I still have the memory of going over to my grandmother’s house when I was younger and polishing her silver. She pulled out her huge box of silverware, her collectable spoons, and her silver platters that she got from her parents, and then we scrubbed away at them with the silver polish and a cotton towel. All in all, it took around three hours to get all of her silver nice and shiny once again. But there are a number of techniques that are a lot easier than taking out the rag and the chemicals. Here are the 5 most unique ways get that silver back to its original glory.
5) Cream of Tartar Method
Take warm, not boiling, water and mix in enough cream of tartar to make a paste. After soaking the silver pieces in the paste for 10 minutes or so, remove them and wipe down with a cotton rag. The tarnish should come right off.
4) Aluminum Foil Method
Take 1 cup of boiling water and add 1 tablespoon of sea salt, 1 tablespoon of baking soda, and 1/2 cup of white vinegar. Pour the mixture into a glass or metal baking dish lined with aluminum foil, where you have set your silver pieces out flat, not overlapping. Let the silver set in the mixture for 10 to 15 minutes. If it is heavily tarnished, it may take closer to 30. Remove the silver with tongs and rub lightly with a rag.
3) The Banana Method
Take two or three banana peels and throw them into a blender. Add enough water to form it into a paste, and then rub the paste onto your pieces and let it set on them until it dries. After the paste has dried over the silver, take a rag and brush off what remains, and then drop it into water to remove the remaining paste. Your silver will look beautiful and your jewelry will smell like bananas. Not really, but it would be pretty cool if it did.
2) The Ketchup/Katchup/Catchup Method
It may be delicious on fries, but you can clean silver with it too. Take enough ketchup to fill a small bowl, and leave your silver pieces in it for 10 to 15 minutes. After removing them, run the silver under water and buff dry with a cotton towel.
1) The Hand Sanitizer Method
Put a few squirts of hand sanitizer onto a rag and rub the silver with it vigorously. This method is that simple, and it works wonderfully.
These methods, of course, shouldn’t be done regularly. Polishing away silver tarnish actually takes the first layer of silver on the piece, so vigorously cleaning your silver once, twice, or three times a week can really take its toll on the metal. But, if you ever get too tired of polishing and polishing your pieces, why not go for a metal that doesn’t tarnish at all: gold. Here at Gold Unlimited, we stock almost every kind of jewelry imaginable, and can help you find exactly what you’re looking for. Click the button below to view our selection or come into the store to see what we have for you. You’ll look like a million bucks and leave with some cash left in your wallet.
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Sources:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-clean-silver-with-ketch-61335
http://cleanmyspace.com/the-besk-kept-silver-cleaning-secret-ever/