Back in 1974 I got a silverware set from a pawnshop in Tacoma, WA for $15. It was Rogers ‘Precious’ pattern, a simple setting for 6. Over the years I’ve added to it from tagsales and flea markets. It’s my every day set.
(This photo is of the ones that didn’t quite come clean. I forgot to get a before photo.)
I hadn’t cleaned it in a very long time and it had gotten quite tarnished. I’d finally had enough of looking at it like that and decided to try a method I’d found online, using aluminum foil and baking soda.
I used a low flat pan with 3 quarts of filtered water, 3 tablespoons of baking soda, and a sheet of aluminum foil in a stainless steel pan. I heated it to boiling and left it on simmer. It did take off the worst of the tarnish really quickly.
I used tongs to place it and remove it from the pan. Once taken out it was put in a bowl of warm soapy water, then rinsed under warm water.
But most of the silver still had a golden sheen on it, so I set it aside to polish.
This is how I clean it usually. This photo shows the gold sheen.
Once I rubbed it down with the paste, it cleaned up very quickly. There were a few of the worst ones I had to spend time on. Once rubbed down, they went back into warm soapy water.
They get rinsed under warm water again and then dried and polished with a clean dish towel. I probably won’t touch them again for months, but they look nice for Christmas.
When I was growing up my mom had stainless steel utensils. I never liked how they felt or tasted. She had good silver for special occasions and I much preferred those. Now I will often take my own silverware to informal functions to avoid the stainless ones offered.
There are more fancy serving pieces but they are kept in a silver chest and don’t tarnish as much, so I didn’t bother with them. I also have nice set from my great aunt that I used for special occasions. The everyday set is quite battered and scratched.
I’ve always loved this set, both to look at and to use, so it’s worth the extra time to keep it looking nice every now and again.