With proper care, you can prevent your silver tarnishing, pitting or scratching. Be especially gentle with silver plate, as the plating wears off easily. Whenever possible, wash silver tableware by hand with a mild detergent.
If you want to put it in the dishwasher, make sure the silver contains no other metal which might tarnish, and dry immediately with a chamois leather or soft towel. Dishwasher powder can pit silver, however.
Don't leave silver overnight with food on it. If you can't wash it right away, at least rinse off all the food.
If you don't have specially treated cloth bags or a silver chest for storage, thoroughly dry each piece, then wrap it in acid-free tissue paper.
Never let rubber come in contact with silver - it causes it to tarnish.
Don't let egg, fruit juice, olives, perfume, toilet water, salad dressing, salt, sulphur or vinegar stay on silver for any length of time - they cause stains and corrosion.
Clean silver salt cellar lids frequently to keep them from corroding. To remove any corrosion caused by salt, soak the cellar for 5 minutes in a solution of hot vinegar and salt, and then wash and dry.
If you put cut flowers in silver bowls, change the water often to prevent deposits at the water line. Remove the flowers as soon as they begin to wilt.
If you keep fruit in a silver container, use a liner.
If you run out of silver polish, place the silver in a bowl of hot water with a strip of aluminium foil and a teacup of washing soda. Leave for half an hour or so, until clean. Rinse and buff with a soft cloth.
Polish silver with a gentle circular motion without too much pressure. Use a soft brush to get into hard-to-reach cracks.
Use a pipe cleaner with silver polish on it to clean between fork prongs. Or put some polish on a string and pull it back and forth between the prongs.
To remove minor scratches, rub a cream silver polish on with a soft cloth and polish with a chamois cloth.
