Learning the tricks of how to clean silver plate will definitely help you in keeping your treasured silver items sparkling and dazzling all through your life. Tarnishing is a natural phenomenon which every silver item goes through be it the best quality silver. The moment it comes in contact with air it will start developing black layer and discoloration of your precious silver utensils or items will start.

Some people recommend using the chemical polishing techniques, but these polishing techniques when used on the flatware or cutlery will bring instant shine along with damaging your silver plated items too. Thus using how to clean silver utensils is the best way to bring the sparkle back to your old silver plated utensils. The reason why it is recommended to avoid using these chemicals is because the silver ware mostly has a thin covering of silver over a base metal which easily gets damaged or eroded by these chemicals, so it is better to avoid them.

The best and eco-friendly method of how to clean silver cutlery

Things needed:

• Aluminium or stainless steel pan
• Aluminium foil
• Bicarbonate soda
• 4 cups of very hot rather boiling water
• White Vinegar
• Rubber gloves
• Polishing cloth
• Draining board
• Wooden Spoon

The best and easiest method of how to clean old silver cutlery can be utilized to clean not just the cutlery, even the silver jewellery can also be cleaned using this simple method. In the aluminium pan add the silver cutlery and add half cup of bicarbonate soda which is already dissolved in 4 cups of very hot water.

After keeping the cutlery for few minutes n the pan wear rubber gloves and remove the silver cutlery from the pan. If you do not have rubber gloves then you can take the cutlery out with the help of wooden spoon, but do not use metal spoon or tongs.

Now place the cutlery on the draining board and wash it with a solution of water and white vinegar in 50-50 percent amount. Let the cutlery get dry for few minutes and after that dry it completely using the polishing cloth.

Make a Note

This method of how to clean silver with baking soda is good for cleaning once in a while but do not over use this technique otherwise your expensive silver tea set will lose all its luster because of baking soda reaction on the silver coating. Since baking soda is an abrasive material it will definitely bring back the sparkle to old silver tea set, but over the time it will start taking off few chunks of silver plating too. Same way the polishing clothes are a good and a natural way to clean the tarnish from the silver items, but they too eventually wear away the silver plating over the time. Moreover the polished cloth is unable to reach the intricate corners of the silver ware this cleaning is not proper with the polishing cloth also.

Warm water the best and safest technique

After using the table ware of silver the best way of how to clean silver kettle is to wash it directly with warm water, but remember it should not be hot water as the hot water might remove the lacquered finish of the tableware. All you need is to prepare a solution of warm water and dish washing liquid in the sink and then add the expensive silverware, do not put the dish soap directly on the silver kettle as concentrated dish detergent will leave dark spots on the kettle.

Cleaning the silver cutlery or the silver pieces which have intricate turns is much easier by using the following method. You can also use a soft cloth and a paste of soda bi-carb to remove the tarnish off the silver teapot as it is usually engraved with beautiful carvings and the paste need to reach the hidden corners also for perfect cleaning.

However for non-oxidised pieces of silver the best method of removing the old tarnish is to use how to clean silver tea spoons with baking soda. Before using any method of cleaning it is advisable that you read the label of instructions which comes along with your expensive silver cutlery. This will ensure that it does not get damaged form the cleaning process you are planning to use.

Do make it a point to wear cotton or rubber gloves while polishing or cleaning the silver items to save your hands form any damage. It is a known fact that silver is always prone to the tarnishing process and turns eventually black if left unpolished. Any direct contact with air or any other compound causes this tarnishing, so if you take proper care of your precious silver items they will never get tarnished. Know more abouthow to clean tarnished silver in one of our other articles on the website.

Along with how to clean silver trays you should take proper care of your silver items like storing them nicely with care will save them from the tarnishing process. Always wash your silver items separately after every single use with warm water and before storing let them dry properly. Wrap the expensive silver items in acid-free tissue papers or anti-tarnish papers available in the market for careful and safe storage of your beloved silverware. You can also keep a canister of silica gel near the silver ware, as nit will absorb all the humidity around the silver and thus protect it from tarnishing.