Silver is one of the most widespread and precious metals in the world. It makes any piece of jewellery look elegant and classy. It creates a final shiny touch to tableware and every housewife would love to have at least one silver fork or spoon.

Unfortunately, silver is also a metal, which can be easily damaged by scratches or tarnish. Therefore, you need to know how to protect and how to clean silver, so you can enjoy your silver items longer and maybe even pass them to the next generation.

Personally, I know several tips for cleaning silver, but just in case I contacted a flat cleaning expert from London, who also shared several tricks with me.

How to Clean Silver Tarnish with Boiling Water

You will need:

• a heat-proof pan, dish or cup
• a sheet of aluminium foil
• 1 tbsp. baking soda
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 5 litres of water (preferably distilled)
• a clean, soft cloth

Instructions:

1. Put the sheet of aluminium foil on the bottom of the heat-proof pan. Remember that the shiny side should face up.
2. Place the silver items (jewellery or tableware) on the foil.
3. Prepare a mixture of the baking soda, salt and boiling water.
4. Pour out the solution over the silver pieces and make sure that all of them are submerged and laying on the aluminium foil.
5. Remove the silver items from the pan, when the tarnish is gone, and rinse them with water.
6. Use the soft cloth for completely drying and polishing the silver.

How to Clean Silver with Baking Soda

You will need:

• 1 tbsp. baking soda
• 1 tbsp. vinegar (or a few drops of water)
• an old toothbrush (optional)
• a clean, soft cloth

Instructions:

1. Make a mixture of the baking soda and the vinegar. The two ingredients will produce a chemical reaction, which is strong enough to clean tarnish, without damaging the silver itself.
2. If you are not a big fan of vinegar, you can substitute it with water. Create a thick paste of 1 tbsp. baking soda and a few drops of water.
3. Tenderly rub the silver with the mixture you have prepared. For this step you can use an old toothbrush with soft fibres.
4. Clean the residue with warm water.
5. Finish by buffing the silver with a soft cloth.

How to Clean Silver with Toothpaste

You will need:

• white toothpaste
• an old toothbrush
• a few drops of water
• a clean, soft cloth

Instructions:

1. Choose a white-coloured toothpaste and make a part of it into foam by using a few drops of water.
2. Cover the silver items with the foam and let it do its work for several minutes.
3. Use a soft toothbrush for treating stubborn stains or reaching hard accessible parts of the silver item.
4. Rinse the silver with warm water and dry it with the cloth.

All these cleaning methods include easy-to-find, inexpensive, green materials and this makes them very efficient and eco-friendly. Hope that I have been helpful and that your silver pieces will preserve their beautiful look for ages.