Tea Spoons

I have a drawer full of stainless steel cutlery and a lot of it, particularly the tea spoons, have become rather (very) stained. It looks like tea may have been the culprit. Trying to remove it I have tried CocoCola but this has made no impression, even after a two day dip.

Any recommendations chaps?

Mike

Buy some denture tablets and pop one in a cup of warm water then stand the spoons in that. We did this with cups as well works a treat until I brought the wife a dish washer which also removes any staining now.

No only that but the tubes come in handy as small storage containers. I keep my fretsaw/scrollsaw blades in them

Edited By Frances IoM on 23/03/2021 10:55:50

Hot citric acid, cleans cups and mugs as well.

Good old common Domestic bleach does it for me .

Does it for me to, especially useful to get the cups and mugs as new.

Emgee

One of the stainless birdsnest scourers works for me

Drink coffee. Works for me.

Bleach (Sodium Hypochlorite ) removes the "protective" film that forms on stainless steel, and stains from tea or coffee as well. (Drinking tea without milk is the worst culprit. Black coffee is marginally better )

It is amazing just how much tannin it will remove from a really badly stained tea pot.

Howard

Denture tablets work well for me; boil some water, pour into container, add spoons + one tablet, & leave until fizzing stops + 10 mins or so then wash /rinse. Works well on stained plastic too.

George.

I had a similar problem with spoons but they had been cleaned with a scouring pad to remove staining. Do I had a great idea when I saw a small bench grinder in Aldy with the guards removed and a polishing mop from Cromwell tools it pleased SWMBO and they looked like new.

Note the before and after.

David

Edited By David George 1 on 23/03/2021 13:00:31

Have a similar problem with stainless table spoons used for cooking, the bowls of the spoons have turned black, this is not a deposit but a colour change in the metal itself. The spoons are always washed in the dishwasher and I wonder is there anything in the chemical makeup of the dishwasher tablets that is the cause, all other stainless cutlery, knives, forks, dessert spoons and teaspoons are unaffected and remain bright as when new. Is it possible that because they are exposed to many different substances when used for cooking processes that chemicals within the washer tablets causes a chemical change to the surface of the spoons, it is only the bowl of the spoons that suffer this blackening, would appreciate any thoughts as to why there is a colour change and if there is a process that could restore them to bright as new condition. Dave W

Tea? Tannic acid and tannins? Not very soluble in acidic conditions. A caustic solution is more likely to remove these types of stain.

As no-one has specifically mentioned it yet : We use Milton sterilising fluid [blue bottle, in the ‘baby’ section of your favourite supermarket] ... It removes Tea Stains very efficiently.

MichaelG.

.

**LINK**

https://www.milton-tm.com/en/consumer/products/sterilising-fluid

But will they stir your tea any better after they've been cleaned? Just learn to love them as they are

I have used denture cleaner powder to remove tea stains from Stainless steel teapots for years. A small pile of powder in pot, add boiling water to the rim and leave overnight. If badly stained, it may require repeated dose.

MC Black

Like Dave W, I have some 'stainless' items that have slowly stained (the French have it right- inoxidable). Steel spoons pressed from sheet have a dark tinge, other stainless cutlery are not affected. Different grades of SS?

Also, aluminium pots that have been used for stocks/broths seem to darken. Obviously different chemistry is involved.

I shall try citric acid for removing tea stains. When I worked in a factory, not cleaning cups was a mark of honour, boiling water addressed any biological hazard. So perhaps Duncan has it right. But the female householder at my location is intolerant of this viewpoint.

Bill

fairly strong solution of Bicarb of Soda in hot water. soak overnight

Roy

To get the deposits from my stainless teapot (which I only do when they get thick enough to start flaking off) I put washing soda in water and boil it on the hot plate. (boiling washing soda is also good for removing paint from metal items, but I haven't dared do it in the teapot.)

The blue-black staining on our 'stainless' cutlery didn't respond to chemical treatment, so I did like David George and used a buffing wheel. They polished up beautifully and two years later are still bright. The only problem I encountered was that the wheel was too big to get into the teaspoon bowls, so I did them by hand with Autosol polish.

George B.

I've also observed that frequently using Cif (originally the pronouncable Jif) tends to create fine scratches, causing teaspoons to rapidly become tea stained again. It seems to contain a soft abrasive (chalk or crushed limestone?) as well as what seems to me to be a strong acid or alkali, from its irritating effects on my fingers. Acid, I suppose, as it claims to remove limestone. But then it can't contain a limestone abrasive, unless activated by additional water. Any chemists here?

Bill