Cleaning Silverware

You have invited your friends for dinner. You want to make this occasion special. An idea that has struck your mind is to serve food on your antique silver dinner set. A great idea indeed! You rush towards your silverware drawer and take out some utensils. What are these dark spots on them? Well, they are the results of silver tarnish over time. You get depressed and wonder what should you do now, to save your precious collection of silverware. Fortunately, there are numerous methods of cleaning silverware that, when done regularly can keep your treasury safe, secured and shine like new always. Some of the easy-to-follow efficacious methods are described as under. Select one according to your comfort and availability of resources and take care of your silverware collection.

How to Clean Silverware

Method 1
Take a shallow pan. Cover the inside with an aluminum foil. Fill the pan with warm water. Add a tablespoon of baking soda and a pinch of common salt to the water. Mix the solution well. Put the silverware into it. The silverware should be completely covered with the solution. Allow it to stay here for about 15 minutes. Take a toothbrush and rub on the stained and tarnished areas of the silverware. The spots will go away by rubbing. When all the spots have been removed, wash the silverware with plenty of warm water. Allow air drying. You may rub the dried silverware with a clean cotton cloth to remove water spots. The silverware is expected to shine like new.

Method 2
Take the silverware meant to be cleaned and coat its entire inside and outside surface with toothpaste. Leave the covering on for a minute. Sprinkle a few drops of water and rub the surface gently with a soft-bristled brush. Work more on the region containing spots and stains. When you are done, wash the silverware under running water. Keep rubbing to remove toothpaste completely from its surface.

Method 3
There are certain easily available materials that can form a great home remedy for cleaning silverware. They include olive oil and vinegar. Both of them give you desired results. Suppose, you choose cleaning silverware with vinegar, then follow these instructions to get your job done. These instructions are the same for olive oil as well. Take a bowl which is large enough to contain the silverware that you intend to clean. Fill it with vinegar. Put the silverware in the vinegar. Make sure that the silverware is completely dipped in vinegar. Leave it undisturbed for a day. Take the silverware out and rub it gently with a soft-bristled brush. Wash it with lots of warm water till the greasiness due to vinegar goes away. Allow the silverware to air dry. Rub it with a clean piece of cloth to remove any water spots, if present. Your silverware will look clean and polished. This particular method is time-consuming, yet is preferred over others as it involves comparatively very little labor.

Method 4
Use wood ash for cleaning silverware naturally. Take a small amount of wood ash. Usually, the quantity is determined in accordance with the size of your silverware. Mix the wood ash with a little amount of plain water. The idea is to make a paste. Apply this paste on both, the inside and outside surfaces of the silverware. Leave it on for about a half hour. Splash a small amount of water over the silverware. This will loosen the wood ash paste coating. Take a toothbrush and rub its bristles on it gently. When the entire surface is done, wash the silverware under running water. No doubt, your silverware will get a completely different look.

All the above mentioned methods for cleaning silverware are equally effective and are sure to deliver positive results. Whichever method you select, perform it at least thrice a year. You can clean your silverware after a gap of four months. Regular cleaning is sufficient to keep silverware safe, shiny and elegant for centuries.