I hope you all had a wonderful Easter Sunday! We had a lovely day with family.
I just wanted to share a quick tip for polishing silver you may not have tried.
All this silver was polished in five minutes using common household items!
For comparison, see the silver tray in the center of the table. All the other silver was equally as tarnished.
Easy Steps:
Line sink with aluminum foil
Fill sink with hot water
Add one container table salt
Add half box baking soda
Lower silver into sink
Wait five minutes
Remove silver and lightly wipe off any remaining tarnish
Rinse and dry!
That's it!
No, really!
xo
Andie
I've seen a solution in a glass pan, but never knew the amounts. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI just winged it. lol
DeleteHello Andie,
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post. I will definitely try this. I have a lot of silver too and love using it.
Have a great week
Helen
I am very happy with the results, Helen. Let me know what you think!
Deletexo
Andie
I have read this is very damaging to silver. I've tried it a few times and it seems to works OK without obvious damage to good silver, but silver plate often turns rather white. I have never added salt, just soda. Maybe this makes a difference?
ReplyDeletePerhaps your silverplate had a clear coat on it?
DeleteWhat kind of sink do you have? Is it stainless steel, acrylic, etc. And I'm guessing you have city water and not well water. I have a porcelain sink and well water but I have a metal tub sink in my laundry room. I was wondering if I should do it in the metal tub over the porcelain sink. :)
ReplyDeleteTry an aluminum pan, like the kind people roast turkeys in, maybe?
DeleteSalt will corrode silver. I find that it is safer to just use baking soda. I use a disposable aluminum roasting pan and pour boiling water over a small box of baking soda. AND I only use this on stuff that really has no value after I damaged a good antique piece with it.
ReplyDeleteSalt will corrode silver only if left in contact for long periods, as you see in silver salt shakers or cellars. Both the salt and soda are merely electrolytic carriers. If you leave in in only for five minutes and rinse well, there should be no problems!
DeleteThis method removes some of the silver each time you do it. Antiques dealers discourage use of this method because of the damage it does.
ReplyDeleteNo. It does not. The tarnish is reduced back to silver via the electrolytic reaction, as the aluminum takes the hit for the silver. Just be certain to rinse thoroughly.
DeleteA funny coincidence, Andie! I had company last month –– family members who tend to be critical, and carry tales back to other family members, etc. I know they're watching me like a hawk now that I'm in my late seventies hoping to see signs of deterioration so they have a good excuse to swoop down on me and "rescue" me. To them that would mean grabbing control of my life and my fortune to do with what THEY would like to do for THEMSELVES. Sorry to confess this about the remaining members of my mother's family, but that IS the way they are. They're DEMOCRATS, of course, so what else would you expect? :^{
ReplyDeleteANYWAY I always take great pains to be On My Toes, Spit and Polish, and All Shipshape and Bristol Fashion when they arrive –– which is all right with me, because I tend to be that way anyhow, but ... Well, I'm sure you've caught my drift.
My silver had gotten very bad, because I've had a lot of other things to deal with namely the remodeling of my bathroom, replacement of worn-out lanpshades with rotted linings, and the addition of a charming "vignette" that began with the five-dollar purchase of a lamp from Goodwill, and ended with rewiring the thing followed by the purchase of a very expensive shade, and the acquisition of a small "commode" I-guess-you'd-have-to-call-it from HOME GOODS. All very pretty, but since I can no longer drive, it took a great deal of logistical planning –– and even more PATIENCE –– to get all this accomplished.
SO, back to the SILVER.
When I reached for the silverpolish of which I thught I had plenty, the container was empty. No chance to get to the store again before they arrived so what was i to do?
And then it came to me: I'd been told that TOOTHPASTE can be used to polish silver. Fortunately I had several tubes on hand from the Dollar Store, and wound up using two of them to get the job done. The tarnish was especially thick on the ancient Gorham Tea and Coffee Service with the large galleried oval tray, so it took three consecutive applications and a lot of rubbing to get a decent result. All in all I spent nearly four hours smearing toothaste on my silver [I have LOTS of silver] the morning they were due to arrive. It looked great, but I was pooped.
The moral of the story is this: DON'T EVER LET YOUR SILVER GET AWAY FROM YOU. POLISH IT REGULARLY BEFORE IT REALLY NEEDS IT.
PS: I had heard that Spic and Span used with baking soda and aluminum foil will clean silver. I tried it, and it did NOT work for me. I suspect there was just too much tarnish involved.
Next time I will try it your way, I promise. ;-)
Haha! I can almost see the disappointment on their faces. I want you to live a long, healthy, happy life and I don't care if your silver is tarnished.
Deletexo
Thank you very much, Andie, –– and the same to the three of you and your beloved animal friends.
DeleteI noticed you have sime silver-gilt pieces in your collection, Andie, so here's another funny silver story for you:
ReplyDeleteBack when I was still an antiques dealer, I purchased a set of silver-gilt teaspoons –– you know sterling silver spoons with a gold wash in the bowl of each, and a touch of gold on the handles. Well, one day I had a few friends over for coffee and dessert, and decided to have some fun, so I used this set of spoons before I put them in the shop to sell.
One of my guests, –– a Country Boy who to tell the truth was more than a bit of an oaf ––, took one look at the table, and loudly exclaimed, "Hey! Did you know your spoons are all tarnished? I'm surprised at you. How could you let that happen when you knew you were having guests?"
To her credit my lady friend at the time took him aside and gently told him the spoons were silver-GILT, not plain sterling. To which he replied in the same loud voice, "Well they sure look tanished to me!"
Of course, this was the same fellow who had once said, as I was serving a beautiful salad featuring red lettuce, "Hey! Did you know your lettuce is rotten? It's all turned brown!"
I guess he was living proof that "You can take the Boy out of the Country, but it's all-but-impossible to take the Country out of the Boy." §;^D
We remained friends, because in many ways he was a good, kind-hearted, well-meaning fellow. He couldn't help it if he'd never been taught proper etiquette.
BUT, as my lady friend said at the time, "Well, you'd think after hanging around US for a couple of years he'd have picked up SOMETHING, wouldn't you?
Perhaps so, but he remained oblivious, and I remained forgiving –– besides, we had many a laugh at his expense when the poor guy was out of earshot.
I hate polishing silver. I will have to try this.
ReplyDeleteOh I don't know. I've alwaysfound it great fun, Andrew, –– as long asyou don't let the tarnish collect too long. I love the elegant, luxurious look of silver, so I've never minded polishing it. The process feels like MAGIC!
DeleteThe trick is to apply the polish the minute your silver pieces develop a "golden" cast. Polshing is EASY then. Once it turns dark brown and black, hwever, it's damned hard work to brink back its shining beauty.
This method removes some of the silver each time you do it. Antiques dealers discourage use of this method because of the damage it does.
ReplyDeletegclub
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