We have a friend who owns a beautiful vintage copper kettle. It was passed down through the family and it sits in her kitchen now - it's just beautiful! She avoids using it, however, because the inside has some deposits and buildup.
She is not sure if the kettle is safe to use, and if it is, how to clean it. See our thoughts below, along with a photo of the kettle's interior, and if you have experience cleaning a copper kettle or pans, please pitch in your thoughts!
First off, the inside of this kettle does not look it is copper. The inside is probably similar to the kettle that Shayna asked a question about recently:
• How Do I Clean My Vintage Kettle?
Shayna received many ideas on how to clean her kettle (it smelled like Chanel #5 and old apartment! Eww.). These included a light scrubbing with gentle steel wool, Bon Ami, Barkeeper's friend, a vinegar and salt rinse, and a scrub with lemons and salt. You can see Shayna's great results here:
• Shayna De-Stinks a Vintage Kettle
We would recommend a similar approach here for our friend. First check for cracks and any real degradation of the interior. If it's cracked or if the inside finish has chipped we probably wouldn't use the kettle for cooking or boiling water. But if it's as tight as it looks here we would gently scrub it to remove the large deposits of hard water and other calcification on the inside bottom. Then we would clean gently and naturally with a vinegar simmer and scrub out with lemons and salt.
Any other thoughts?
(All images: Faith Hopler)
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
Barkeeper's Friend would clean that up in no time. It's mildly abrasive and it's acidic... a win win. The inside *should* be either copper or stainless steel... I can't imagine it being anything else. A long soak/simmer with vinegar and then a scrub with BF should do it a world of good. I would use that thing in a heartbeat if it were mine.
view kvh's profile
Actually, one of the most serious questions I can think of off the bat is, What is the kettle lined with? If it's ancient and it's lined with tin (as many if not most old copper pots are), the key is to make sure that the tin hasn't disintegrated. It's actually dangerous to cook on disintegrating tin. If it is spotty but you still want to use it. I'd consider finding a re-tinning kit or someone to retin it for you.
Good luck though! It's pretty gorgeous!
view TheDailyFresser's profile
Check to see whether any welding repairs have been made. We have an old copper samovar in the family that was repaired in Turkey during the 60's. We've not used it because we don't know whether lead was used in the welding.
view Ken's profile
I would not use that kettle for boiling water. Copper Kettles can be used for preparing maple syrup or confections but for everyday use - I would not recommend it. More than likely that was a teapot, lined with enamel, like the japanese iron teapots, but they are more for decoration. Putting it on the stove will ruin the lining and you will get lining flakes and rust in the water. Clean it and decorate with it, but don't use it to make food.
view spoiler's profile
Here is a perfect illustration why the internet is bad, a bunch of opinions that mean nothing and do not help anyone one bit.
You need to take the Kettle to someone who knows about metal or teapots.
All this Speculation is just crazy!
(because it may have been secretly poisoned by an assassin to kill its previous owner!)
view phauxtoe's profile