How do you clean silverplate silver?

Patty Ward
by Patty Ward
  6 answers
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Dec 19, 2017

    plain white toothpaste

  • Bijous Bijous on Dec 19, 2017

    1. 1 cup salt
    2. 1 quart boiling water
    3. Reynolds heavy duty aluminum foil

    Line sink with foil - shiny side up.

    Pour in water.

    Mix salt with warm water to dissolve and pour into sink.

    Put silver in for 30 minutes.

    Finish silver with silver polish, rinse and buff. The polish will leave a tarnish retardant and make the silver really shine. Going forward, clean with polish as needed.

    • Patty Ward Patty Ward on Dec 19, 2017

      Thank you for your reply. I had heard about the salt, foil.water combination but I did not know the exact amount of salt to use.

  • Michele Pappagallo Michele Pappagallo on Dec 19, 2017

    You can use standard silver polish to clean silverplate, but be careful not to rub the finish off completely. Silverplate is only a thin coating applied to another metal, so if you scrub it off too much, you will not be able to get it back.

    • Patty Ward Patty Ward on Dec 19, 2017

      Thank you for your reply. I had been using silver polish but I was not aware it could diminish the silverplate.

  • William William on Dec 19, 2017

    I sell a lot of silver on Ebay. Jewelry, silverware, serving sets, silveplate. Silver polish and dips tend to remove some of the metal. The foil method doesn't work that great and still leaves a grey film that still needs to be removed. I use white toothpaste (not gel)and a damp toothbrush. For large items I use a damp cloth. Also works on copper, brass, gold, porcelain, ceramics, sneakers, plastics, etc. For my sales I needed one product for cleaning everything.

    • Patty Ward Patty Ward on Dec 19, 2017

      Thank you for your reply.I was not aware white toothpaste could be used to clean so many other surfaces as well as silverplate

  • William William on Dec 19, 2017

    If you try the toothpaste make sure you keep it damp so it foams. Amazing how it cleans jewelry and sneakers with little effort.

  • Nancy Turner Nancy Turner on Dec 19, 2017

    Plain toothpaste is the best. Most all of the DYI are to harsh and will wear off the plating real fast if used much. Toothpaste is the gentlest that I know of.