How to Clean Silver Plated Antiques

Silver-plated antiques give your home class and elegance.

Taking proper care of your server plated antiques will ensure that you can pass them on to future generations. These antiques add a classy elegance to your home or dining table. Whether you received these silver plated antiques from a relative or purchased them at an estate sale or antique shop, proper cleaning will ensure that they maintain their beauty for years to come.

Things You'll Need

• Mild liquid dish detergent
• Three soft cleaning cloths or chamois
• Fine whiting powder
• Clear household ammonia or denatured alcohol
• Bamboo skewer or cotton swab

Instructions

1. Wash your antique in soapy water by using a mild liquid dish detergent and warm water in your sink.

2. Dry the silver with a clean soft cloth.

3. Make a cleaning polish by combining three parts of fine whiting powder and one part of denatured alcohol or clear household ammonia.

4. Dampen a cleaning cloth; you may use an old flannel shirt, T-shirt or a chamois cloth.

5. Dip the cleaning cloth into the paste you made and rub it onto your silver-plated antique by using straight, even strokes. Avoid rubbing the antique in a circular motion or crosswise, according to the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences Cooperative Extension Service website.

6. Rub the paste over the entire antique until it is clean and shiny. For crevices or hard-to-reach places, use a cotton swab or the sharp end of a bamboo skewer wrapped in a soft cloth.

7. Wash your antique again in warm, sudsy water until you have removed all the paste.

8. Rinse the silver-plated antique well, and dry it with another clean cloth.

Tips & Warnings

• Fine whiting powder is made from calcium carbonate. You can find fine whiting at art supply stores, home supply stores or places that sell fine silver. Ammonia is located in your grocery aisle with the laundry detergents, and denatured alcohol can be found at art supply stores or discount stores.

• Mix up enough paste to last only one cleaning because it does not keep well.

References

• UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences Cooperative Extension Service: How to Care for Your Furnishings

Resources

• Read this Article in Portuguese