Easy Ways With Household Brasses

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 7061, 8 November 1929, Page 15

Easy Ways With Household Brasses

Much of the hard work entailed in keeping brass in good condition can be cut out thus: —

Thoroughly clean all brasswork, then shake a little salad oil on a cloth and apply it evenly to the polished metal. Treated thus, the brass will not need cleaning for at least a week. Brass fittings on doors are often difficult to clean because it is desired to avoid soiling the wood surrounding them. The remedy is to tie a little salt in a thick soft cloth, moisten it slightly with vinegar, and rub the brass with it. Finally, polish the metal with a dry flannel dipped in fine wood ashes.

To keep brass trays clean for long periods without attention, rub with a piece of lemon, then pour boiling water over them, and polish with a soft, dry cloth. Small brass ornaments should be cleaned in the same way. It is better than using pastes or powders, as there is nothing to lodge in the crevices and dry white later on. Brass fittings and mounts on furniture arc best cleaned with a vinegar and salt solution. A teaspoonful of salt to half a cupful of vinegar, placed in a bottle and kept corked tightly, will last for months. After tho final polish, rub the metal lightly with good furniture or floor polish, which will prevent it from tarnishing easily.