FAQ: I have an old set of silver that's heavily tarnished. How do I clean it up?

The cleaning method might depend on how badly tarnished the pieces are. If they are slightly yellow and orange, nearly any silver polish will work. If they are dark orange or black, you may need to use a liquid or paste silver polish, along with a soft cloth.

We offer a product called "Silver Dip", which will remove all traces of tarnish by simply dipping it in the chemical, but that's only recommended for plain patterns that don't have factory-applied tarnish. If your pattern has some design work that would look bad if the tarnish were removed, you don't want to use Silver Dip.

Of course, you'll always want to wash the silverware with warm soap and water after polishing them, and be sure to follow the instructions on the label.

It's also possible that you have a very valuable item that should only be polished by a professional, such as items with historical significance, or rare production pieces from famous silversmiths. If you think that you may have such an item, be sure to get a certified appraisal before attempting to polish it.

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