How to Clean a Vintage Copper Coal Scuttle

Left is the Dutch copper coalscuttle or coal bucket purchased for fifty cents. I've given it a good cleaning (Right) so that little
ones may use it for dramatic play in our family's old-fashioned play kitchen. Children can learn much about social
history when parents and educators include items such as this one in their play areas.

       A coal scuttle, sometimes spelled coalscuttle and also called a hod, "coal bucket", or "coal pail", is a bucket-like container for holding a small, intermediate supply of coal convenient to an indoor coal-fired stove or heater.

       Coal scuttles are usually made of metal and shaped as a vertical cylinder or truncated cone, with the open top slanted for pouring coal on a fire. It may have one or two handles. Homes that don't use coal sometimes use a coal scuttle decoratively. I purchase this Dutch copper, coalscuttle at a flee market. It was filthy! However, I cleaned it up with a home recipe and it now is used as a decorative/toy item in the downstairs playroom of my home.

Supply List:

• table salt
• large deep plastic bucket (don't use a nice one)
• giant jug of white distilled vinegar 
• paper towels or soft rag
• scrub brush (not for use in combination with foods)

 
Step-by-Step Directions:

1. First, clean off the dirt and grime on the coalscuttle that may be removed with soap and water.
2. Choose a large, plastic bucket that will easily hold fluids and the coalscuttle. You want the the bucket to hold a fairly large amount of vinegar. I chose a very deep bucket to clean my copper coal bucket in.
3. You can lay the bucket on it's side and rotate it in the solution to get an even soak all around both the inside and outside parts of your coalscuttle, as it soaks.
4. Add approximately 1/4 cup of table salt to a gallon of white distilled vinegar. 
5. Let the dirty copper/brass scuttle soak for several hours. Turn the scuttle from side to side periodically. 
6. You will see immediate results, however be prepared to soak the cooper item(s) in the solution for several hours in order to get the desired level of cleaning.
7. Pour the solution out onto a driveway, gravel bed etc... onto unwanted weeds. This will not only kill unwanted plant growth but protect your grass or ground water sources from the vinegar solution after you have used it.
8. Wash the coalscuttle with warm soapy water again and rub it down with a dray, soft rag. Throw the rag away.

Ads from old newspapers depicting and describing the use of a coalscuttle.

The hot labor making coal kitchen versus the sanitary
 all gas kitchen from 1913.

Is Your Cooking a Fireman's Job? advertisement

The advertisement above reads, "Are you handling coal and ashes; keeping the kitchen range red-hot for baking, or covering the coals for stewing? Why not do away with the constant attention demanded by the coal stove--the irregular heat--the shifting of pots and kettle-- the smut and smoke-- woodpile and coal scuttle?"

Farm Life in The Rural Midwestern Farm.

Social History of Midwestern Families 100 Years Ago:

• Farm Wife, 1900
• Living History Farm in York, Nebraska
• Cooking Through the Ages: A Timeline of Oven Inventions
• Wood Stove Cooking