Did you know that you can clean your money? Make your dirty and dingy pennies bright and shiny with a little chemistry!
You will need:
You will need:
- 1/4 c vinegar in a non-metal bowl
- 1 tsp salt
- Old, dirty pennies
- Bowl of water
- Paper towels for drying
Set up your work space.
Mix the salt and vinegar. Add your dirty pennies to the salt and vinegar combination. Let them sit for about 20-30 seconds (longer if your pennies are super dirty).
Remove them from the vinegar and rinse them in the bowl water. Remove them from the water and dry them with a paper towel.
What's going on?
Pennies are made of copper. When copper is exposed to air over a period of time, the air reacts with the copper and forms a dull green crust called a copper oxide. Vinegar is a type of acid. The acid breaks the bond formed by the oxide and dissolves the copper oxide, exposing the shiny copper.