Found in the attic or in the pantry an old samovar that your great-grandmother used to use? Do not rush to throw it away! The fact is that today it is incredibly fashionable to have tea parties with a samovar on the table. They say that the water in it is softer, the tea tastes better, and the atmosphere is more soulful. However, before starting to exploit the rarity, it should be thoroughly cleaned. Today we offer to talk about how to clean a samovar at home, using not only modern, but also folk remedies. After all the procedures described below, you can brew aromatic tea and enjoy it among your closest people.
Step-by-step instruction
In fact, there is nothing complicated in cleaning up the rarity that was used many decades ago. The most important thing is to strictly follow the instructions, do not damage the product, do not scratch it. The first step is to disassemble the samovar. You will need to remove the key, handles, crown and stand. All these details must be soaked in a solution prepared from a tablespoon of baking soda and half a liter of water. Both ingredients of the cleaning composition must be thoroughly mixed, and then soak all the small parts in it and left for 30 minutes (by the way, during this time you can clean the samovar inside and out), then rinse the removable parts in clean water and wipe with a soft cloth.
Inside cleaning
Speaking about how to clean a samovar, it should be noted that one of the most important steps is to clean the inside. If you clean the rarity only on the outside, leaving a scum inside, you are unlikely to be pleased with the taste of a drink made from water boiled in a samovar. There are several proven methods that allow you to tidy up the inside of a samovar. Let's consider them in more detail.
Descaling can be done using any anti-plaque product found in hardware stores. Please note: the composition intended for cleaning the kettle is suitable for you, but the fact that it is intended for washing and dishwashers should be discarded. Always follow all instructions carefully. In the event that the plaque on the walls is not particularly noticeable, you can simply boil a kilogram of potato peelings in a samovar. They must be thoroughly washed, put in a samovar, pour boiling water and leave to cool completely. This procedure must be repeated 3-4 times, of course, constantly changing potato peelings. After this, the container must be emptied, rinsed and rubbed with soda powder. A soft brush will do best for this purpose. It is with its help that you remove all traces of scale. After that, you need to once again thoroughly rinse the samovar, pour fresh water into it, boil it. And only after you merge the cooled liquid, the samovar can be used for its intended purpose.
If you are thinking about how to clean a samovar, try using acetic acid. Pour table vinegar into a samovar, heat it to 50-60 degrees. After that, leave for several hours. During this time, the acid will have time to corrode plaque. Please note: after this, the samovar needs to be washed. Instead of acetic acid, you can take citric acid. Two or three sachets should be diluted in water, boiled and left for 12-15 hours. Instead of citric acid in powder, you can take a kilogram of fresh lemon fruits. The effectiveness in the fight against plaque and demonstrates Coca-Cola. You need to pour it into a samovar, boil it, wait until it cools down, drain it. After this procedure, any scale can be easily removed with the hard side of the sponge.
Speaking about how to clean a samovar, one can not help but say about disinfection. After you remove the scale from the inside of the appliance, dilute potassium permanganate in water and pour in for 20-30 minutes.
We clean the samovar outside
The answer to the question of how to clean a samovar to shine, our grandmothers knew well. At that time, there were still no modern washing gels that could remove impurities, and therefore, the hostess used ordinary river sand to clean the outside. True, this tool, although it was quite effective, left behind quite noticeable scratches on the sides of the samovar. Today you can find a lot of household cleaning products that can cope with all the pollution, without damaging the samovar. In order to clean a samovar, you need to understand what material it is made of, because care for dishes made of copper, brass and stainless steel is significantly different.
Copper samovar
How to clean a copper samovar? Such a folk remedy will best cope with this task: combine in equal proportions salt, flour and vinegar. Using a sponge with this composition, it is necessary to treat the entire surface of the device. After this, the samovar should be wiped with a soft cloth. Experts say: you do not need to wait until a greenish coating appears on the surface. It is best to wipe the samovar with a slice of lemon from time to time, and wipe off the coating with a soft brush. In order to restore the shine to the samovar, you can simply rub it with a cloth.
By the way, a light patina coating on copper will give your samovar a noble look. For this reason, it is absolutely not necessary to remove it. It is worth getting rid of only a dense gray-green layer, talking about oxidative processes that negatively affect the condition of the product.
Brass samovar
Ammonia will help restore the brass samovar. It must be applied to a soft cloth, wipe the product from the outside in a circular motion. Pressure on the sides of the samovar should not be. By the way, you should not wash it after this procedure: just ventilate. By the way, if the pollution on the outside is not too strong, you can dissolve ammonia in one liter of water. How to clean a brass samovar? Another excellent remedy is oxalic acid. In a bucket of warm water you will need only one glass. This composition must be applied with a sponge to the metal, and after five to seven minutes just rinse with cold water. While the surface is wet, you need to rub it with gruel from baking soda, and then rinse with dirt. Please note: brass samovars must be wiped dry. In order not to clean such a product too often, it is advisable to simply store it in a dry place. Do not use household chemicals when working with brass.
Stainless steel samovar
How to clean a stainless steel samovar ? Gel for washing dishes will help you. In the event that there is no detergent at hand, you can take table vinegar. With its help, wipe the samovar well enough. It should be noted that even clean areas of the product are subject to cleaning. Another great way is to use a preparation prepared from three tablespoons of room temperature water, a teaspoon of any tooth powder, and a tablespoon of ten percent ammonia. In the resulting composition, it is necessary to moisten the sponge and rub the samovar, and then polish it with a dry cloth.
Useful Tips
So that you do not have to think about how to clean the samovar to shine, we have prepared a number of useful tips. Firstly, in no case do not leave a hot samovar empty. Because of this, the inner pipe may decay, as a result of which water will begin to leak out of the main tank. A samovar with leftover water should not be left in a cold place. The fact is that water freezing significantly increases in volume. Because of this, a network of small cracks may appear on the surface of the product. Of course, to restore the samovar in this case is simply impossible. In no case do not store it in moist, unventilated rooms, because of this the metal darkens and loses its luster.