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Care of sterling flatware

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Author	Topic: Care of sterling flatware
teasetz Posts: 56 Registered: Jun 2015	posted 08-11-2015 12:51 PM Hello! I'm about to receive 107 pieces of sterling flatware. My mother-in-law (who is bringing me this set) says she's bringing me Wrights Silver Cream, which is what her father used to polish the pieces before special dinners. I've known some people who use their sterling every day and so never really polish it. I've always thought that would be nice, but there is no real practical way for me to do that with this set. There are too many pieces, plus I live far away and there is no real way to get the silver and it's massive chest to my home in Japan, so it will stay at my home in PA. I will be used at most twice a year: Christmas/New Year and maybe again once a summer. My question is: what is the best way to keep this set? Should I polish it all when I get it (it hasn't been used in years and MIL says it needs polishing) then store it? Only polish when needed and only the pieces to be used? I wanted to polish it all just to see it looking lovely, but I understand that each time you polish you wear a bit of silver away. Any tips greatly appreciated! I'll post pictures the last week of August when I get the set. Many thanks! IP: Logged
Polly Posts: 1970 Registered: Nov 2004	posted 08-11-2015 01:43 PM If you polish it once and keep it wrapped up airtight, you will be surprised at how clean and untarnished the silver stays. Polish, make sure the silver is completely dry, wrap the pieces in clean cloth or silver cloth, put them in ziplock bags, and they should stay free of tarnish. Or if the chest is airtight and lined in flannel, it may protect the silver from tarnish without the extra wrapping. I polish my various spoons etc. once, when I first get them, then store them in ziplock bags in a drawer. I don't even bother to wrap them in cloth. Even the ones that I use very rarely haven't tarnished. I very occasionally have to touch one or two of them up with a polishing cloth. And my grandmother's sterling, which lives in the fitted chest it came in, stays nice and clean. We do use it at least once or twice a week, but it's a service for 12 and there are only 2 of us, so most pieces go for many weeks before they're used and washed, and they're still untarnished. The larger pieces that sit out on display, on the other hand, need much more attention--if I don't wash them every week or three, they tarnish and need to be polished. (Which reminds me, my favorite teapot is looking a little golden--I better go wash it!) IP: Logged
Kimo Posts: 1627 Registered: Mar 2003	posted 08-11-2015 05:31 PM It will depend a bit on the environment in which it is stored. Tarnish happens when silver comes into contact with certain gasses or elements. For example, anything that emits sulfur gas such as rubber or being near a gas stove or heater, or some kinds of plain felt or wool will create tarnish relatively quickly. What you want to do is to either wrap it in something that has no sulfur in it and make it air tight, or wrap it in something made to store silver such as silver cloth or pacific cloth which are two of the marketing names for a kind of felt-like material that not only has no sulphur in it but it has microscopic amounts of silver embedded in it that will absorb any sulphur gas that may be around and keep your silver from tarnishing. You can buy ready-made bags or holders for silver that are made of this kind of cloth, or you can simply buy it by the yard and custom make your own. It is a bit pricey running between $12 and $25 a yard depending on whether you get brand name or no-name and where you buy it from. My suggestion is to go for a brand name and spend a few dollars extra to ensure what you get will work well. And besides, you would not need all that much since a yard is a lot of material for making small bags or wraps or liners. [This message has been edited by Kimo (edited 08-12-2015).] IP: Logged
teasetz Posts: 56 Registered: Jun 2015	posted 08-12-2015 10:18 PM Polly and Kimo, many thanks! I'm off to search the internets for cloth! I have a week to prepare for its arrival and I want to get it all set up before leaving the US again. I'm hoping if I sort it out properly now I'll be able to whip it out for Christmas without a lot of work needing to be done. IP: Logged
dragonflywink Posts: 993 Registered: Dec 2002	posted 08-12-2015 11:23 PM I use a variety of old silver chests and flatware roll-ups, as well as some zip-lock bags, silver cloth loses some preventative qualities with time, so I slip anti-tarnish strips in the chests too, as well as in the cabinets with my holloware. My Mom has had her 100+ piece service for 12 in a zippered, rigid bottom silver-cloth 'flatware storage drawer liner' for the last 15-20 years, she never zips it closed, just lays the top over it - the set is washed before its occasional use (don't use lemon dish liquid), believe it's had one light polish in all that time. Have had a 1/2 yard of silver-cloth for years, still sealed in plastic - on reflection, wonder if just cutting a piece to cover the pieces in my old silver-cloth lined chests might not work well enough... ~Cheryl IP: Logged
teasetz Posts: 56 Registered: Jun 2015	posted 08-16-2015 10:20 AM Cheryl - many thanks for the tips. I'm going to try what your mother did: clean, polish and store in the chest with cloth resting on top of each section. May I ask, why should one not use lemon dish washing liquid? I use the regular blue Dawn liquid. Is that okay? IP: Logged
Kimo Posts: 1627 Registered: Mar 2003	posted 08-16-2015 11:22 AM Lemonand other citric fruit are mild acids which is one of the ways they help cut through grease. It would not be the end of the world to use them on silver, but if you can easily find a dishwashing liquid on your supermarket shelf that says it does not have lemon or orange or grapefruit, or that says it is for sensitive hands it would be a bit better. IP: Logged

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