Any tips for cleaning rust off teaware?
I have a very basic electric kettle (this is not the exact model but it looks similar to this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MZWUE4C/ref=s9_acsd_simh_hd_bw_b1DNR_c_x_1_w?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-4&pf_rd_r=5DK97EH28EJ8H4Y96R30&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=85dbf706-d8a3-58fa-ac7a-0bbb4f93e9ba&pf_rd_i=289753) I hadn’t used it in months, but the other day I needed it and lo and behold it had rusted on the bottom:
http://imgur.com/XqYF4GI
I took this picture after I’d already scrubbed it three times with baking soda and vinegar. While the scrubbing did remove some of the rust, I am having a very hard time getting rid of the rest of it, partly because the way the kettle is constructed just makes it hard to scrub in general.
Has anyone run into this? It is certainly not an expensive kettle, but I hate to trash it when it works just fine.
If you can replace it for less than $25 why scrub at all?
Stubbornness, basically. I do hate junking things unless I have to, but it may come to that.
Try soaking it in coca cola. Put it in the fridge.
20 years ago I was a judge in a high school science fair. My favorite project was a girl who put her brothers baby teeth in water, fruit juice, and coca cola and compared how they changed. The tooth in coca cola completely dissolved in the 6 weeks between when she started and when she had to present her project.
Use baking soda OR vinegar (I boil watered down vinegar in my kettles to get off minerals). Vinegar cleans because its acidic, baking soda cleans because its basic, if you mix an acid and a base together it makes something neutral that isnt great at cleaning.
Barkeepers friend is amazing at taking rust or anything else off metal, it will make you worst pans look new, even an old steel sink. If nothing else this will take the rust off with a good scrub and plenty of rinsing after.
Thanks so much! I tried the barkeepers friend and it worked like a dream, I didn’t even have to scrub, it just melted the rust off :) I had no idea that stuff was so powerful.
I imagine walmart would have it, I just found an old canister under the sink. I think it came with the house, honestly.
You are very welcome, I’m glad it worked for you! I got my can off Amazon after Adam Savage from Mythbusters recommended it on a podcast. Its the best kitchen cleaner I have ever found (it’s even safe on non-stick pans)
I never knew what to do with it before, but now I am going to de-rust everything! I’ve got some pans that need shining up :)
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