BE YOUR OWN HOUSEHOLD FAIRY

BE YOUR OWN HOUSE FAIRY BY STEFFEN

While wandering around the house one day, I saw a few of our metal house hold items that were in need of polishing, a sudden thought struck me, and that was if there were alternate ways to polish things without using extremely toxic materials and at the same time being cost effective (my mind works like that, I see things and wonder about them then experiment!). Remembering my late grandmothers tips and advice, I decided to try some of them out.
I have only listed metal polishers here:
(Remember that after cleaning and rinsing metals in warm water, you must dry them with a soft cloth that is clean and dry).
· BAKING SODA: This is excellent as an all-round multi purpose polisher/ cleaner. It can scour metals yet is so gentle as not to scratch them.
· BRASS: A piece of lemon dipped in salt will do wonders, for tougher stains you can try some household Ammonia (though I wouldn’t). Rub on and wipe off with a soft cloth.
· SILVER: Toothpaste the classic ones and preferably the cheaper ones, are excellent for polishing silver. Also try taking a piece of Silver/Aluminium foil and place in a tub, next add Salt, pour boiling water on it, and then add the pieces that need shining (some people use baking soda, but if used to often it can remove the silver, especially on silver plated metals), leave the pieces there for a few minutes, and voila! You have shiny silver. Always remember to rinse and dry the metals after polishing.
· PEWTER: Since as a metal this doesn’t have the lustre of gold or Silver avoid trying to polish it too much, try this cabbage leaves to polish it, yes, Cabbage Leaves. Also try with extremely fine and soft steel wool dipped in vegetable oil.
· COPPER: Lemon juice, vinegar, get this even your common tomato juice will do the trick, actually anything acidic based is good, rub it on, then leave for a short while if it doesn’t work instantly, try adding some flour to make a paste spread it on thickly then rub it off. Of course the old remedy of salt wedges and salt will do.


· STAINLESS STEEL: Toothpaste (again non gel types work best), this can be used for quick clean ups. Ammonia is used for tougher clean ups, use a dry clean cloth to apply, then you let dry, wipe off dry completely.
· PLATINUM & GOLD: The same rules as Silver apply, but, be very cautious, especially if there are precious stones involved, consult a professional jeweller prior to trying.
· RUST REMOVAL: Go to your supermarket and see if they have cream of Tartar , and if you do happen to stumble across it then get some, mix it with some Hydrogen Peroxide (most pharmacies have as Oxygen used in hair dying) make a paste rub on rust stains. Or for a less messy alternative, you can soak a showerhead’s and corroded pieces in Vinegar until the rust begins to dissolve.