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 denture tablets
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| Author | Topic: denture tablets |
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seaduck Posts: 350 |
posted 11-08-2009 06:12 PM
  
I have searched and rummaged the archives and haven't found a definitive answer to this.....is it OK to use denture tablets (like Polident) on silver? Dale recommended them to someone in a discussion of a copper teapot. I have a 1920s Crichton coffee pot that has gunk -- which is to say, the inside has a coating that looks like rust, but if I scrape at it with a paper towel wrapped around a wooden spoon, brown stuff comes off. Can't reach in to polish it. I hope to be able to use this pot without poisoning my guests! IP: Logged |
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seaduck Posts: 350 |
posted 11-08-2009 07:21 PM
Half-answering my own question....I read Sazikov's response to the question in another thread about cleaning clay from a vase and realized that his reference to "Toothprothesis cleaner tablett" is the same thing. Armed with that, and Dale's comment about cleaning copper, I decided to give it a shot. Used Efferdent, which is supposed to work in 15 minutes. The pot is much better -- probably useable, tho' there was still one band of gunk. The finish looks sort of milky, tho. Clean, but not shiny --not as if it had actually been polished. Not sure what that means, or if that is damage. Unfortunately, the neck of the pot is too narrow for me to reach in and give it a good cleaning. I'm trying it again to try to remove that gunky band. I'd still welcome any comments or suggestions. IP: Logged |
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middletom Posts: 467 |
posted 11-08-2009 09:46 PM
Seaduck, I've noticed that tarnished items that are dipped in that blue tarnish removing liquid comes out with a bit of a milky finish though the tarnish is gone. I think you teapot has been cleaned well and without getting in to buff it you will have to be content with the milky look. middletom IP: Logged |
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Dale Posts: 2132 |
posted 11-09-2009 02:14 AM
In preparing an item for plating, polishing is done before the piece goes into the tank. The outer surfaces of your pot would have been buffed, then plated, and then only a mild hand polishing is needed. Areas that are not polished before hand will have that sort of milky look you see inside the pot. When silverplate is granular, this indicates the tank was not warm enough. IP: Logged |
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Kimo Posts: 1627 |
posted 11-09-2009 02:57 PM
Is this a teapot that you have always owned? The reason I ask is that people sometimes use their silver and silverplate for odd purposes and the result is that you can never be sure exactly what kinds of residues are on and in them. Also, there is the possibility that if it was stored in an attic or basement that various kinds of small creatures might have gotten into it and made it their home for a while leaving behind encrustations of unpleasant or unhealthy things. If you intend to use something you bought at a shop or flea market for food or drink I would suggest that you put a fair amount of effort into cleaning the areas where food or drink will come into contact. Denture cleaner is a good start but you may want to think about some additional cleaning using things like a bottle brush for getting to the inside of the spout or a dishwashing brush on a long handle to get inside the body of the pot. Fill your teapot with hot water (at least as hot as the tea you will put into it) and some mild dishwashing detergent, let it soak overnight, then scrub it with the brushes. Do that a couple of times to make sure whatever may be encrusted in there is cleaned out enough that when you fill it with hot tea whatever may be in there will not disolve into the tea that you will drink. IP: Logged |
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seaduck Posts: 350 |
posted 11-09-2009 04:38 PM
Thanks, everyone, for your interest and suggestions. I've worked at this thing some more -- more Efferdent, more soaking, more elbow grease, as Kimo suggested. It's a case of needing the right tool, which I don't have at hand. A bottle brush and a toothbrush couldn't quite reach all the contours. Had somewhat greater success with a pastry/basting brush, but it's not quite the right size/shape. Was able to get almost all of the 'gunk' out; there was still some minor staining in some areas and a line of what looks like orange rust at a bend in the surface. Actually had some success in applying Haggerty's silver cream with the pastry brush -- it seemed to get rid of that 'milky' look. I suspect that the very bottom was never finished to quite the same degree of polish as the upper part...for the reason that I'm having trouble: too hard to reach. It's not perfect, but I had enough confidence to use it this morning -- no harmful effects yet! To answer some of your other questions -- this is an old family piece; I'm probably the first to use it in 50, maybe 70 years. It is sterling. The innards of the teapot are pristine. The gunk was uniform, brown...who knows. It's as though the pot was half full of coffee that evaporated over time, leaving the residue. You might be interested in a tidbit I found on Jeff Herman's site while trying to research this: he says he's had great success polishing with hand sanitizer! (The plain unscented kind, with no aloe.) I'd love to know how he stumbled across that idea! IP: Logged |
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taloncrest Posts: 169 |
posted 11-10-2009 09:55 PM
