Home
Log in / Sign Up
    Private Messages   Advanced Search   Rules   New User Guide   FAQ   Advertise   Contact Us  
Forum -> Household Management
Silver turning gold



Post new topic   Reply to topic View latest: 24h 48h 72h

amother


 

Post Fri, Aug 22 2014, 5:26 pm
My silver turns gold very quickly that it doesn't even pay for me to polish them. I sealed my china closet already. Has anyone experienced that?
Back to top

mummiedearest




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Aug 22 2014, 5:53 pm
how quickly is very quickly? and what kind of polish do you use? how do you store the silver? the the word is "tarnish," not "turn gold." just so you know Smile
Back to top

zaq




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Aug 22 2014, 6:46 pm
Buy polishing gloves or cloths and give a quick swipe or two every time you use the silver. Use a cloth once a week and you will keep tarnish at bay and never need to use a chemical polish. Or buy anti-tarnish cloth by the yard or bags made of this cloth and store your silver in that rather than keeping it on display. But I'm also interested in your answers to the questions mummiedearest asked. You may not have a realistic idea about how long silver can stay tarnish-free.

Some polishes contain anti-tarnish ingredients that protect from tarnish a while longer. I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable using that kind of polish for tableware, but for leichter and other items that have no contact with food, they're fine.

There may be something in your china cabinet that's hastening the tarnishing. Try an experiment: Put one freshly polished item in the china cabinet and leave another identical one out in the open, and compare the rate of tarnishing. That will tell you if the cabinet is retarding or promoting the process. You know, of course, that you must dry silver immediately and never leave it to air-dry, because moisture also hastens tarnishing.
Back to top

FranticFrummie




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Aug 22 2014, 10:47 pm
Put one of these on every shelf in your china cabinet. http://www.amazon.com/3M-Anti-.....WMQNI
Back to top

Liba




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Aug 23 2014, 4:20 pm
I polish my silver that gets used weekly or it gets to that "gold" stage fast. Kosot, besamim box, lighter, etc. The things that stay in the china cabinet (spare kosot, menorah, etc) only need polishing every month or so. I have silica packets and keep activated charcoal in our china cabinet, before that everything needed weekly polishing it seemed.
Back to top

amother


 

Post Sun, Aug 24 2014, 2:41 am
mummiedearest wrote:
how quickly is very quickly? and what kind of polish do you use? how do you store the silver? the the word is "tarnish," not "turn gold." just so you know Smile


After a month of polishing my silver "TARNISH" (thanks!). It's stored open in the China closet.
Back to top

Mrs Bissli




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 24 2014, 3:30 am
It may also have to do with the purity of silver, what metals (and how much) are used in alloy. Some inexpensive silverware uses larger proportion of brass which comes out yellow-ish colour. Another factor is sulphur in the air--eg if you live along main roads with cars, as car exhausts do contain sulphur compounds.

Your silver should state purity (as in 925 vs 800, which are 92.5% vs 80% silver). I suspect most EY silver standard is lower than what is legally defined as sterling in UK or US.

One option is you can get your silverware silverplated.
Back to top

zaq




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 24 2014, 9:39 am
amother wrote:
After a month of polishing my silver "TARNISH" (thanks!). It's stored open in the China closet.


Tarnish after a month is quite normal, not "quickly". I thought you meant within days. If you don't want to be bothered polishing, wrap your silver tightly in aluminum foil and put it away. If you want to display your silver, the price you pay is polishing.

having your silver plated with more silver does nothing. The plated layer of silver will tarnish just as much as the original silver. Unless you hate polishing so much you're going to go to the trouble and expense of having your silver replated every time it starts to tarnish, which would be insane, and insanely expensive, and utterly a waste of money. If you reeeeeeeeeeaaaaaalllllyyyy hate polishing, bring the silver to a jeweler or silversmith for professional polishing.

BTW polishing sturdy silver (not fragile filigree items) with a soft cloth (not cream or liquid polish) is a fine job for middle-school-age children. They can see the silver getting clean and the cloth getting black, so there's a kind of instant gratification there.
Back to top

Liba




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Aug 28 2014, 6:59 pm
Some of the wealthy in Europe used to have a servant whose sole job was just to polish silver.

Mrs Bissli the standard is the same in Israel and Europe. They stamp the silver here 925, not sterline. Much of the European silver Judaica is from Israel...
Back to top

zaq




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Aug 29 2014, 6:03 pm
Liba wrote:
Some of the wealthy in Europe used to have a servant whose sole job was just to polish silver.

Mrs Bissli the standard is the same in Israel and Europe. They stamp the silver here 925, not sterline. Much of the European silver Judaica is from Israel...


It's not easy to fiind, but there is silver that is not sterling, maybe 890 or so. That was pretty standard in Russia in the 1800s-early 1900s and was sold in Israel at one time. This silver is harder than sterling, therefore less subject to denting and a better idea for people who are inclined to drop things a lot.
Back to top

Frumdoc




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Aug 30 2014, 7:53 pm
We have some family heirloom type silver which is not sterling, old Russian and Prussian pieces. They have odd stamps, I did look up what they meant but can't remember offhand. There are whole websites dedicated to the meaning of different silver markings, it is a fascinating little slice of history.
Back to top

33055




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Aug 30 2014, 8:48 pm
I use activated charcoal and I place a shinny penny on each shelf. When the penny is tarnished replace it.
Back to top
Page 1 of 1 Recent Topics




Post new topic   Reply to topic    Forum -> Household Management

Related Topics Replies Last Post
Silver diamine fluoride treatment for baby - where?
by amother
3 Yesterday at 6:05 pm View last post
Gold rimmed plates with silver/stainless steel flatware
by amother
5 Tue, Mar 26 2024, 12:46 am View last post
Looking for black and gold themed snacks
by amother
10 Wed, Mar 20 2024, 1:17 am View last post
Lakewood - Silver store in a home
by chams
5 Tue, Mar 19 2024, 1:41 pm View last post
Gold pen/parker that writes on
by amother
5 Thu, Mar 07 2024, 7:20 pm View last post
by zaq