How do I clean my old silverware? It was not taken care of and was stored in the garage and basement until I received it. I don't know how old it is but it has been passed down on my husband's side
Do NOT use the aluminum and sodium bicarbonate method to clean silver. It will remove the silver plate right off your items. If you are cleaning sterling, eventually it can remove the ornate decorations. My restaurant has used Silvermate silver cleaner for years. It is a safe, ecofriendly liquid that cleans and polishes in just a few seconds w/o polishing your knuckles blue. its mild enough to use w/o gloves.
I bought a box of International Sterling at an estate sale. It was badly tarnished and after cleaning, some of the pieces still have black spots on them which seem to go into the metal. Does anyone have an idea as to how to clean off these spots?
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Tip: Cleaning Silverware
Archived on 12/14/2006
The best way to clean silver is to line a sauce pan with aluminum foil and fill it with water. Add 1 tablespoon of baking soda for each 2 cups of water in the pan. Heat the water until boiling and remove from heat. Then lay the silver items in the pan so that they are touching the aluminum foil. Remove the items from the pan, rinse, and polish them lightly. The foil attracts the tarnish so make sure that the tarnished parts of the silver make contact with the foil.
Answers:
RE: Cleaning Silverware
With this method you are playing with fire. If you leave the silver in the solution too long, it will pit the silver thereby ruining it. And, remember just how wonderful it is just making your silver look nice by polishing it piece by piece. Do a little at a time then it is not a chore. Do NOT use this method on silver plate as it will take the silver off leaving either copper behind or some androgenous other material. (09/10/2005)
