After I brought home the pretty little copper watering can from the Roseville garage sales, I decided that I should try polishing it up.
I’m not usually a polish-er. I prefer my silver tarnished rather than freshly polished, for example. But I wanted to see what this piece would look like all spruced up.
So I googled how to polish copper and discovered that you can just use a lemon and some coarse salt, no need to use harsh chemicals.
And you don’t specifically need Kosher salt, but it’s what I happened to have on hand at the moment.
The process is simple. Cut your lemon in half, dredge the cut side in the salt and then use it to scrub the copper.
It took a little elbow grease, but not much. As an added bonus the lemon smells fantastic, and your hands get a bit of spa treatment at the same time.
I found it a little hard to get into tight crevices, and it didn’t turn out perfect, but not bad for just using a lemon and some salt.
Since I had a watering can, and my gardens are looking quite fab at the moment, it seemed like I should take some photos in the garden. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed that we don’t have a repeat of last year’s hail storm that shredded all of my hostas.
‘Cuz right now they are looking pretty fine.
On the bright side, that means none of the damage from last year was permanent. But they never really did ever look good again last season.
Knock on wood.
Now go find some copper, lemons and salt and get polishing!
q is for quandie 
You beat me to that gem. Love it! I haven’t tried polishing copper, but also heard that ketchup works wonders!
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I’ll have to try the ketchup next time! Especially since I’ve brought the watering can to the office to water the plants there. Ketchup will be readily available at work, whereas lemons … not so much.
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Great little watering can. I didn’t know how to polish copper. I have a friend who lives in a log home and has copper counter tops. I love them! I wonder if that is how she cleans them? I will have to ask her. Thanks for the info 😊
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That sounds like an awesome kitchen! And now you have me wondering if your friend cleans her copper counters with lemon and salt too.
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Great tip! I never knew it worked on copper! I use to use salt and lemon to remove coffee stains on the glass pot. But I’ve had a Keurig for years, and have forgotten that tip. Your hostas look great!
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Gotta love the Keurig! It’s funny to think about going back to brewing an entire pot of coffee. I always ended up throwing half of it down the drain.
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I’ve seen copper countertops cleaned that way on tv probably 10 years ago.
I think it was on the HGTV program called “Country Style”. Darling watering can. And the lemon and salt brought it back nicely!
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Oops forgot to mention your garden.
Those hostas look very happy. You should take us on a garden tour of yours. I love seeing what you have done.
Sadly not one of my hostas remains.
Something meaning resident bunny just may have gotten to them. They certainly decimated our asparagus.
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Funny, I was just thinking this morning that I should share some garden photos soon. I went back to white and green in my window box this year and it’s really starting to fill out nicely. Bummer about your hostas. I know that deer really love them too, but fortunately we don’t get many deer on our street (although they have been spotted here once or twice). There is a large wooded park about a half mile from us that has a pretty good sized deer population.
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The copper tea pot is Adorable! How cool that it only takes a lemon and salt to shine it up. I would love to see what a copper countertop looks like…never heard of copper being used as a countertop. Your hosta is looking good too!
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I’ve heard of copper countertops but have never actually seen one in person. I bet they are pretty!
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Well, let me say this about that:
https://www.thekitchn.com/copper-countertops-would-you-do-it-196244
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Great article! And fun to see the various photos. I definitely prefer the look with the darker cabinets rather than the white.
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I like all the copper countertops except the first picture. Love the little copper pot. My hosted are getting really big on the front. Love your yellow and green ones.
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Great tip! And your garden/hostas look lovely. 🙂
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Thanks Denise!
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