Silver Polishing 101

Fox

Sun, Nov 20 2022, 10:31 pm

I use Hagerty polish, but they're all pretty similar. A few tips:

1. Keep the polish and rag near the sink so that you don't have to dig around for it. That will help you polish things when you're doing other kitchen chores. Wet the rag; dip some polish on it; and work on a section of the piece at a time.

2. Buy a pack of anti-tarnish strips. No need for the most expensive ones; I get cheap ones from Amazon.

3. Dedicate an old toothbrush to your silver polishing kit.

4. Buy a few different sizes of large ZipLoc bags. I have a few that hold large trays, tureens, etc.

5. After polishing, store silver pieces in one of the bags and put an anti-tarnish strip in there. Be sure to close the bag completely.

6. Use the toothbrush to polish delicate or ornate pieces. I also use it on flatware a lot. If you have silver flatware, keep it in a silver chest with a couple of anti-tarnish strips.
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A couple of interesting bits of trivia:

* Tarnish is caused by sulfur in the air that is a byproduct of iron oxidation. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, silver didn't really tarnish because there was so little sulfur in the air.

* If you become attuned to your silver, you can actually tell how the economy is doing based on how quickly your silver tarnishes. When manufacturing plants are at full capacity, your silver will tarnish much, much faster than during a recession.

Hatzlacha! Rabbi Yitzchok Sender, z"tl, always encouraged DH and I to spend money on silver. Without the Beis Hamikdash, our table is our altar, and it's worth extra effort and expense to make it sparkle.