Silver is a precious and very precious metal. You can add a touch of elegance to many tea sets, silverware, and other dining items. While it certainly has beauty, it is also a very soft and brittle metal, which means that it tarnishes, scratches, and stains easily. Many silver collectors are a little scared to clean their precious silver items for fear of damaging them.
If you talk to a silver dealer, they will tell you that the worst part of their job is cleaning silver.
Here are some of the best tips for cleaning silver:
– Avoid excessive cleaning! Frequent ‘gentle’ dusting is preferable to infrequent and overdone cleaning
– Be sure to use a clean cotton cloth or a feather duster.
– If you are cleaning a piece of silver that is not too tarnished, “scraping” with your breath and rubbing with a clean cloth should be sufficient to remove dust and minor marks, such as light fingerprints.
– Wadding, like Silvo Silver Polish wadding made by Duraglit, is ideal for cleaning most items. A clean cotton cloth for final polishing is essential to complete the task effectively.
– When it comes to stamps, you may need to protect them by polishing them. Just cover with a piece of masking tape when polishing the piece. Remove the tape after completing the polishing. Doing so will prevent the stamps from rubbing off, many antique silver items have rubbed off stamps and it is difficult to identify them.
– Be very careful when cleaning silver items, these require much less cleaning, some silver cleaners can be harsh on these items. Try to store them in airtight containers to avoid fogging.
Difficult to polish silver objects:
Highly persecuted silver: enamel tends to accumulate in highly persecuted decorative groves. Cleaning these items requires a lot of patience and skill. You may find that this decoration exists in Victorian tea sets, especially around the silver spikes. Perforated Decoration – This requires some finesse and a good quality cleaning cloth to tackle all the edges. You will find perforated decoration in many silver baskets.
Cleaning Silverware: As with most antique silverware, it is one that should be used and displayed in your home. However, if you wear items regularly, you may need to clean after each use. Frequently used items look less dingy and develop a slow patina. In fact, this enhances the beauty of the piece, so don’t be afraid to use your silverware.
After use, silverware should be rinsed immediately after use, especially if it has been in contact with more acidic foods (eggs, salt and mayonnaise, for example).
Whatever you do, however, don’t let the silverware soak overnight as this can damage the metal. Wash silverware in hot soapy water and then rinse in hot soapy water. Some parts may have small cracks; these areas are best cleaned with an old toothbrush.
We are often asked if you can wash your cutlery in a dishwasher, however you can make sure the dishwasher is salt and detergent free. Note that if you are washing stainless steel at the same time, you must put it in a separate basket for your silver items, as direct contact can damage your silver pieces.
Now when it comes to drying the cutlery, you should do it immediately and use a soft cotton cloth, this will prevent the items from staining.
We hope you have found some interesting tips in this article and we hope you can put it to good use by cleaning your antique silver tea sets and the precious tea services you may have in your home.