Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1916-12-09
CLEANING ALUMINIUM
Cooking Utensils Require Spec
ial Treatment-SOme Scour-
ing Materials and Alkalis In
furious.

The home economics experts OF the
department have studied the cleaning of
aluminium ware as part of their work
on household equipment.
Unless kettle is very badly dis
colored 1t is best to clean it by scour-
ing. An aluminium utensil which is CIV
en- proper daily care probably will not
become so stained as to need cleaning
by other methods. The kettle should
first be freed from all sdhering food and
washed in hot water with a mild soap.
Scraping should be done with wooden
spoon, since aluminium is a soft metal
and easily scratched The securing
preparation chosen should not contain
hard, sharp particles of grit which
would scratch the aluminium. The grit
should either be very fine or else should
consist of rounded grains. Those who
live near the ocean can obtain sea sand
for securing. others may be able to pur-
chase 1t, for it is sold in many stores.
This has rounded grains which clean eff
fectively without scratching. A moist
soapy cloth is dipped into the sea sand
and rubbed on the metal. Care should
be taken not to allow the sand to run
down the sink drain. since it may result
in clogging the pipes. Steel wool is
also useful for securing and may be
purchased at most hardware stores. A
small pad of the material is rubbed on
a neutral soap and applied to the alum
mum. Only very fine grade should be
employed, since the coarse is liable to
scratch. A mixture of equal parts, by
volume, of powdered whiting and alco-
hol, with the addition of few drops of
ammonia, is sometimes used for polish
ing aluminium which is not very badly
discolored.
Commercial securing pastes and pow
ders containing soap and gritty material
are on the market and are in many cases
satisfactory Securing soaps which
come in cakes are also effective, but less
convenient to use because of the time
and strength consumed in rubbing off
enough from the cake upon the scour-
ing cloth.
In cleaning aluminium strong alkali
should never be used since it attacks
and dissolves the metal. Such house,
hold alkalis as washing soda, potash.
I've, or even strongly alkaline soap,
should be avoided.
The action Of acids on aluminium, such
as dilute vinegar, fruit juice, or sour
milk, on the other hand, is comparative
~ slight, although it is appreciate and
may result in pitting the surface of the
metal ify1ong continued. The action Of
acids s;Jtaken advantage of in cleaning
aluminium ware No acid which is pois-
onous has place in the kitchen and
nothing of the sort should be used for
cleaning aluminium. There are. how
ever number of acid solutions avail
able, especially those occurring in many
fruits or vegetables, such as rhubarb.
apples. or tomatoes. If rhubarb. either
fresh or canned. is used, one or two
stalks cut in small pieces are added to
each quart of water and boiled in the
discolored kettle until it is clean. The
rhubarb or other fruit SO used must. of
course. be thrown away. After kettle
has been cleaned in this way 1t should
be polished to remove any adhering par
ticles of metal or metallic compounds.
and to secure a bright, smooth surface,
for this is less easily attacked chemi-
cally a4d so stains Jess readily than
rough one. The housekeeper who has
buy rhubarb in winter as we'll as sum-
mer. but she. as well as housekeepers
not living near large markets. may find
1t convenience to can rhubarb especial |
ly for this purpose. It is we'll known |
that rhubarb stalks, whole or cut In |
small pieces, will keep we'll if washed |
put in sterilized jars. COW |
cred with cooled freshly boiled water. |
and sealed tightly at once.
From the data reported in chemical |
literature on the subject 1t does not ap-
pear that foods. when cooked in alum
mum ware under ordinary household
conditions. dissolve any considerable |
amount Of the metal. There is no rea-
son to suppose that aluminium as 1T
might possibly thus occur in food so
cooked would prove harmful.