Washing and Cleaning Metal Utensils

Enamelware
For cleaning enamel, it is better to wash it in hot or boiling water with some mustard or soda. Fine table salt can also be used. The proportions should be 2 teaspoons to 1 gallon of water.

Even if the enamelware is very dirty, it can not be cleaned with sand, scrape with a knife or other metal objects. To wash a dish, get a regular brush or loofah.

To clean pans with burnt milk, you can use paper or cotton swab with mustard or coffee beans.
If there are traces of rust on the enamelware, you can remove them by soaking the utensil in vinegar.

Aluminum Cookware
Aluminum utensils should be washed with soap water or placed in hot water with soda and ammonia. This will remove all the grease and keep the surface quality. After that, the dishes should be rinsed with water.

Darkened aluminum because of plaque can be cleaned with a cotton pad soaked in vinegar. If the pollution is very strong, you can boil the dishes for a quarter of an hour in a solution of vinegar. Many housewives are removing burnt food from aluminum cookware with sliced apples or boiled water with apples.

Aluminum is very soft metal. It can be rapidly destroyed in acidic or alkaline medium. It is therefore not recommended storing for a long time yoghurt, salt solutions, salted meat or fish, as well as dishes with carrots or potatoes.

Pans
Soak in water frying pans immediately after use. For burnt remains table salt can be used for rubbing and after that wipe with a soft sheet of paper.

Metal shelves from the oven should be washed in hot water, then rinsed thoroughly under water, polished with baking soda and then wiped dry with soft paper.

Cutlery
When washing knives and forks with plastic or wooden handles, one must bear in mind that the metal component is attached to the handle using a standard adhesive. If the forks and knives are left in hot water for a long time the glue can dissolve, which may eventually lead to loss of a knife or fork handle. Therefore, these instruments should be washed immediately after use and dried thoroughly.

Do not leave ordinary knives in hot water and. Steel loses its strength, elasticity and flexibility. In order to get rid of surface stains on knives and forks, rub them with lemon or lime juice, and then polish the metal with a wool cloth, sprinkled with tooth powder.

To get rid from strong and ingrained odors on knives (e.g., after cleaning onions, garlic or herring) hold them over gas stove for a few seconds, and then rinse with hot water and soap.

Cleaning silver
Silver instruments are getting darker with time. To prevent that process, after each use, wash them in hot solution of baking soda. The solution is 50 grams of sodium per liter water. Then wash the silver instruments in clean water and wipe them dry.
To clean silverware, put it in a pan. Fill the pot with a solution of vinegar and milk (the ratio is one to one). Leave the silver instruments in the pan overnight. Rinse instruments in hot soap water and wipe them with a towel. Toothpaste can also be used.  
Cleaning copper
To clean copper items, first wipe with a soft cloth soaked in kerosene and then rub chalk powder with a woolen cloth or a solution of hydrochloric acid and water.

You can also mix tartar cream and lemon juice. The resulting paste is applied to an even layer on a copper surface and washed after five minutes.