When it comes to day-to-day meals – the cereal you eat at the counter before work, the pasta you reheat when you get home – you’re okay with using regular stainless steel knives and forks and spoons.
And when it’s time for a special occasion, you break out “the good silver.”
Only these days, that silverware isn’t looking so good. But don’t fret. It’s easy to keep your silver flatware looking its best. Read on to find out how to care for silver flatware.
How to care for silver flatware: a checklist
- Buy some silver cream and follow its instructions. If those instructions differ from what we’re saying here, go with the cream. They know better than we do.
- Collect the flatware you want to clean and set it out on a soft cotton towel near the kitchen sink.
- Rinse each piece in hot water to get rid of dust.
- While the silver is still warm, use a damp foam sponge or soft rag to spread the silver cream over the entire piece.
- Cover each piece with a thin layer, gently rubbing each area until the stain goes away. When working with larger pieces like bowls, polish the inside first until the cream covers the entire surface, then go back and focus on any tarnished areas before moving to the outer surface.
- Wash your hands and rinse off the sponge if you need a break. It’s not a good idea to leave the silver polish on your hands.
- Rinse each piece under warm running water, rubbing away the cream with a clean cotton rag or soft foam sponge.
- After rinsing, put the silver on a dry, clean towel. Give it a thorough drying to prevent water marks from forming. You can use a Q-tip to dry off smaller crevices that towels won’t reach.
- When you return your silver flatware to its storage space, take care to keep pieces from touching each other to avoid scratching. You can also protect your silver flatware by keeping it in a flannel silvercloth bag.
How to care for silver flatware: Other tips
Frequently washing your silverware may let you avoid having to polish it too often. A good rule of thumb is to polish at least twice a year.
Some other tips on how to care for silver flatware include:
- Don’t use tarnish “dips,” as they can make the silver lose its glow and look yellow.
- Salt is one of silver’s worst enemies, causing it to quickly tarnish. Keep salt and silver away from each other or at the very least wash salt residue away after using it.
- If you’re planning to use your silver flatware for a special occasion, polish it three weeks ahead of time. Cleaning it in early November should get you all the way through Thanksgiving and the other winter holidays.
- Leaving some tarnished spots in the crevices of your silver pieces can give it a nice aged look.
What if I want to sell my silver?
Maybe the reason you need to dust off your silver flatware is that you never really use it. And maybe you’ve decided that what you could really use is the cash you’d get from selling your silver.
If that’s the case, Doylestown Gold Exchange can help. We can appraise your silver flatware for free and give you a fair market offer. From there, you can decide whether you want to sell without any pressure.
Contact us or pay us a visit today to learn more. And if you’re not ready to sell, you at least have a better idea of how to care for your silver flatware.
