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How to Polish Copper with 2 Simple Ingredients!

In this post I’ll show you how to polish copper pots with 2 simple ingredients you probably already have!

I don’t know about you, but I loooove all things copper. That pretty pinkish-brown hue is so appealing to me.

But the thing about copper is that is tarnishes really easily. Reuben got this little copper pot for me a few Christmases back (here is one that’s similar). Even though we always hand washed it, it wasn’t long before it was completely tarnished.

Since I didn’t want to purchase a commercial copper polish, I just lived with the tarnish. But I missed that shiny new penny look.

Then I saw somewhere online that you could use ketchup to polish copper. So I decided to give it a whirl to see if it would work. And it did!

How to Polish Copper Pots

How to Polish Copper Pots with Ketchup and Salt!

To start off, you’ll need a tarnished copper pot. Exhibit A.

Put a squirt of ketchup on a paper towel or old rag. The tarnish is obviously going to come off on the rag, so don’t use your best linens.

Also, I highly recommend that you do a test on the bottom of your pot FIRST. You want to make sure that you like the look before trying it on the visible part of your pot.

Spread the ketchup all over the pot.

Get into every nook and cranny.

How to Polish Copper - Salt and ketchup on a tarnished copper pot.

Sprinkle some salt over the ketchup. This will help with the scrubbing.

Wait 5-10 minutes. Use the paper towel or old rag to scrub off the tarnish. You may find that you need to re-apply the ketchup if you missed a few spots.

MAKE SURE to thoroughly wash the pot with soap and water before using to remove all ketchup. Acidic foods + cooking with copper don’t mix!

Before and After of copper polish.

Here’s a side-by-side before and after comparison. The pot doesn’t look completely brand spankin’ new, so don’t expect that. But the transformation is dramatic!

If you give this handy trick for how to polish copper a try, make sure to leave a comment and let me know how it worked for you! And let me know if you have any questions.

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How to Polish Copper Pots

Remove tarnish from copper pots with 2 simple ingredients!

Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Resting Time 5 minutes
Total Time 12 minutes
Servings 1 clean pot
Author Erica Kastner

Ingredients

  • ketchup
  • salt

Instructions

  1. BEFORE YOU BEGIN, perform a test polish on the bottom of the pot to see if you like the results.

  2. Squirt some ketchup on a paper towel or old rag. Rub it all over the surface of the copper pot. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes.

    Rubbing ketchup on a tarnished copper pot.
  3. Sprinkle some salt over the ketchup. Use the paper towel or old rag to scrub the tarnish off of the pot.

    How to Polish Copper - Salt and ketchup on a tarnished copper pot.
  4. If needed, apply more ketchup to places where the tarnish didn't come off.

    Before and After of copper polish.
  5. MAKE SURE to thoroughly wash the pot with soap and water before using to remove all ketchup. Acidic foods + cooking with copper don't mix!

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