Silverware that is as shiny as pristine stainless steel pipe makes beautiful decorations to your own home, or if it is a tool such as a pair of utensils, it would simply make your dinner session a little richer too. The problem with silver, however, is that when kept in the open, it can eventually tarnish as time goes on.
Silver tarnishes as a chemical reaction to the sulphur in the air and light, though silver jewelry will stay bright with frequent friction and wear. Still, you don’t really have to clean silver every now and then, just two to six times a year should be enough.
Regardless, you will have to maintain that schedule in order to retain your silverware’s luster and keep the tarnish from building up until it entirely coats the silver and makes it harder to clean. There are two ways to do this: polish or certain homemade solutions.
Polish
Cleaning with a silver polish is the easiest and most effective way to do the job since these are solely designed to restore silver to its glory after all. Follow the directions of the bottle or these general steps too.
Put a small drop of silver polish on a preferably damp cloth and rub it on your silverware up and down, not circular so you can avoid highlighting fine scratches. You should frequently turn your cloth and wipe with a clean section so tarnish won’t be wiped back onto your silver.
When you have done applying polish, wash your silverware with warm water and dry with a new, clean cloth. Lastly, if you want to make this process a lot more convenient for your silver polish, you can use silver wipes and cloths to do the job.
Homemade solutions
Now though silver polish is the most recommendable option, perhaps you either do not have time or you couldn’t afford to buy one yet. Not to worry, as you could still clean your silver with solutions that you can make yourself, depending on how tarnished your silverware is.
If it is only dull, flimsy or not yet discolored, you can mix warm water with a few drops of mild dish soap, then follow the same steps as wiping polish with a cloth. Only this time, rinse in cool water afterwards, then dry with another cloth as usual.
Meanwhile, if your silverware is heavily tarnished, you will need a paste of three parts of baking soda and one part water. Mix them together, wet your silverware and apply the solution with a soft cloth. Be sure to work in the crevices and turn your cloth often whenever its section is already riddled with tarnished. Then rinse and dry.
Storing your silverware
There are a few ways to store your silverware without leaving it in the open air to slow down the tarnishing process. One of them is to use an anti-tarnish bag in a cool, dry spot to keep your silvers inside. You can also put a piece of chalk in the bag to help absorb moisture from the air.
If you have drawers or cupboards, you could store them too with the doors shut, only taking the silverware out whenever you want to use or examine it closely.
