Topic: Best way to clean??

[Paul S.]

just a quickie - as I don't want to start another 'cleaning' thread........but just to show these two pics. of a 5"/125mm pub glass from somewhere around 1860 - 1890, which as you can see was encrusted with limescale.   Using snipped off ends of copper wire plus magic balls plus cerium oxide plus metal polish - I closed off the opening and shook manually for about 12 - 15 minutes all told , then finished off with metal polish (only) and a hard felt mop on a flexible drive.   I'm more than pleased with the result, and certainly better than trying to scrape off the limescale which feel sure may well have caused scratches on the glass.     So, I'm very happy, and not a thread of wire wool used anywhere    

[rosieposie]

There's a lot of people queuing up at your gate with glass vases and bottles and glass things in bags......I wonder why they are there? .....look out of your window Paul!!

[Anne]

Paul, well done, that's an excellent result!  :hiclp: :hiclp: :hiclp:

Now just as an aside, I have a small diamond optic ribbed footed glass which accidentally went into the dishwasher a few years ago, and came out with a white bloom which has resisted all efforts to remove it... until this week, when it was used for pineapple juice, and after being washed after the juice is now almost clear again! So why would pineapple juice do that...? (And what does it do to my insides???) 

[Ohio]

Anne both lemon & pineapple juices are rather acidic & can be used as a substitue for some cleaning products although its certainly not cost effective. For example if you put a corroded US penny in either lemon or pineapple juice it will remove the corrosion in 1/2 the time it takes if you used Coca-Cola. Ken

[Paul S.]

Ken is quite correct, of course  -  lemons and limes have high concentrations of citric acid, accounting for their bitter taste.    Oranges and tangerines are also high in citric acid, though lower than the more bitter citrus fruits. You can find citric acid present in certain berries too, particularly raspberries and blackberries.     In industry, apparently,  citric acid is used to make good “natural” cleaners, though some of these may still contain chemicals that are not wholly green.        As kids we certainly did put old pennies into coke, just to see the effect of making them shine.   Dishwashers are notorious for putting a bloom on glass, I've noticed, so don't think we shud use that machine for anything valuable or delicate.   I suspect the small amount of citric acid that we consume is mitigated by the bodies natural digestive acids that we produce to breakdown our vitals, so I would'nt worry too much Anne.
Yes, I was truly pleased with the result, and will try that method again.

[Paul S.]

sorry..........I meant 'victuals' :pb:

[ju1i3]

Very interesting. I got some Brasso but still looking for Barkeeper's Friend. I will add pineapple juice to my shopping list as well. I read somewhere a long time ago about how pineapple workers had their skin dissolved by the pineapple. I think it's another chemical rather than just acid that has this property (bromelain?). Anyway, I'm certainly interested to have a go with it.

[Lustrousstone]

Limescale is relatively easy to remove with something acidic. It's just calcium carbonate. It's the bloom within the top layers (at the molecular level) of glass that's the issue.

[Paul S.]

quite right Christine  -  it is the glass sickness that is the greater evil - although fortunately for me my glass had a problem with limescale only.     I've tried a variety of proprietary so called limescale removers, but never had any real success - so having used a finger nail to test the hardness of the deposits in my glass, I played safe and refrained from scratching.    As you quite rightly say, these calcium carbonate deposits are precipitated from water solutions, but over a long period of time can become calcified to a remarkable degree of hardness -  you have only to think of the stalactites/stalagmites that grow in caves.      I did in fact try Domestos - but it produced no improvement at all.
However, think I will now go out and corner the market in lemons ready or my next effort   -  so tell us then, which product do you use for similar situations?

[rosieposie]

As a point of interest, pineapple juice is far from acidic....in fact in can be almost alkaline.  Hence it is recommended for patients with arthritis......in adition, it contains the enzyme bromelain, an effective anti inflamatory agent, which redices pain and increases mobility in arthritis Patients.  Only fresh pineapple contains bromelain, as it is destroyed in the heat process of packaged juice or tinned pineapple.......so it is a mystery why it would have removed the bloom from your glass Anne.