How to clean and polish brass

Do you have brass items that have lost their lustre? Don't worry! With our smart housewife tips, you can easily clean and polish your brass items to make them look like new again.

Do you love brass just like we do? Brass is an incredibly beautiful material that most people have in their home in one way or another. It can be in the form of candlesticks, lamps or jewellery. But unfortunately, brass is delicate and oxidises easily for natural reasons, just like silver does. Cleaning brass might not sound like much fun, but with our smart tips, you'll barely have to touch the polishing cloth!

Before you clean brass

The first step in restoring brass to its former glory is to find out - is the item plated or brass through and through?

Plated brass means that the item is covered with a thin surface of brass, which makes it significantly more sensitive to certain cleaning methods. The risk is that the surface may be scratched or permanently damaged. As a starting point, you should therefore only use soft tools when cleaning brass. A simple rule of thumb is to see if the item is magnetic.

Try it and see if a magnet sticks - if it does, the object is plated!

Cleaning brass - 4 methods

There's a plethora of great housekeeping tricks for cleaning copper and brass. But did you know that they all have one thing in common - acid. All the tips below contain acidic ingredients that you probably already have, either in the fridge or in the pantry. Examples include lemon, yoghurt, ketchup and vinegar. The products sold in shops to clean oxidised or scarred brass are also based on acidic ingredients. However, most of them are filled with chemicals and are hardly as kind to your wallet or our environment. By letting the acid do the work, you simply need to polish less!

1. Cleaning brass with boiling water

This cleaning tip is great for cleaning brass candlesticks that have oxidised.

Do this:

1. Remove the candle wax with a soft tool, such as a wooden or plastic butter knife
2. Hold down in boiling water for a few seconds
3. Polish the wet part to the desired result, turn the candlestick over and repeat the process
4. Bear in mind that the whole item will be hot, make sure to use a kitchen mitten or potholder

2. Cleaning brass with bicarbonate of soda

This simple method will give you a nice result in a few minutes. If you're cleaning scarred brass that's really dirty, you may need to repeat the method several times.

You will need:

• 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda

Do this:

1. Mix the ingredients for a bicarbonate of soda paste
2. Use a sponge to cover the object with the batter
3. Rinse and polish the brass with a soft cloth

3. cleaning oxidised brass: vinegar

You will need:

• 1/2 dl 24 per cent vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Add flour until you get the desired consistency

Do this:

1. Cover the object with the batter - leave for 1 hour
2. Rinse and dry with a soft cloth

4. Cleaning scarred brass: Yoghurt or ketchup

In fact, if you lack bicarbonate of soda, yoghurt or ketchup can be good substitutes for cleaning brass.

Do this:

1. Apply yoghurt or ketchup to your item
2. Leave on for 30 minutes
3. Rinse with warm water and washing-up liquid
4. Wipe with a soft cloth

Cleaning brass - how to do it

There are several ways to polish brass, but the common denominator is that you should always use soft objects such as a scouring pad, cloth or old piece of fabric. Otherwise you can scratch the surface. You also want to avoid polishing too hard no matter what material you use to ensure it is polished and not scratched.

Then, when you're cleaning, you can use the same products we've mentioned above. Warm water, a little bicarbonate of soda and a few drops of lemon. Surface dirt will disappear in no time. Brush your brass items with gentle, circular movements and then rinse off with water once you've made it shine. Then the brass willBrass details can be beautifully polished with the right method and a little patience. Many older properties have brass handles and fittings in stairwells, doorways thorough staircase cleaning details are also kept sparkling clean for residents and visitors.

Frequently asked questions about brass and cleaning:

What is oxidised brass?

Brass, like silver, oxidises due to sulphur and other chemicals in the air. The brass then takes on a darker colour.

What is scarred brass?

Scarred brass is brass that has developed a green colour. It occurs when brass is made of copper, and as we know, copper gets a green colour when not polished regularly. The Statue of Liberty is a classic example of tarnished copper!

Read more: Att cleaning silver.