Sterling and silver plated jewellery, photo frames, and serving plates etc are easy to care for with a few simple tricks. It actually is really easy to stop silver tarnishing with a few simple tips.
Many people avoid silver because they think it is difficult and time-consuming to keep it looking great. In the old days polishing silver was a lot of work so maybe your grandparents told you such things. Old fashioned methods of polishing and caring for silver took time and lots of elbow grease.
Using things in the home
Whilst everyone is thinking of eco-friendly ways to do things, many people will tell you to use a baking soda paste to polish silver. This method will work to stop silver tarnishing – if you have lots of time and energy. This is the method that was used years ago and made people think it was a hard job cleaning silver.
White toothpaste is also an effective and easy way to polish silver and is a quick solution when you pull that piece of silver jewellery out of its box and realize it needs a quick touch-up. But you will probably find the cost a little overwhelming when polishing large serving pieces etc.
Science makes it easy
Modern science has changed all that. New polishes and storage solutions make collecting and displaying silver an easy task in comparison. In addition, these solutions are non-toxic and leave no harmful residue.
Today’s silver polish products work quickly and effortlessly to stop silver tarnishing and clean and polish both sterling silver and silver plates. Polish just until the piece is shiny and lustrous. Let your eyes tell you when to stop polishing, not the state of your polishing rag. As long as you rub, a black residue will come off the silver. The more you rub, the more silver you rub off. Less polishing is more as long as the silver looks clean and shiny.
Wash your pieces in warm water using soap with no lemon or phosphates. Dry silver with a soft cloth and avoid touching the pieces with your naked hands. Oils from your hands are acidic and can tarnish your silver.
Displaying silver
If you want to display your silver and you have a cabinet with glass doors, you can keep your silver looking bright with anti-tarnish paper strips. These strips are non-toxic and very effective at stopping silver tarnishing for up to six months and cheap enough to use. The strips work well inside jewellery boxes, storage boxes, and drawers. A simple easy solution if you have beautiful silver items you do not use often but want to have ready to wear whenever you are ready.
Storing silver
A silver cloth is another good way to store silver to keep it tarnish-free. Look for a silver cloth embedded with tiny particles of silver. The particles react with the natural sulfur and humidity in the air to keep tarnish away from your silver pieces. The cloth lasts indefinitely.
