Silver Cleaning Tips

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How To Clean and Care For Silver

Cleaning your silver serving pieces, flatware, and jewelry is something that most people do not do very often and do not think a lot about. It does not have to be the drudgery that most people think of. There are some easy and quick cleaning tips for you to save time and keep that keep your silver beautiful enough for a king!

Why Does Silver Tarnish?

Silver tarnishes when it is exposed to air, and it happens even more quickly when silver is exposed to damp and humid air. Silver needs to be kept covered in treated paper, plastic, or cloth.

Silver has many different enemies that you need to try to keep it from coming into contact with. These include rubber, table salt, salad dressing, olives, eggs, vinegar, and fruit juices. Store and serve these items in glass, plastic, and china containers. Also, avoid using your silver pieces to store or show off flowers or fruit. The acid that these items produce as they decay can etch the container and damage it forever.

Silver Cleaning Tips

There are several different ways you can clean your silver using things that are usually kept in your kitchen pantry.

Baking Soda

Make a paste with water and baking soda and coat the item with the paste. Rub the item, rinse the mixture off, and then dry well. This should make your silver beautiful and shiny!

Aluminum foil, salt, and baking soda

Put a sheet of aluminum foil in a pan and put 2-3 inches of water on top of it. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt, 1 teaspoon of the baking soda, and bring to a boil. Add the silver that needs to be cleaned and boil for 2-3 minutes, making sure that the pieces are covered by the water. Rinse, buff, and dry!

Toothpaste

This is a great cleaning tip for cleaning all of the crevices and hard to reach places. Coat the item with toothpaste and run it under warm water to make a foam. Rub the item well and then rinse, dry, and buff with a soft cloth. For especially difficult crevices, you can use an old soft bristled toothbrush.

Muriatic acid

Now it’s time for the big guns! Muriatic acid is used for cleaning the mortar between bricks, but it is also a wonderful silver cleaner too! If your silver is extremely tarnished, this may be something that you want to try! Take fine steel wool and dip it in the acid. Then lightly wipe it onto the silver until it begins to shine. Be sure to wear acid-resistant gloves when using this method!

Silver Polish

There are many different silver polishes available at your local store. Use one of these if the above methods do not work!

Cleaning Silver Flatware

Do you have some silver flatware that you have never used? Chances are that the tarnish on these pieces keeps you from enjoying the beauty of them. Why don’t you clean them and polish them to add beauty and interest to your table?

Keep in mind that there are certain foods that are not friendly to your silver flatware. Be sure that you do not allow food to sit on the flatware for a long period of time. Very salty or acidic foods can stain them. Your silver flatware should be stored in a tarnish resistant flannel bag or pouch or an airtight plastic bag to keep it from tarnishing.

If your pieces just need to be washed and do not have tarnish on them, the best way to simply clean them is to wash them in warm sudsy water. Rinse them well and dry immediately. You can wash your silver flatware in the dishwasher, but if the handles are hollow, they can be loosened because of the prolonged exposure to heat and water. Also, do not place your silver flatware in the same basket as your stainless steel flatware. The stainless steel flatware can permanently stain your silver flatware.

Keep in mind that the more often you use your silver flatware, the brighter and shinier it will stay! What a great bonus!

Cleaning Silver Jewelry

Keeping your silver jewelry beautiful will allow you to wear it more frequently and enjoy it more. How do you keep your silver jewelry ready to wear at a moment’s notice?

1. Clean it after each use with a soft 100% cotton or flannel cloth to remove makeup, sweat, dirt, etc.
2. If your jewelry just needs a mild cleaning, you can clean it with a mixture of very mild liquid detergent and warm water. Be sure you rinse it well and dry it thoroughly with a soft cloth.
3. Many professionals swear by using baking soda or toothpaste on silver jewelry, while others say that they are too abrasive. If you don’t want to take the chance, then you need to purchase a silver spray or polish to clean tarnish off your jewelry to keep it looking beautiful.
4. If your silver jewelry has gemstones then you need to be careful cleaning them. Some cleaners can damage your gemstones.

Now What?

Now that you have all of the silver in your home clean and shiny, what do you do? Enjoy it! Enjoy having beautiful serving pieces and flatware to create an inviting table. Enjoy wearing your shiny jewelry.

Taking care of silver has never been easier!