How to Clean Silver: Tarnished Cutlery, Jewellery and Chains

How to clean silver depends on what it is and how dark it has gone. A light grey film on everyday cutlery needs only hot soapy water and a soft cloth. Black tarnish on a christening mug or a chain needs polish or a soak. The methods below are ordered from gentlest to strongest, because Christie’s silver department advises cleaning silver as little as possible.

Why does silver tarnish?

Silver tarnishes because sulphur in the air and in some foods reacts with the surface to form a dark film. Tiffany & Co. notes that salt air and sulphur-containing products, such as rubber bands and some papers, speed it up. The film starts yellow, turns brown and ends up black.

Christie’s lists eggs, Brussels sprouts, vinegar and salt as foods that tarnish silver very quickly. Wash silver soon after it touches any of them. Tiffany also warns that chlorine and bleach accelerate tarnishing, so take rings off before cleaning a bathroom.

Silver you use often tarnishes less than silver in a drawer. Regular washing removes the film before it darkens.

What materials do you need?

You do not need much, and the gentlest tools do most of the work. Pick the method that matches the piece.

How to clean silver step by step

This routine suits cutlery, frames, cups and most jewellery. Work over a towel, and rest the piece on your hand rather than a hard worktop, as Christie’s suggests.

1. Wash. Use hot water and a little washing up liquid. Rinse in clean hot water.
2. Dry at once. Use a soft cloth. Water spots and damp both speed up tarnish.
3. Check what is left. If the piece is bright, stop here.
4. Polish lightly. Rub a little silver polish on with a soft cloth in small circles, or use a silver cloth.
5. Rinse and buff. Wash off any polish residue, dry again and buff with a clean cloth.
6. Treat crevices last. Use a cotton bud with silver dip on detail, then rinse and dry.

For a whole canteen of cutlery, wash and dry everything first, then polish only the pieces that need it. Polishing a clean piece just wears away silver for no gain. If you dry with a hairdryer, Christie’s says to keep it at least 15 cm from the silver. Do not use one on pieces with wood or ivory handles.

Silver and brass often sit on the same sideboard, but they need different products. Christie’s warns against using cleaners made for copper or brass on silver. Our post on how to clean brass covers that metal separately.

Polishing silver is a job most people do themselves. If you would rather hand over the routine dusting and wiping of a busy home, our regular house cleaning costs €28 an hour. Visits have a two-hour minimum.

How to clean tarnished silver with foil and bicarbonate of soda

The foil method removes heavy tarnish from plain solid silver without rubbing. It works by chemistry: the tarnish is silver sulphide, and contact with aluminium in hot salty water draws the sulphur away.

1. Line a heatproof bowl with aluminium foil, shiny side up.
2. Add one tablespoon each of bicarbonate of soda and salt.
3. Pour in enough just-boiled water to cover the silver.
4. Lay the silver on the foil so each piece touches it.
5. Leave for 2-5 minutes, then lift out with tongs.
6. Rinse, dry well and buff with a silver cloth.

Do not use this method on oxidised jewellery, where black shading in the pattern is deliberate. Tiffany notes that an oxidised finish can be removed by overzealous cleaning. Keep stones, pearls, glued parts and silver plate out of the bowl too.

How to clean sterling silver jewellery and chains

Jewellery needs the gentlest approach, because chains, clasps and settings trap dirt and break easily. Soak the piece for a few minutes in warm water with a drop of washing up liquid. Then work a soft brush along the links.

Tiffany’s advice for sterling silver is simple. Use a little silver cleaner on a soft cloth, rinse thoroughly in warm water and dry carefully. Lay chains flat on a towel to dry so water does not sit in the links.

Take silver off before swimming, cleaning with bleach or applying hand cream. Store each piece in its own pouch so chains do not tangle and scratch each other.

How do you clean silver cutlery and silver plate?

Silver cutlery and silver plate need hand washing and quick drying more than strong polish. Christie’s says silver should never go in the dishwasher. Tiffany allows most pieces except knives, as long as they come out before the drying cycle, but still prefers hand washing.

Silver plate, including EPNS, has only a thin layer of silver over a base metal. Every polish removes a little of it. Christie’s warns that polish can erode the surface of Sheffield plate. Use a silver cloth rather than cream polish, and only when needed.

Knives with hollow or bonded handles should never soak, because hot water can loosen the joint. Wash the blades and wipe the handles.

Mistakes to avoid when cleaning silver

Most damage to silver comes from too much rubbing or the wrong product. Avoid these:

• Over-polishing. Christie’s says polish can damage engraving and wear holes in embossed work.
• Silver dip as a soak. Christie’s advises never submerging silver in dip; apply it with cotton wool instead.
• Toothpaste and baking soda pastes. Both are gritty and leave fine scratches.
• Bleach and chlorine. Tiffany warns they speed up tarnish.
• Stiff toothbrushes. Christie’s recommends a hog’s hair brush for small objects instead.
• Storing damp. Christie’s notes that silver dried properly tarnishes less easily.

How should you store silver?

Store silver dry, wrapped and away from things that give off sulphur or acid. Christie’s recommends acid-free tissue paper inside cotton or anti-tarnish bags. Keep it away from rubber, newspaper, wool, felt, velvet, paint and smoke.

Christie’s also advises against storing silver in oak furniture, because the wood is acidic. A lined drawer in a painted or pine sideboard is a better home. A sachet of silica gel in the drawer helps in damp Irish winters.

A silver teapot often has a brown ring inside. The method for tea stains in cups works there too, if you keep salt and scourers away from the silver. For help keeping the rest of the house in order, call Dublin Cleaners on 01 230 8646.