Seaduck, I have a small (but heavy!) Mexican Sanborn coffeepot that I used daily for my morning coffee for a few years. I did not wash it every day because I think it ruins the taste of the coffee, but I just rinsed it out after I used it, dried the exterior, and propped it up inverted in the drainboard to drip dry. I stopped using it when the handle became loose at one of the heat rings. The inside of that pot describes yours to a t. It was not a family piece; I acquired it at the old Lakewood show in Atlanta. Before I started using it I did wash it thoroughly, using a bottle brush for the spout and I used denture tablets as well for fear of what might be lurking in the spout! IP: Logged |
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seaduck Posts: 350 |
posted 11-13-2009 12:39 PM
Taloncrest -- many thanks for that info...gives me some confidence that the pot wasn't previously used for weird chemical experiments! IP: Logged |
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Brent Posts: 1507 |
posted 11-13-2009 02:23 PM
If you ever use a "dip" type tarnish remover on a heavily tarnished item, you will get the same cloudy surface. I'm not sure what the chemical reaction is exactly, or what the residue is, but it can usually be removed with a conventional polish, leaving a nice, untarnished and non-milky surface. Tarnish removal is mostly trial and error. I have about 6 different polishes I use for different situations, often in combination. Brent IP: Logged |
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agleopar Posts: 850 |
posted 11-13-2009 11:39 PM
One way to visualize that cloudy surface is if you think of the copper in the surface as having been leached out and just the silver left. The surface is mate and non reflective and what the subsequent polishing does is actually burnish the surface back to the shine. The same thing happens in a dish washer – the chemicals in the detergent leach the copper out. The residue in tea pots and coffee pots is partly organic combined with tarnish so getting through or rid of the organic has to come first, then dealing with the tarnish after. All the above are good suggestions. I also keep a collection of brushes of different hardness, starting with brass brushes (not steel brass plated which will scratch!) and then going to hard bristle. These with detergent can do a great deal. I do use silver dip but very sparingly. I will pour it in and right away pour it out and rinse well. Then repeat (after drying) for longer if there was not enough progress. IP: Logged |
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nautilusjv Posts: 253 |
posted 11-14-2009 04:59 PM
I have been reading this thread with great interest, but maybe someone could clarify the use of denture tabs for me. I have 2 plated coffee pots which are quite good on the outside, but heavily tarnished on the inside. Would the denture tab help remove the tarnish? Do I just put a tab in the pot with water? Thanks, Kelly IP: Logged |
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seaduck Posts: 350 |
posted 11-15-2009 06:45 PM
My sense is that the denture tablets work to remove stains -- the 'organic' matter as Agleopar described it -- but not tarnish. In other words, they work on what you'd see in a white ceramic mug used frequently for coffee or tea and only rinsed out. (tho' in my case, the grungy crud coating was more than the equivalent of a light stain) I used Efferdent tablets that take 15 minutes to work. Started with two. Repeated the process. And later repeated with four or so tablets. the end result was not perfect, but mostly OK. I ran out of time and energy and lacked the right brushes for the task. I don't know if there is a difference in the brands. I almost bought Polident, but the label said it contains citric acid, and I thought that was bad for silver (all those warnings about not washing with citrus soap detergents...which are hard to avoid; I have used Sunlight lemon scent). Interestingly, Efferdent does not list its ingredients, which seems outrageous in this day and age. IP: Logged |
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Kimo Posts: 1627 |
posted 11-17-2009 02:00 PM
Never use silver dip fluid inside a teapot that you intend to use without first reading the label on the dip to see if it contains a chemical called thiourea. The reason is most dips do contain this chemical as a key ingredient and it is carcinogenic. The best policy is to simply never buy a dip that contains thiourea. It is not only a problem if you wind up drinking some of it by having some residue getting disolved into your tea, but it is also a problem if it simply gets on your skin. IP: Logged |
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Scott Martin Forum Master Posts: 11520 |
posted 11-17-2009 04:19 PM
From New Member Postnikov posted 11-17-2009 01:34 PM quote: IP: Logged |
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chase33 Posts: 362 |
posted 11-17-2009 08:28 PM
Ok, I may be a little slow on this but what is a dishwasher pad? IP: Logged |
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Dale Posts: 2132 |
posted 11-18-2009 01:22 AM
It's like a knee pad only you put it on your dishwasher. Couldn't resist. It is prepackaged dishwasher detergent in a little package that disolves as the cycle runs. Works well for getting organic stains out of fabrics also. IP: Logged |
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seaduck Posts: 350 |
posted 11-21-2009 12:08 PM
Kimo--Many thanks for the warning on silver dip. Have never bought any, but was thinking that it might be worth trying in this case. I'll give it a pass. IP: Logged |
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