Oldstyle cleaning of mirrored stainless steel kettle?

Chipps

Glad to be some use! Don't know what I would do without soda crystals!!!

Loadsabob

Well, I tried cleaning with a soda crystals solution, and the grease came off well, but not the brown tarnish type marks.

I suspect that I am a little impatient and expect instant results - I wonder whether the way to go will be to soak it overnight in a soda crystals solution? And of course I still haven't tried the bio. Didn't get around to an overnight soak last night, as I was busy getting my popcorn and maple syrup ready for Dangerous Housewives finale! Can't help myself!

Galtizz

:shhh: Don't tell me what happend, I've got it on tape, it was on too late for me to stay up and watch

The old style cleaning methods don't give instant results. You really do need to leave things to soak for as long as possible I'm afraid.

Vinegar is good for getting limscale marks off. Do you think this could be what the tarish marks are??? if so you could try putting that on it.

Loadsabob

Ah well, I went to bed with my popcorn (no BF during the week!), and settled in for the two hours! Hope you enjoy it too!

Right...I will learn to be more patient. My boyfriend always laughs at how I expect instant results! But I wouldn't sacrifice natural methods for quick solutions, so will persevere. I have vinegar, too...this poor kettle isn't going to know what's hit it!

AND I got annoyed with the Meyer hard anodised cleaner I bought for my Analon pans...I expected everything to gleam, but with all my elbow grease I still didn't get far! Grrrrr!

Not sure whether the tarnish could be limescale...it's not raised at all, so doesn't seem to be anything external ON the kettle...the possibility of it being scorch, where water has evaporated, sort of makes sense.

squeaky

You could try rinsing them afterwards with some diluted vinegar. In an old spray bottle I put three tbsp each of vinegar and lemon juice and about four drops of an essential oil (to help the smell along) then topped it up with water and it's brought my sink and my taps up a treat.

Loadsabob

Thanks Squeaky, I'll have to get handy with the vinegar, too! The saucepans have about a year's worth of heated-on oil on the bottom. Of course they get cleaned and washed after each use, but you know how saucepans can get underneath...if you've left any residue of grease on the bottom, it bakes on...well, they're a bit like that. It's not terrible, but they don't look as beautiful as they should!

Still, I'll tackle the kettle, then the pans...

Chipps

If you can get hold of some "bar keepers friend"; that usually gets rid of marks. (Very good at getting rid of rust marks from things).

I think you can get it from lakeland. Mine came from Wilkinsons, but I have been there since & they haven't had any more. So if anyone knows where else to get it that would be a help.

squeaky

If you google.uk on "bar keepers friend" exactly as written you'll find quite a number of places listed there. Perhaps you can find one near you.

In fact, the result page is Here

Loadsabob

Well, thank you all for your suggestions. I started last night, from the top, with Squeaky's bio soak, and this morning it is GLEAMING! As good as new! I wiped it down with a sponge and vinegar, so that any grease wasn't smeared back on, and I am really chuffed! There were a couple of little bits not entirely gone (including something that looks like burnt sugar!), so I've left it with that side in the water whilst I'm at work, and should be all gone when I get home I hope!

Hurray!!!!!!!!!!

Honestly, if some of my friends knew my joy at the tarnish being banished from my kettle by bio washing powder, they would wonder about me!...I'm glad I know you guys get a kick out of such things, too!

squeaky

It's great when it works

You could try using a plastic scraper for the most persistent bits. Old credit cards or membership cards are good for this. They have rounded corners so if you need to get into somewhere difficult just cut the card to fit.