How To Clean Silver

I found this chafing dish while I was out thrifting and had no intensions of learning how to clean the silver. I kind of like the tarnished look. Until I cleaned it, now I like the polished look! A girl can change her mind, right?! Let me tell you what worked and what didn’t.

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After scouring the internet for home remedies on how to clean silver, I discovered some worked better than others. One article suggested using dish soap and a soft cloth. This process didn’t work so well for me, nor did the vinegar method.

Here is what I used to clean the silver chafing dish.

Using a mixture of baking soda, table salt and a little water I made a thick paste. I applied the mixture with a cloth and gently rubbed in a circular motion.

These are my favorite reusable paper towels. I love these things! They never stink and you simply toss them in the washing machine, when they get dingy looking, they go in the trash!

Back to cleaning the silver. This is a messy process, that tarnish comes off black (obviously) however, it rinses off with water easily.

Some of the tarnish may need a little “extra” scrubbing, this is when I used a soft scratch pad or tooth brush to get in the hard to get areas. I didn’t want my piece to be super shiny so I stopped scrubbing when the patina was just right and my arm was tired!