A soft polishing cloth

Another soft cloth

Silver polish (see tips)

Water

Your average service for 8 will take you about 20 minutes.

If you don't have any silverware polish, try toothpaste or a paste made of water and cigarette ashes.

When keeping flowers in a silver vase, change the water frequently to prevent discoloration.

Polish and clean silver plate more gently than you might solid silver.

A rouge cloth, which contains a polishing agent, will help restore luster to silver that has been dulled by tarnish. You can usually find them where silver care products are sold.

Wear cotton gloves when handling or storing cleaned silver to avoid leaving fingerprints.

2torial #0443: Learn2 Clean Silverware "Look who's coming to dinner!" When the Queen (or your in-laws) come for a visit, what could be nicer than brightly shining silver on the table? Well, if you're like most of us, you'll be polishing it the night before they show up. Here's how to keep your silver polishing time to a minimum through proper technique and preventive measures. Silver tarnishes when exposed to air, and there's really no way around that. But if you take proper care of your silver (and silverplate), you'll have a lot less work to do after each use. Specially treated cloth bags are sold that retard or prevent tarnish from forming: this is probably the single best investment that you can make. They don't cost much and will save you lots of time cleaning discolored items. Prevent tarnish Wash silver by hand, never in the dishwasher. It is best to clean the silver before any food stuck to it becomes a permanent attachment. There are some foods which are particularly evil. These foods include fruit, fruit juice, salad dressing, salt, olives and vinegar. Rubber causes tarnish. Keep it away from your silver. If you don't have the special cloth bags to store your silverware in, you can substitute plastic baggies. After you wash and dry your silver thoroughly (see Step 2), place the silver in the baggie and squeeze the air out of it. When storing your silverware, activated charcoal or similar commercial products will absorb tarnishing gases that develop in the container. You can also purchase anti-tarnish strips to store with your silver.   Clean up Wash the silver by hand in mild dishwashing liquid. Dry it thoroughly. When corrosion has been caused by salt, as happens with shaker tops, soak the silver in a mixture of salt and hot vinegar for four or five minutes. Then wash and dry the silver as above. Polish Put a bit of silver polish on a damp cloth. You won't need more than a small amount per item. Use up and down strokes, rather than circular strokes, to polish the item. Use the edge of the cloth, or a twisted bit of rag to polish between the tines. Finish the object off with a few strokes of another soft, dry cloth. -end- Learn More!