Cleaning Silver or Silverplate

[susanm9006]

With the holidays coming for some it may be time to pull out the heritage silver pieces and getting them ready for use. Rather than all that hand polishing there is a fast and simple way to remove the deepest tarnish without hours of rubbing. I use this on large and small silver pieces, including jewelry that doesn’t have stones.

Lay a large piece of tinfoil over the bottom and up the sides of a flat pan, deep enough to hold your silver. Lay your silver pieces in the pan so they have as much contact with the foil as possible, pour a box of baking soda and a half cup of salt over the pieces and then slowly pour boiling water so that each piece is fully covered. Let it sit til the water is nearly cooled then remove each piece and wipe with a soft cloth. If it has thick tarnish or very large pieces you might need to repeat.

 

[catapault]

It does thoroughly remove tarnish. Also destroys any natural aging of the patina on silver, also micro etches the surface of the metal. This causes the silver to tarnish even faster in the future. Use only a good fine silver polish and 100% cotton.

Here's a link to probably more than you want to know about caring for silver.

Silver polishing, silver cleaning, and silver storage

Silver cleaning and polishing is easy using my renowned instructions, silver polish reviews, tarnish prevention, the best silver polishes.

www.hermansilver.com

 

[IndyJones]

It does thoroughly remove tarnish. Also destroys any natural aging of the patina on silver, also micro etches the surface of the metal. This causes the silver to tarnish even faster in the future. Use only a good fine silver polish and 100% cotton.

Here's a link to probably more than you want to know about caring for silver.

http://[URL][URL][URL]http://www.hermansilver.com/care.htm

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My grandparents and mother were jewlers. I learned a lot about precious metals from my family and both silver and gold are very soft metals. Do not drop them into a chemicals bath unless it is specificaly designed for it. Silver plating can flake off if treated the wrong way.

You can also overpolish silver. Don't polish unless it has visable tarnishing on it.

Gentely polish with a cotton buffer (be careful with forks and knives) on a low setting or by hand with a cotton rag. Use a silver polish paste if needed. A chamois cloth also may work on its own.

I also meantion gold since many people have gold edged plate sets that have been in the family for years. DO NOT dishwasher these plates. The heat will crack and stress them. The gold will flake off or chip Just hand wash with dawn or a simaler soap. Same treatment for Waterford crystal glasses.

 

[Winchester]

Have fun! I have a silver reindeer that I want to clean to put on the Christmas tree.