The need of keeping things clean is not just for your constantly used walled coffee mugs but also other cutlery and utensils. As well as the ones that are meant more for decoration, such as silver teapots.
Adding a silver teapot to your table will drastically change the whole theme of your space by making it more sophisticated and classier. These teapots are usually made with some other material and plated with a thin layer of pure silver or simply alloy. And if you don’t put effort into cleaning them from time to time, then the luster will gradually fade away because of dirt and tarnish accumulation.
So, if you quite regularly use these, think about giving it quick or deep cleaning whenever there’s a need. And if you don’t know anything about how to clean silver teapot, then today’s piece of writing is going to come in help. Keep on Reading…
The Complete Process of How to Clean Silver Teapot.
You can either go for a regular simple cleaning process that requires very little time. Or you can dedicate for a full cleanup session to get out dirt and unnecessary stuff a bit more deeply. I’ll try to cover both.
Start with Basic Cleaning
For this, you’ll need plain water, soft cloth or sponge, gloves to keep hands mess-free, and a liquid soap that is free from acid. Some teapot comes with lacquered silver or clear protective coating. While others use non-lacquered ones. Using your fingernail simply press into an inconspicuous location of your teapot. The lacquered version will show a tiny mark with this. If you seem to find no marks, then it is non-lacquered.
For lacquered one, use your home’s warm tap water to clean the teapot. On the other hand, you need to use hot water for non-lacquered teapot. 3-quarter of your sink needs to be full of water.
Use around half a teaspoon acid-free liquid soap for mixing with the sink water next. Never go for the soaps that have any sort of citric extract. Especially citric acid. Or else there’s a chance of getting a mild corrosive effect on the teapot with passing time.
Wear the gloves and give water soap mixture a good stir. Then submerge the teapot into this water. Let the teapot stay like this for at least 3 to a maximum of 5 minutes. So that all the dried-up tea loosens and make things easier for you to clean.
Using the sponge or cloth, you need to rub surface of teapot next very gently. Never use steel wool here. You should also avoid similar abrasive utensil cleaners. These are going to seriously mess with the silver polishing and leave scratches behind.
Then bring the teapot under warm water of your tap to give it a good rinse. Make sure all the soap is washed off properly. Then use a dry clean cloth to wipe the teapot. You can give it a polish for restoring the shine as well. Now, this should be enough for a regular cleanup regime. But twice every year, you should go for a deeper clean. And that’s what we’ll be talking about next.
Do This Twice Every Year!
Usually, this step is required specifically when there’s a shadow-like film noticeable on the surface of a silver teapot. It’s like a sign that your teapot is going through some serious trouble. And it needs quick attention which you provide by giving a more thorough clean up. Even without such thing noticeable, you should to do this at least twice every 12 months anyway.
Materials needed for this process are simple here as well. You need a soft cloth, plain water, baking soda from your pantry, a saucepan, and some aluminum foil paper.
Pour around 4 cups of plain clean water into your saucepan. Get it boiled and then add a quarter cup of baking soda. It will soon start dissolving and there will be lots of bubbles noticeable. Keep the stove on low flame and get to your sink.
Put aluminum foil paper and silver teapot in the sink. Now bring saucepan and gradually pour the baking soda water mixture on top of these. In case we are talking about a lacquered teapot, you want to cool down the water first and then pour. Or else it can do the opposite and damage the silver sulfide coating.
After pouring the water, it should start a chemical reaction. And this will make the dark film fade away. Based on the severity of this tarnish, it may take less or more time. You want to give it around 10 minutes for soaking.
Use your kitchen tongs to get the teapot out. Rinse it under warm tap water and get rid of any remaining film residue. Then use a soft and dry cloth for wiping it off before storing. And that should be enough for getting rid of any hardcore tarnish or stain out.
Keep in Mind:
When cleaning teapot, you should stop occasionally to check the ministrations’ effect on your teapot. If the process seems doubtful and you think this can damage your valuable piece then checking with an expert should be best thing to do. You can take it to a local antique dealer or jeweler for enquiring about the right method of cleaning that won’t cause any harm.
Also, you should not air dry your silver teapot as it can lead to spotting and corrosion easily.
Make sure to not use any sort of rubber bands or newspaper when storing the teapot. These are usually the reason for causing irreversible black spotting due to chemical reactions over time.
Wrap Up
And on that note, we are now by the end of today’s discussion on how to clean silver teapot. Giving it a good clean will ensure the valuable piece to stay tiptop for a long time ahead. Both gentle and thorough cleanup are so much worth it when you get to see the after results. Also, bear in mind that keeping tea for a long time in the teapot will make it harder to clean. And so, do yourself a favor by not storing the tea overnight.
