Biggest Rule: Use the Silver Regularly.

Silver is made to be used. Having it sit around in a silver chest or hiding in a drawer will not bring you any pleasure.

Using the Silver regularly will help keep its shine. If you have a large service, rotate the pieces so that they all get used evenly. Larger or unusual pieces can still get used at the table. Stove Top stuffing can just as well be served with that sterling spoon as it can that piece of Stainless.

That said, do not go and toss it in the dishwasher. I find that at my house, hand washing crystal and silver and the better half drying .. gives us a bit of personal time to slow down and talk. It is only a few minutes, but very important minutes standing close and away from the days rush. The same thing could be a ritual with children and a great way to have them “bond” with the family silver.

When polishing is needed, if you have pattern that has deep details and wish to keep the patina or  “shadows” of  your pattern DO NOT use products that you dip silver into. This removes everything from the silver including the small bits of black and gray that give the pieces depth.

Creams or polishes like Wright’s, Goddard’s  or Twinkle  will do a good job of polishing the silver without removing the deep patina that you want.

My personal process is to place an old dish cloth in the bottom of my sink. Fill half way with warm soapy water and place a few pieces of silver in the sink.

(((Do NOT soak HOLLOW HANDLE Silverware)))

After soaking a few seconds I pull them out and dry them. This looses any grime that may be on the pieces. Then apply the polish gently on several pieces and set them aside. The polish works best when it has had a minute to dry on the piece.

Using a soft cotton cloth, I then proceed to polish the silverware, using my fingernails through the cloth to reach down into the pattern as needed.  If the piece is really tarnished, it may take a few cleanings to get it to the point that you are satisfied. Again.. please do not use the dips. They will remove years of patina in a few seconds.. and not you can not dip for a second and rinse fast..  you will still destroy the look that took years to create. A lot of the silver you see on ebay has been dipped by the sellers to make it look shiny.

They call it “wet polishing”.

Above is an example of what can happen when you use even a little bit of the

dips like tarnex and the like. This ruins the value and removes years of patina.

After polishing, a quick hand wash is in order to remove any left over polish that you did not get out. I use an Q-Tips to help me in this part. Make sure to dry the silver well after washing.  DO NOT USE TOOTHBRUSHES! Years ago, toothbrushes were made with boar hair bristles and were fine for cleaning silver. Today they are plastic bristles and they can damage the silver... Hagerty HORSE HAIR brushes are best and can be ordered on-line from Amazon or Ebay. Also available at better dept. stores and some jewelers.

Who ever puts the silver away should have clean dry hands so that oils and dirt on the hands do not create more tarnish.

I  said not to soak the Hollow Handle pieces because they can be harmed by soaking.  The knives often have pitch in the handles to hold the blade tight. In warm water (or a dishwasher) that pitch can become soft fast and the blade will become loose.    When washing by hand, you should be fine, just keep an eye out for any helpers that may know know about fine silver and may put item in the sink to soak.

Dishwashers!

As I mentioned above dishwashers are bad for your silver, and not just the knives. When the high heat of the dishwasher heats up the silver it can be damaged by other pieces in the dishwasher, especially stainless steel. Small black spots and pitting can occur from these pieces touching each other in the washing process. Personally, I do not want to risk the chance of damaging a piece of sterling that can cost more than a whole set of stainless steel.

Some say that you can put the sterling in the dishwasher as long as you do not put any other metals in at the same time. While you may be controlled enough to remember not to mix metals, will others in your family always remember?

That is not something that I want to experiment with.