Ask HN: Cleaning Old Silverware

1 point·999900000999··5 comments

Hi hacker news, is it economically reasonable to clean old silverware. Is there like a place I can take it to to get a large amount of it fixed up?

I really do want to keep my grandmother's old silverware set, but many of the pieces are discolored and rusty. Rusty. I'm actually afraid this might make me sick if I use it.

Let me know if I should just throw it out

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True silverware should not rust just tarnish. Have it tested for lead and other metals if ur afraid it’s rust. Maybe reach out to a local university metals / chemistry dept to have exact metal makeup tested.

Here’s a service

https://www.hermansilver.com/silver-polishing.htm

https://www.homedepot.com/c/ah/how-to-clean-silver-10-ways/9....

I've tried vinegar and salt. It works but you'll need to make sure you wash the vinegar off very well otherwise you get green spots later. Btw, silver does not rust. You might have a set that's plated as opposed to being all silver. If that's the case then it has very little commercial value. But it seems to have a lot of sentimental value to you. You might want to get it replated. It's not cheap to do though.

It definitely has sentimental value.

I'll try this over the weekend.

Thank You !

Do you know what kind of metal it is? Silver can tarnish and it can be mistaken for rust. But tarnish can be cleaned. There are over-the-counter products like Tarn-X that will work, and some household methods you can try first using things like baking soda.

The best way to clean silver is baking soda, hot water and aluminum foil.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhtGxujrLTc

As others have pointed out. Silver doesn't rust though.

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