Caring for sterling silver comes with plenty of rules. It’s a delicate metal that needs gentle handling when being cleaned or polished. Let’s explore five cleaning mistakes to avoid when caring for sterling silver.

Letting Silver Touch the Stainless Steel Sink

One big no-no when you’re cleaning sterling silver is to allow the silver to touch your stainless steel sink. You want to avoid mixing them because stainless steel is a tough metal and sterling silver is significantly softer. Steel could scratch or dent your silver if you’re not careful.

One way to alleviate the issue is to lay a towel at the bottom of the sink. The towel provides a barrier between the steel and sterling silver.

Attempting a Quick Polishing Hack

It’s a good idea to avoid quick polishing hacks for your sterling silver. Tactics that instruct you to place your silver in a container with aluminum foil and baking soda will remove the oxidation built up over time. You’ll see yellow stains replace the oxidation. You don’t want your sterling silver to appear yellow.

Polishing or Cleaning With Abrasive Measures

When polishing and cleaning your sterling silver holloware, a 100 percent cotton cloth should be your best friend. Silver is a highly malleable metal; therefore, utilizing any other cloths, sponges, or toothbrushes could ruin your silver. You don’t want scratched silver.

Doubling Time and Effort With Ineffective Polish

Picking up a polish from the store seems easy, but this could lead to more time and effort spent polishing your silver. Avoid this wasted time by finding polishes and products that work efficiently. Cleaning should never be quick, but you shouldn’t need to use a ton of elbow grease either.

Not Cleaning Your Silver Immediately After Use

If you use a sterling silver platter or sterling silver silverware during a party, be sure to clean them right after use. It doesn’t take long for salt, mayonnaise, eggs, and acidic dressings to tarnish your silver. Make a note not to soak your silver in water. Don’t hesitate to clean any dishes or silverware.

Follow the above advice to avoid mistakes when cleaning sterling silver. Your silver will stay in mint condition, and you’ll feel confident in your cleaning abilities.