What Do Household Products Do To Remove Copper's Rust And Tarnish?

The materials used were for each container:

1. 1 Pint vinegar, 3 tablespoons salt.
2. ¼ cup vinegar, 2 teaspoons salt, and 2 tablespoons flower.
3. Lemon juice and baking soda.
4. Ketchup.

Containers were cleaned and dried. Different chemicals were added to each container:

Solution 1: Mix

1. 1 Pint vinegar.
2. 3 Tablespoons salt.
3. Submerge the copper in the solution.
4. Let sit for 1 hour.
5. Rub clean.

Solution 2: Mix

1. 2 Teaspoons salt.
2. 2 Tablespoons flower.
3. ¼ Cup vinegar.
4. Rub paste on surface and let dry completely.
5. Let sit for 1 hour.
6. Rinse in soapy, warm water, then buff.

Solution 3

1. Add enough lemon juice and baking soda to make a paste with similar consistency to a toothpaste.
2. Rub onto copper.
3. Sit for 1 hour.
4. Rinse and dry.

Solution 4

1. Add enough ketchup to cover the sample.
2. Let sit for 1 hour.
3. Rinse and dry.

After one hour, it was observed that three out of the four different solutions had begun to significantly remove rust and tarnish. The final one, the lemon juice and baking soda, had not.

A conclusion from the experiment preformed is that if certain household chemicals are combined and copper is submerged in them, copper will begin to lose its rust and tarnish.

In this experiment, the copper samples needed to be submerged for 1 hour to remove the most rust and tarnish possible, and the salt and vinegar solution was the most effective.