How to Clean Tarnished Silver

Have you got antique silver in your home that’s looking dull or tarnished? When silver is left for a long time without proper cleaning, it can lose its lustre, but if you want to sell it or simply display it, you want it to look its best. Let’s look at how you can clean your silver safely and bring it back to life.

Clean Tarnished Silver

Why Does Sterling Silver Tarnish?

You might be wondering, why does silver tarnish? Why does it get that layer or mottled brown or even black film?

It’s not actually a flaw in the silver, in fact, pure silver will never tarnish. However sterling silver, which is 92.5% pure, are alloys and the silver is mixed with other metals (usually copper).

Luckily, it’s easy enough to clean and make the silver look shiny and new again.

How to Clean Tarnished Silver

Your top priority when cleaning tarnished silver is to protect the surface from damage. Therefore you should be wary of store-bought silver cleaners. These chemical cleaners will make your silver very shiny but removes the surface in the process. This is fine as a one-off, or as an exceedingly rare event, but should be not done regularly. Otherwise, you risk making the silver thin. I often see old silver with holes in cause by overzealous polishing! Also, make sure you use a soft brush to get into the crevices. A hard bristle brush will scratch the silver, and create a dull patina.

Daily Cleaning

To keep your silver looking its best, you should dust it lightly every day (or few days) with a soft cloth. You can use a cotton bud for the crevices and hard to reach areas.

Light Cleaning

Get yourself a silver cleaning cloth, these are the best for buffing the surface gently. Then all you need is some warm water with mild dish soap. This will be enough to remove light tarnish and make the silver look shiny again.

Heavy Cleaning

If your silver is completely mottled brown or black with tarnish, it will take longer and more effort to remove. Still try warm water and soap to begin with, but work it in a little harder.

Cleaning Silver With Baking Crystals

If soap and water isn’t working, soda crystals should do the trick. Pour three tablespoons of soda crystals onto some tin foil in the bottom of a sink. Pour over some recently boiled water, but be careful not to burn yourself. Then submerge your silverware in the solution and leave it to soak.

You should see the tarnish begin to lift almost immediately. Leave for just a few minutes, then remove and buff, rinse with warm water, and then buff with a silver cloth. You might need to repeat the process a couple of times to get the best results depending on the level of tarnish. If that still fails to remove the tarnish, then use silvo wadding, but this should be used sparingly and only as a last resort.

Need an Silverware Expert in Berkshire?

If your silverware is heavily tarnished and you’re struggling to get it clean, call us today. We are a silverware dealer in Newbury and will be able to give you our advice on what to do.

Silver dealer in Newbury

"I found Ed Reis to be a very helpful and knowledgeable dealer. I was looking for some silver goblets for a Christening and he was able to assist no problem. Would recommend to others."

Edward W

Like Us on Faceebok