what are the best ways remove tarnish from stetling silver???

Question

my first question is how do u remove tarnish??
my second question is what are the best ways remove tarnish from stetling silver??? Thanks!!i am trying to remove it from a tea pot thats silver,not sure if its sterling silver or just silver.But it has some wicked tarnish!
Thanks!!

sorry i misspelled "sterling silver" its not "stetling silver" :)

Answer 1

Before you start rubbing on it and find out it's only silver plate try a little chemistry 101. Take a fairly large glass or plastic bowl (deep enough to submerge your pot) and line the bottom with aluminum foil. Fill the bowl as high as you dare with hot water and stir in about a cup of baking soda. Submerge the object in the water and let it sit and bubble for 10 minutes or so. The bubbles are a sign electrolysis is taking place-moving the atoms of the tarnish from the silver to the foil.
Try it!!! It really works!!!!

Answer 2

Using a sheet of aluminum foil, hot water, baking soda, table salt and a pan to do this in.

Place a sheet of Aluminum foil on the bottom of any baking pan. Put your tarnished silver on the sheet. The silver must be touching the aluminum sheet.

Heat some water (in a kettle or sause pot) enough to pour into the pan, covering the silver. Add a small amount of salt.
Add a cup or two of fresh baking soda to the hot water (add baking soda before it gets to hot or your solution will bubble over) and salt solution.

Once dissolved and quite hot, pour this over the item – making sure contact is maintained between the item and the Aluminum foil.

Watch the tarnish disappear
Remove when water is cooler and polish dry. It works well and is far less time consuming and expensive than using a silver or metal polish.

Answer 3

Use commerical silver cleaner to remove tarnish. it comes in liquid form, cream and also polishing cloth! But I find silver cleaner liquid is best, as it gets into those tiny loops of necklaces as well as other hard to reach places! After that, to slow down the tarnishing, apply silver polish (Godds is a good brand and widely avialable)

Answer 4

Toothpaste does work well but you can also try making a paste of baking soda and water. Rub on the tarnished item and gently scrub with a soft, damp cloth and rinsewith warm water. Repeat if necessary. For stubborn spots, rub with a clean eraser from a pencil. This works incredibly well.

Answer 5

You can probably purchase some silver polish at your local market... I think a tub is about $5. And to keep your silver from getting tarnished in the future, keep a few sticks of chalk with it. I guess that absorbs the moisture that causes tarnish... my grandmothers both swear by it!

Answer 6

Toothpaste.

Clean it with a toothbrush, using regular toothpaste.
For smaller items (eg. jewelery), this works wonders, so I don't think there's any harm in trying.