Cleaning a samovar at home

Due to time saving, we began to forget about the wonderful traditions of tea drinking and the delicate taste of tea made in a samovar. If you have such a rarity and you decide to use it, you need to know how to properly clean the samovar at home. Only after a correctly completed procedure you will feel the real taste of tea, and not impurities of scale and green plaque. You will learn about how to clean a copper samovar and how to clean a samovar made of brass, as well as other varieties of this rarity, from this article.

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Why clean a samovar?

Since such household items are made of metal, they need appropriate care. This will help to avoid the manifestations of corrosion, the formation of cracks, chips and other unsightly nuances that can affect not only the attractiveness of the appearance of the samovar, but also contribute to the fact that it will simply become unusable.

Important! Proper and timely cleaning of the samovar at home will extend its life and will not cause harm to your health. If the material is spoiled, a thick layer of plaque forms, and you continue to use it, toxic substances can be released during heating, which you will use with tea. It does not bode well.

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How to clean a samovar?

Before you go directly to cleaning the product, you need to find suitable products. It can be:

• lemon acid;
• dentifrice;
• salt;
• ammonia;
• medical alcohol;
• lemon;
• potato peelings;
• flour;
• vinegar;
• carbonated drinks “Coca-cola”, “Fanta”, “Sprite”;
• soda.

To clean a more contaminated surface, substances such as:

• petrol;
• acetic acid;
• oxalic acid;
• paste GOI;
• soda ash.

To process a samovar, you will need such materials and tools:

• felt;
• clean cotton rag;
• soft flannel fabric;
• rubber gloves;
• brush;
• washcloth or kitchen sponge;
• crumpled newspaper;
• bucket.

Important! It is not necessary, before you clean the samovar with your own hands, stock up on all of the above funds. Familiarize yourself with the methods of surface treatment and then choose those that are really useful to you.

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Cleaning the samovar outside

For copper products, a light patina coating is permissible, and it must be said that it is he who gives the product an old and noble appearance. If during the inspection of the samovar you found layers of gray-green color - this is a sign that the metal is in the stage of oxidation.

Important! Do not try to remove plaque yourself! Contact the restorer and he will give a second life to your miracle! If there is no need to contact a specialist and the pollution is insignificant, try to solve the problem yourself - cleaning a samovar at home will not take you much time.

Before cleaning, it is advisable to remove removable parts from the samovar:

• a crown;
• key;
• stand;
• pens;
• faucet.

You can get a great cleansing effect from a mixture of tooth powder with ammonia:

1. Mix tooth powder (15 g), water (50 ml), 10% ammonia solution (30 g).
2. Apply the solution to a soft cloth and treat the metal with it.
3. Remove residue with a clean, damp cloth.
4. Wipe dry and polish to a shine.

Important! If you decide to apply more thorough measures, take into service the GOI restoration paste - with its help you will remove any, even the most difficult pollution on the samovar. You can find the rules for its use in the instructions for the drug.

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How to clean a samovar from copper?

Cleaning a samovar from copper can occur in one of the following ways. Choose a more impressive one for you, given the means that are “at hand” and the amount of time that you are willing to spend on restoring your original piece of tea-ware.

For this purpose, you can use lemon wedges or 5-10% solution of acetic acid. The principle of their application is similar:

1. Treat the surface of the samovar with a solution or juice.
2. Rub with a soft cloth.
3. Remove any remaining cleaning agent.
4. Polish the surface.

Important! If you’re ready to spend a little more time, use an effective, but not quite ordinary remedy - a mixture of flour, coarse salt and vinegar. These ingredients must be mixed to a homogeneous consistency of gruel. It is advisable to boil small copper parts in a solution of soda ash for 30 minutes. This proportion is suitable: 0.5 liters of water per 20 g of substance. Such cleaning a copper samovar at home will help completely restore the metal and significantly extend its service life, moreover, your rarity will look much more pleasant.

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Cleaning a stainless steel samovar

If your new purchase is a stainless steel samovar, you should be prepared for the fact that over time it may become stained and tarnish. There is the easiest way to clean steel products, which you can use:

1. Dampen a cotton pad with 9% vinegar.
2. Carefully process the metal.
3. Polish the surface with a patch of felt.

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How to clean a brass samovar?

Brass alloy will require other substances that will give an effective result, but will not damage the coating.

Method 1

1. Dissolve 200 g of oxalic acid in 1 bucket of water.
2. Treat the metal surface for about 5 minutes.
3. Remove the solution from the metal with running cold water.
4. Rinse with cold water.
5. Treat with baking soda.
6. Rinse with cool water again.
7. Dry with a soft cloth.

Important! Do not forget to put on protective gloves before cleaning the samovar, as oxalic acid is quite corrosive and can damage the skin of your hands.

Method 2

1. Treat the surface with ammonia using a soft cloth.
2. Wipe the metal with a clean, damp cloth to remove any remaining cleaning agent.

Important! As you can see, cleaning a brass samovar is not a complicated procedure, and you can combine it with a regular weekly cleaning. Attentive attitude to this interior item will bring you many pleasant moments in the future with your family or friends. So time will not be wasted.

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Cleaning the samovar at home from scale

You have already dealt with the external cleaning of the samovar, it's time to refine it from the inside. To clean the samovar, you have to fight with a scum of scale, which spoils the whole bouquet of tea.

The most popular descaling method is boiling products that corrode plaque and lightly rubbing with a sponge or soft brush.

The full instruction looks like this:

1. Take one of these remedies - “Coca-cola”, “Fanta”, “Sprite”, raw potato peels, vinegar or 2-3 sachets of citric acid.
2. Put them in a samovar and add water - except in the case of soda.
3. Boil, wait until the whole mixture has cooled - this is usually up to 3 hours.
4. Remove and rub with a sponge to remove scale.
5. Rinse thoroughly with running water or repeat the entire cycle completely if the layer is very thick and it was not possible to remove it completely the first time.

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Useful Tips:

1. Regularly clean both the inside and the outside of your samovar.
2. Always drain the remaining water to prevent scale formation and salt deposits on the walls of the appliance.
3. Brass samovars do not tolerate moisture very well, so they should be stored in warm and dry rooms.
4. Do not allow a gray-green coating to appear on copper samovars.
5. In no case do not use abrasive substances to clean the samovars, so as not to damage the surface of the product.

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We hope that our simple tips helped you clean your samovar at home carefully, efficiently and efficiently. Now you will not just drink tea, but enjoy the wonderful process of the tea ceremony!