How to Clean Tarnish from Sterling Silver

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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!

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

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

Step1

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

Step2

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.

Step3

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.

Step4

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

Step5

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