Jo Traveler: Quick & Easy way to polish your silver tea set

Quick and Easy Silver Polishing

In less than an hour I gathered my tarnished silver pieces, prepared the baking soda and salt hot bath, cleaned all my silver, and put it away. Then enjoyed a cup of hot tea.

This is the after photo, all shining, clean and ready for a quick polish.

This sugar cube server is tarnished & dull.

After the soda & salt water dip it is clean.

As silver oxidizes it becomes tarnished. This layer of oxidation can be removed without polishing and scrubbing by simply dipping your silver in this non-toxic electrochemical dip. Another big advantage to using a dip is that the liquid can reach places a polishing cloth cannot. I polish with a cloth while watching TV. But when I have larger jobs, or pieces with loads of tarnish I dip the pieces in this baking soda and salt bath. It really works. (I first read about cleaning silver this way on MarthaStewart.com in 2008.)http://www.marthastewart.com/273003/diy-silver-polish

I used a soft cloth to dry the silver

Here you see the tea pot is cleaned and the base is not

What You Need

· Clean your sink and plug drain

· Boiling hot water

· 1-2 tablespoons Baking soda

· 1-2 tablespoons Salt

· Aluminum foil

· Tarnished silver

How To:

1. Line the bottom of your sink with a sheet of aluminum foil.

2. Fill the foil-lined sink with the boiling hot water. Enough to cover pieces.

3. Add 1-2 tablespoons salt (sodium chloride) and 1-2 tablespoons baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to the water. Some recipes call for 2 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp salt, whereas others call for 2 tablespoons each of baking soda and salt. I stir it around a bit until it dissolves.

4. Drop the silver items into the container so that they are touching each other and resting on the foil. You will be able to watch the tarnish disappear. It’s amazing!

5. I then remove each piece as I see the tarnish is gone. Leave heavily tarnished items in the solution for as long as 5 minutes. Otherwise, remove the silver when it appears clean.

6. Rinse the silver with water and gently buff it dry with a soft towel.

7. Ideally, you should store your silver in a low-humidity environment. I place a piece of chalk in the buffet area to minimize future tarnish.

Tips:

1. Use care when polishing or dipping silver plated items. I do only 4-5 small pieces at once then dip a few more.

2. It is easy to wear away the thin layer of silver and cause more harm than good through over cleaning.

3. Minimize exposing your silver to substances which contain sulfur (e.g., mayonnaise, eggs, mustard, onions, latex, wool) as the sulfur will cause corrosion.

4. Using your silver flatware/hollowware or wearing silver jewelry helps to keep it free from tarnish. So get it out ladies and invite someone over for tea.

5. Use untreated cotton gloves or form-fitting nitrile gloves when handling silver – finger prints contribute to tarnishing

6. Keep silver out of the dishwasher

7. Hand wash the pieces with a non-lemon-scented phosphate-free detergent and dry them immediately to avoid spotting.

8. I still use polishing silver paste or liquid cleaners. Polishes and cleaners are listed here can be found in your local hardware or department store, or can be bought from distributors