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Loading...Clean Your Silver with Household Basics
- Annie B. Bond
- December 9, 2010
- 6:01 am
- 153 comments
Sparkling clean silver is a delight on any table. Even better is knowing you didn’t use any harsh, toxic chemicals to get it that way.
The secrets of silver cleaning using household basics may surprise you, but the techniques are easy, tried, and true!
If you have a small job, the best silver polish is white tooth paste. Dab some on your finger, and rub into the tarnish.
For bigger pieces, use baking soda and a clean, damp sponge. Make a paste of baking soda and water. Scoop the paste onto the sponge, and rub the paste into the silver. Rinse with hot water and polish dry with a soft, clean cloth.
For badly tarnished silver, leave the baking soda paste on the silver for an hour or so, before cleaning off with the help of the sponge and hot water.
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Read more: Home, General Health, Green Kitchen Tips, Holidays & Gifts, Non-Toxic Cleaning
By Annie B. Bond
Annie B. Bond
Annie is a renowned expert in non-toxic and green living. Named one of the top 20 environmental leaders by Body and Soul Magazine, Annie has authored four books, including "Home Enlightenment" (Rodale Press, 2005) and "Better Basics for the Home" (Three Rivers Press, 1999).
Go to the Source
Better Basics for the Home
Natural living has reached the mainstream: we are now far more concerned about the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the chemicals that surround us, and recognize that government regulations all too often fall short of safeguarding our health. Enter Annie Berthold-Bond, whose Better Basics for the Home is a compendium of practical information -- recipes, tips, and guidelines -- for creating a simpler, cheaper and environmentally safer lifestyle.buy now
Home Safe Home
Provides more than four hundred tips on ways one can remove harmful substances from the home and have them replaced by safer, do-it-yourself formulas, and gives helpful hints on how to purchase natural food, clothing, and beauty supplies."buy now
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153 comments
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For many years I have viewed numerous online videos demonstrating harmful silver polishing techniques. Do not trust everything you see online regarding silver care!
Some of these videos, produced by well-intentioned but ill-informed individuals, show the use of horribly abrasive products such as Nevr-Dull, toothpaste, or baking soda. Some advocate the use of the toxic product Tarn-X which, although not abrasive, will remove factory-applied patinas, and will actually promote the formation of tarnish. The aluminum foil technique (in which the user is encouraged to soak silver in water containing baking soda and a piece of aluminum foil) will also allow tarnish to form more quickly. Also, many videos say that it's okay to put silver in your dishwasher – that's not true!
The most destructive polishing video on the Web can be found here. Why you ask? Because every bit of instruction presented is irresponsible and will ruin your silver using some of the most abrasive products and techniques. Tarn-X not only removes silver, patina, and is toxic, but will also allow tarnish to form more quickly. Silver polish applied with a brush? Really? Do you want to put deep scratches in your silver, remove all natural and factory-applied patina, and remove your silverplating in 30 seconds?
I have spent 28 years testing products and researching the subject of silver care. With proper care
Sorry, my Silver Care Guide can be found here: http://www.hermansilver.com/care.htm
I don't believe anyone here understands what I do for a living. I've done all the research and practice what I preach. I'm a silver restoration, conservation, and preservationist with almost 30 years of experience. Most of what you're reading on the Web is bogus information provided by people who don't have nearly the experience that I do. They post cleaning instructions they've found on sites that are recirculated. If you have no interest in following my carefully prepared guidelines for silver care, you may do irreparable harm to your valuables. Do yourself a favor, not a disservice, by visiting my Silver Care Guide today:
Spot-on tips, and in Barbican there is a proper solution for doing the housework: http://gocleanerslondon.co.uk/domestic-cleaning/central-london/barbican-ec2.
Preparing a paste of baking soda and toothpaste is easy but the effect is astonishing - scrubbing the silverware makes it clean and shiny. About an year ago, the experts of Go Cleaners recommended that to me: http://gocleanerslondon.co.uk/domestic-cleaning/central-london/barbican-ec2/.
Hello Amelia. That aluminum foil idea is another misconception. That technique will open the pores of the metal and actually alloy tarnish to form more rapidly. Trust me, I've been doing this for almost 30 years. Read more about this additional destructive technique here: http://www.hermansilver.com/care.htm#Electrochemical.
Using baking soda to clean silver can really harm the silver surface, as Jeffrey H. has noted, but not necessarily. The cleaning method provided here involves baking soda as well but in a way that won't damage your silver.
This is very poor advice. I'm a professional silver restoration, conservation, and preservationist. On my my Web site, I specifically state NOT to use toothpaste or baking soda because it will absolutely ruin your silver because it's so abrasive. For researched and practiced advice on how to care for silver, please visit http://www.hermansilver.com/care.htm.
thank you
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