How to Clean Tarnish from Sterling Silver

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By Juliet Myfanwy Johnson
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Perhaps you've inherited your grandmother's heirloom silver tea set and want to display it in your dining room. However, the tea set is no longer shining silver; instead it has become a sort of dull brownish grey from tarnish. Take a few hours one afternoon and sit down with a cup of tea, your silver tea set and some good silver polish. Dedicate the time solely to this task and while you're cleaning up the tea set and seeing it shine perhaps, you can enjoy it by remembering your grandma and reliving your memories of her and all she's given you. Even this dirty silver!

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Several clean white cloths
Silver polish
Soap and water for rinsing
Towel for drying

Step 1

Set up the silver you want to clean on a dry towel in a well-lit area like the kitchen table.
Step 2

Start by applying the polish to the silver with a dry white cloth. Rub the polish all over the silver. Allow polish to dry to a dull finish.
Step 3

Wipe the polish and tarnish off with a second clean white cloth. This will require some rubbing. This is the step that may have to be repeated depending on how tarnished the silver is.
Step 4

Use another white cloth to buff remaining polish off and to get the silver to shine.
Step 5

Wash, rinse and dry the silver in the sink. Buff with a dry towel. The silver should look shiny and beautiful.

Tips & Warnings

Wear gloves if you have sensitive skin.

Comments

chefpierre said

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on 2/25/2009 I buy silver polish called Silvermate. It is a liquid and requires absolutely no scrubbing. Scrubbing will eventually wear through your silver plate. Silvermate cleans and polishes in just a few seconds and is non toxic. As a chef, I have tried everything and Silvermate is the safest.