Cupronickel is not a separate metal, but an alloy of silver, copper, zinc and nickel, and it surpasses silver in degree of strength, and its price is lower. Cutlery made of cupronickel is very common, since it cannot be distinguished from silver externally.
Just like silver, metal fades over time and then darkens; it is necessary to clean it in a timely manner. If cupronickel is stored in excessively humid conditions, ugly dark spots appear on it. Fortunately, it is very easy to clean cupronickel. To do this, you can take ordinary baking soda, and wipe it with wet products. Some powders for cleaning plates and sinks can also be suitable for cleaning cupronickel, but they must be used with caution, since too aggressive products can leave scratches on the products.
If every time after use to wipe cupronickel with soda, deeper cleanings may not be necessary.
If the appliances have been idle for a long time, soda and cleaning powders may not be able to cope with the stains that appear on them. In this case, a soda solution may help. In a liter of warm water you need to dissolve 50 g of baking soda, the devices are placed in a container with a solution and left for about an hour. In most cases, this is enough. Do not leave dishes and appliances wet after cleaning - new stains and stains will appear on them.
After washing, all dishes are well wiped with a soft towel and cleaned for further storage only after making sure that the appliances are completely dry.
Ammonia is a stronger stain control agent. It is also diluted in water and placed in a solution of the product. An hour in this solution is enough for the products to shine again, they need to be washed well in clean water, wiped and cleaned for future use. Not the most famous, but quite effective way to get rid of stains on cupronickel is a decoction of eggshell. A crushed shell from two raw eggs is taken per liter of water, the water with them is brought to a boil over low heat, after which items made of cupronickel that need to be cleaned are placed in a container. It is required to boil them from half an hour to an hour, then rinse in running water and wipe dry.
You can use dry chalk in powder, sprinkled on a soft, dry cloth. This tool without the use of water cleans nickel silver instruments well, but use it with caution, since large hard particles of chalk can scratch nickel silver. Under the same conditions of careful use, cupronickel can be cleaned with tooth powder. If the dirt is severe, a drop of water can be added during cleaning, but the risk of scratches is further increased.
Products from cupronickel can also be boiled in a soda solution, if all other means have not coped with the spots. The proportions of soda and water remain the same, 50 g of soda per liter of water. The boiling container should be aluminum, at the bottom it is additionally recommended to put a sheet of aluminum foil. The soda solution over low heat is brought to a boil, after which cupronickel appliances are placed in it and boiled for about another hour, observing the degree of purification. The larger the spots, the longer it will take. For the best effect when boiling with soda, it is recommended to add garlic husk to the solution. The more saturated such a decoction learns, the faster the devices will return to their previous form.
