We've never actually polished a piece of silver in our lives ... but we've recently considered spiffing up some hand-me-down flatware and bringing it out of the basement.
Leslie over at AT:SF keeps her silver in an air-tight jar to keep it tarnish free -- and in the comments of her post on the subject, many readers shared their own eco-friendly ways to polish silver.
Gregory in LA puts a piece of chalk in his utensil drawer.
We also recently came across Silver Polish from Earth Friendly Products. It is, according to the web site "s formaldehyde-free, phosphate-free, chlorine-free, biodegradable, septic safe, greywater safe and made with only the finest natural ingredients."
How do you keep your silver shiny?
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I recently tried the old aluminum foil/salt/baking soda trick I have heard about and it really works! You need to be willing to leave your silver in the solution for a couple of hours and you need to put up with the sulfur-like stink that comes from it, but it's the easiest way to clean tarnish off silver I've ever known!
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Pacific cloth is available at fabric stores and will keep your silver shining without chemicals, scrubs or other stinky solutions. You could line your silver drawer a little flap/blanket cover and rest assured your silver will sparkle the next time you get it out.
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Toothpaste and a rag--or an old toothbrush for the intricate bits. Works great!
And you should use your silver frequently to keep it looking nice without needing polishing. Since I handwash all my dishes, whether I'm washing silver or everyday dishes doesn't really matter.
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