"Easy Cleaning" my Silver Tea Pieces

I found this silver tray at an estate sale last weekend for $1.

Nobody else paid any attention to it,

 but I could see it was possibly a diamond in the rough. 

I gathered up some of my other silver pieces that needed a good cleaning,

and started searching Pinterest for ways to clean silver.

There is a lot of controversy on this subject.

The method I ended up going with is not recommended

for silver that is "special" to you,

because the result is a chemical one.

May also state that it cleans the tarnish off so well,

the details are lost in the tiny sculptures and engravings

(the tarnish that settles in these areas and makes them more noticeable, is cleaned away).

Keeping this in mind....I still cleaned my silver using the

"Aluminum Foil and Salt" method.

Find a large sized pot, dish pan or in my case a roast pan

and put a large sized piece of aluminum foil (I use a store brand).

Add some salt (I used about 2 tablespoons

and some baking soda (1 tablespoon).

Then add boiling water.

Let the water cool slightly for a few minutes,

then add your silver.

Watch the silver closely.

Depending on how tarnished each piece is,

 determines how long to leave it in the solution.

This piece is still hot from the bath, and has condensation on it,

but after it was cooled and wiped down, it was very nice.

BEFORE

AFTER THE BATH

Since this piece was so filthy, I decided to clean it some more

with another tip I found on Pinterest.... TOOTHPASTE.

Again, people warn not to use this on heirloom or expensive silver

as the toothpaste could be abrasive and leave marks.

AFTER the bath and toothpaste cleaning.

This is what the aluminum foil looked like (on the left) AFTER using it to clean the silver,

new aluminum foil is on the right.

BEFORE

AFTER - NOT BAD!

Not perfect....but A LOT better!

(Not much change in the bell, but I did look closer and found

it must have just a thin layer of silver plating on it,

as most of the spots are worn down and rusted)

I made a display with some of my silver tea set on my breakfast table.

The tablecloth was made by one of my great-grandmothers

using material from outgrown dresses and blouses.

I love to sit here in the morning and have my coffee.

Maybe soon I'll actually break in my tea set and use it....

but for now, I just like looking at it!

 

Keep Calm and Kerri On!