then take your brass-made objects and pour them into the mixture. Keep the objects in water for at least thirty minutes. You may need to add a bit of grease into the mixture if the tarnish or rust is stronger or stubborn.

Once the tarnish, rust, stain, and paleness are gone, take the brass-made object or objects out of the soapy water.

Step-3: Rinsing and Cleaning

Then again, rinse the object or objects with clean and cold water. Take a dry piece of cloth and mop the water from the object’s body. When the object will dry up you will find that the shine and the newer look of your brass-made items are back.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can tarnished brass be restored?

Yes, you can restore the tarnished brass-made objects of your house. All you need to do is take some household cleaning materials and clean the items properly in a step-by-step process.

What is the best homemade brush cleaner?

You will find a lot of cleaners in the market along with the natural ones for your house, but not many that can do the job like vinegar and lemon. These two items are known as the best natural and homemade brush cleaners with their amazing performances.

How do you remove oxidization from brass?

You will have to make a thick paste using baking soda and vinegar first. Put the paste on the place or the object you want to clean and let it rest for thirty-odd minutes. Then rinse the place using warm water and let the place dry to remove oxidization from brass.

Final Verdict

You might have many brass-made objects in your house, along with the doorknobs made from brass. Those items can be tarnished as they grow old, and you will need to free them from the tarnish, rust, stain, and paleness. The process may become costly and lengthy for you without knowing the proper way.

It may also cause permanent damage to many expensive and necessary products of your house. To keep them safe and clear their tarnishes regularly, you should learn the process of how to clean tarnished brass easily. Once you get familiar with the process, you won’t need a professional or to go through extra expenses for this job.

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