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Housekeeping

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Original poster

How can I get rid of tarnish on stainless steel cutlery?

45 replies

MirandaGoshawk · 02/10/2013 16:07

I know it's not supposed to tarnish, but some of my spoons have almost black bowls & DH says it affects taste. They are a few years old now & I suppose it takes a while to build up.

Any ideas?

OP posts:
PigletJohn · 02/10/2013 17:30

green nylon scourer when you wash up

it is probably tea stains.

I presume you haven't got a dishwasher.

Onesleeptillwembley · 02/10/2013 17:31

It sounds like you don't wash them very well. You need to wash up properly.

FriendlyElephant · 02/10/2013 17:33

Soak them in bleachy water then give them a good scrub with a scourer or brillo pad.

Original poster
MirandaGoshawk · 02/10/2013 21:48

Shock Yes I do have a dishwasher

and it's not tea stains - they are dessert spoons/tablespoons and not used for tea! Although they are used to stir the coffee pot...

shall try the bleachy water + dishwasher

OP posts:
Original poster
MirandaGoshawk · 02/10/2013 21:50

Think you might have the wrong end of the stick - it doesn't look like dirt or stains, but like dark-tinted glass as opposed to mirror, IYKWIM.

OP posts:
FamiliesShareGerms · 02/10/2013 21:51

Quick soak in bleachy water. Rinse in very hot plain water and give a good scrub. Sorted

PigletJohn · 02/10/2013 21:59

sometimes stainless does tarnish to a dull grey. I have rarely seen it on teaspoons and some very hard (old) chefs knives but nothing else. I think it is the alloy used but it might polish off.

Let us know what (if anything) works.

Original poster
MirandaGoshawk · 03/10/2013 10:53

This morning I noticed that the grapefruit knife is also black - I have half a grapefruit every morning and use a big spoon, so this would explain why the dessert spoons are far worse affected than anything else.

So I think Piglet is right, it's the alloy used and not my lack of hygiene. They were Aldi specials, some years ago, after all Hmm

Only a few drops of bleach left (someone DH has used & put back empty bottle) so will try later when I've bought new, but so far the bleach has made no difference at all. But will report back later.

OP posts:
mum23girlys · 03/10/2013 10:59

Try rubbing toothpaste on them then rinse off with soapy water and dry straight away. Worked for my silver earrings last week

sebsmummy1 · 03/10/2013 11:11

I find those white sponges you can buy that you just dampen work pretty well. I find our cutlery tarnishes over time as we use a dishwasher. I'm assuming ill have to get some specialist cleaner at some point and give them a good spruce up.

valiumredhead · 03/10/2013 12:24

Apparently this happens when the cutlery touches something else ss,and iirc that's one of the reasons dishwashers have drawers at the top now so they can be separated instead of baskets.

HotelTangoFoxtrotUniform · 03/10/2013 12:33

I've had success using hot water, bicarb and tinfoil.

Instructions here - it really does work!

sebsmummy1 · 03/10/2013 12:50

Valium I didn't know that! We are just about to buy a new dishwasher and I need to make sure it has a cutlery drawer at the top!! Thank you x

Original poster
MirandaGoshawk · 03/10/2013 12:59

Oooh Sebs that looks fab! Will have a go right now!

OP posts:
SirChenjin · 03/10/2013 13:02

It's a chemical reaction, not a case of washing up incorrectly! Can't remember why, did chemistry too long ago, but the tinfoil thing works. Bleach won't, I'm afraid.

valiumredhead · 03/10/2013 13:12

sebs - I thinkmost of the new ones do now as it frees up space at the bottom of the dishwasher.

PigletJohn · 03/10/2013 13:28

the top trays are handy for big utensils, but I don't believe that stainless touching stainless causes tarnish. My dwrs are always crammed with ss items.

it might be a harder alloy; or it might be the acid grapefruit juice. Otherwise it can be prolonged immersion in water, or contact with chemicals or incompatible cleaners.

valiumredhead · 03/10/2013 13:29

PJ - when I bought new cutlery recently got it from Tesco, the Allessi coupon deal it had a warning in the packaging, it said it mustn't touch other cutlery as it might tarnish.

sebsmummy1 · 03/10/2013 13:44

We'll actually that does make sense as I have some cheap cutlery that seem to 'bleed' over the more expensive cutlery and I keep throwing pieces of the cheap stuff away as it's driving me mad.

Original poster
MirandaGoshawk · 03/10/2013 14:59

Well the experiment is underway and it seems to be working!

DH (a scientist) looked at it and said "Ah, electrolysis" fat help he's been which sounds impressive. Anyway - the foil is going brown and the spoons do look brighter, but it is taking a long time - they've been in an hour so far, must be really bad!

I do have some other spoons that are still shiny, so yes, I reckon it is the make of spoon coupled with the grapefruit acid.

Thanks to Seb's!

OP posts:
SirChenjin · 03/10/2013 15:58

Did you use bicarb of soda or baking powder Miranda?

Original poster
MirandaGoshawk · 03/10/2013 22:30

I used bicarb (which is presumably stronger than baking powder).

It worked a bit but not enough. I googled and it said to boil for five minutes in a saucepan lined with foil and a teaspoon of bicarb & a teaspoon of salt, wait for the water to cool, rinse & polish.

Welll I've done that & they look as if they're coated with some white stuff - weird! Have polished up a bit but will stick them in the dishwasher tonight & see what happens. Maybe I put in too much bicarb/salt I know I used loads

OP posts:
Original poster
MirandaGoshawk · 04/10/2013 10:46

OK, I knw you're eager for an update Hmm so - dishy did nothing. They still look tarnished but now with an extra cloudy layer! So I think I used too much bicarb. The foil did get dirty, so will try this again, using the recommended levels of bicarb & salt rather than over-doing it.

Last night I rubbed some jam off a knife - the jam had been there since breakfast - and it left a tarnish mark that is still there after being in the dishwasher! So I just think my cutlery has lost its surface 7 I'll have to shell out for new.

OP posts:
SirChenjin · 04/10/2013 13:44

Oh no - I was hoping this would rescue my tarnished spoons. Think I'll be forking out too!

sebsmummy1 · 04/10/2013 14:10

I know that soda crystals remove tannin stains from the inside of mugs beautifully