How can I clean silver spoons at home?

Tableware made of silver - it's beautiful! It can be presented for an anniversary, a year for a child or for a wedding, because such items can become a family heirloom, which is passed from one generation to another. Any housewife has at least a few table objects made of this precious material. However, unfortunately silver can turn black, so before an important holiday event you can be unpleasantly surprised to find that your favorite cutlery has lost its former appeal. In this article we will share practical recommendations, than to clean silver spoons at home.

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Why does silver turn black?

Before cleaning the silver items, we need to understand why this metal is blackening? Only after understanding the causes of the problem, you can prevent its recurrence in the future. If you adhere to the basic rules for the use and storage of silver products, then by the next important date, you will just have to rub it to a shine and place the cutlery.

In most cases, the blackening of silver indicates its entry into a chemical reaction with other substances. Avoid these troubles can be, observing a number of simple rules for storing products made of precious metal.

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How to care for silver, so it does not darken?

Compliance with simple rules for the care of metal products will help you get rid of the need to look for ways to clean a silver spoon:

1. You can not clean and wash silver with hard brushes, sponges, and even more metal brushes and sponges. Silver is a noble soft metal, which can suffer from such treatment, being covered with numerous scratches.
2. Store and purge silver products separately from other metal objects. The fact is that the precious material, when interacting with other metals, is oxidized, and the result of this reaction is the appearance of blackness on its surface.
3. Use special detergents in the form of sprays to clean large silver objects, such as jugs, trays or candelabra. Clean small products, such as rings, saucers, forks or spoons will help pasty cleaning compounds.

Important! The blades of silver knives, excluding fish knives, are made of stainless steel, because their cleaning is different from cleaning all other silver products.

1. Silver cutlery, which have enamel inserts or blackening, must be cleaned with extreme care.

Important! Such decorative elements must be avoided during cleaning, because otherwise there is a high probability of their damage.

1. It is not recommended to wash table silver in a dishwasher. Qualitative purification of precious metals is still a manual work.

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How to store table silver?

• Silver products should be stored away from other metals in such a way that they do not come into contact with each other.
• You should also limit the access of oxygen to silver, otherwise - the metal will again darken.
• Specialists recommend storing silver cutlery and ornaments in special boxes with a lined bottom. Such containers usually have separate cells for each object.
• It is also possible to store silver in bags, but for this it is necessary to wrap each product in foil, film or put it in clean, dry cloths.

Important! Store cutlery and jewelry made of precious metals in a dry, cool place. It is necessary to avoid access to direct sunlight to products made from similar materials.

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How to use silverware?

You may be surprised by all the below mentioned tips, however, using silverware is highly discouraged for the following cases:

1. The silverware is not suitable for serving very cold dishes. In silver cups, it is better not to make jelly and not to offer ice cream to guests.
2. The same ban applies to hot snacks and soups.

Important! Otherwise, silver will be covered with hard-to-remove dark spots.

1. Serving in silver caviar is prohibited. This is due to the fact that fish caviar provokes the appearance of black stubborn spots on table silver.

Important! If you do not want to spoil the dishes from silver, then in some cases it is better not to use it.

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How to clean table silver at home?

If on your silverware there are still unpleasant dirt and dark spots, the following cleaning methods can be used to achieve the desired result.

Tooth powder

If you have preserved tooth powder, know that it is great for cleaning silver spoons at home. They can not only clean your favorite spoons, forks and saucers, but also polish them magnificently. This effect is easily achieved due to the abrasive properties of the powder.

Important! However, it is because of abrasiveness that the tooth powder is not suitable for cleaning jewelry made of silver - it can scratch them. But they can perfectly clean gold at home.

To achieve the best possible cleaning result, use the remedy as follows:

1. Apply the tooth powder to a damp silver product and carefully rub it with a soft cloth.
2. Rinse the product well in clean water.

The procedure can be repeated as often as necessary.

Important! If there are decor elements on your silver product, you should use a toothbrush with a soft bristle that will penetrate all hard-to-reach cracks and places.

Toothpaste

For thin silver products, a toothpaste is best suited as a cleaning agent, which removes dirt no worse than a powder, but it acts softer. This means that after cleaning the toothpaste the product will sparkle like new, and you will not be able to accidentally damage the family heirloom.

The principle of cleaning products can be combined into the following action algorithm:

1. Apply a toothpaste on a wet product evenly.
2. We rub the cleaning agent over the surface using a toothbrush.

Important! If the product only needs to give shine, then you can use a cloth or a sponge.

1. After finishing the procedure, rinse thoroughly and wipe dry the silverware.

Important! Compared to the powder, the toothpaste has a softer cleansing property, so it must be used in conjunction with a toothbrush.

Chalk

Another effective tool to clean silver spoons at home is a paste made from chalk. To obtain the desired result:

1. In a small amount of water add chopped chalk.
2. After that, using a cloth, rub the resulting gruel over silverware.
3. Then we wash the silver under running water and wipe it dry.

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How to wash many silver devices at a time?

All the methods of home cleaning of silver, which are presented above, are great for cleaning single items, but what if you need to wash a large quantity of cutlery from a precious metal quickly and qualitatively to a magnificent meal? Do you have to rub each item from the service separately?

To get rid of the darkening and soiling immediately on several silver products, use one of the following cleaning methods.

Method number 1

Clear the precious material from contamination with potato broth. To achieve the desired result, proceed as follows:

1. Prepare the potato broth.
2. We lay the bottom of the pan with foil.
3. We send to the pot with foil silverware - knives, spoons, forks, etc.
4. Place the saucepan on the hotplate and bring it to the boil.
5. Boiling of the products is continued for 20 minutes.
6. Drain the water, weave the instruments and wipe them dry.

Important! This method is not suitable for silver products with black ink.

Method number 2:

1. We prepare a soap solution with the addition of ammonia.

Important! The substances are mixed in the proportion of 1 tablespoon of ammonia per 1 liter of soapy water.

1. We diligently mix everything and immerse the products in a solution for half an hour.
2. Drain the water.
3. Thoroughly rinse the instruments.
4. Clean the silver with a soft, dry rag.

Method number 3:

1. Take the pan with water.
2. Add a soda to the container at a rate of 4 tablespoons per 1 liter of water.
3. Bring the resulting solution to a boil.
4. At the bottom of the pot, gently lower the piece of foil.
5. Place cutlery in boiling solution for 20 minutes.
6. Take the spoon, cool it and dry it dry.

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Cleaning with household chemicals

Today in the household chemical shops you can find a huge number of cleaning products that are specifically designed for cleaning table silver at home. Best of all, the funds from the following brands have proven themselves:

1. "Town Talk".
2. "Hagerty".
3. "Ultra Soft".
4. Silbo ".

Applying household cleaning products, carefully read the instructions and follow the manufacturer's recommendations, then the silverware will continue to delight you with its brilliance and decorate the festive home meals for a very long time.