Mary Marlowe Leverette is one of the industry's most highly-regarded housekeeping and fabric care experts. She has over four decades of experience and has been writing and consulting for more than 20 years sharing her knowledge on efficient housekeeping, stain removal methods, and textile conservation. Mary is a Master Gardener and an apple orchard owner.

As one of the earth's naturally occurring minerals, copper used for cookware, jewelry, and household items brings a warmth that other metals can't match. If copper is left unlacquered, it will develop a patina that becomes more beautiful with age—picture the Statue of Liberty. If you prefer your copper pieces to retain their shine, you don't have to lacquer them or purchase commercial cleaners. Follow these easy steps to clean copper naturally, using supplies that are already right in your kitchen.

Copper reacts slowly with the oxygen in the air—a process called oxidation. The process produces copper oxide, a brown or black compound, or tarnish. Eventually, other chemicals from the atmosphere like sulfur will turn the "tarnish" blue or green. How often you should clean your copper pans and other pieces depends on how shiny you wish to keep them. If you love a brighter shine, clean the pieces every three months. If you like a deeper tone to decorative copper decor, cleaning every six months will keep the level of oxidation in check.

Cleaning frequency also depends on whether the copper is lacquered or natural. Shiny, glossy copper that does not change color or darken over time typically means it has a protective finish. If the copper tarnishes quickly, the surface is untreated or the lacquer has worn away.

The citric acid in lemon juice reacts with the tarnish to break its bond with the surface of the copper. Salt acts as a mild abrasive in the mixture to scrub away the tarnish without damaging the surface of the metal. Here's how to clean copper pans and other household items.

If you don't have any lemon juice, distilled white vinegar or ketchup works very well to polish copper. Vinegar contains acetic acid (ketchup contains vinegar as well as citric acid in the tomatoes) that reacts with copper tarnish and breaks its bond with the copper.

If the copper hasn't been polished in years and you've tried plenty of elbow grease with lemon juice or vinegar, heating the copper may help. Be sure that your piece has no parts glued on with adhesives that may be damaged by the heat.

READ NEXT: How to Clean Baking Sheets So They Look New Again

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