KEEPING SILVER SHINY

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28482, 11 January 1958, Page 2

KEEPING SILVER SHINY

Hints For Removing Stains (By NAN MORTON] Ordinary cleaning methods often fail to remove the stain spots on silver and electroplate; they spoil the surface and appearance of even the best quality pieces. The spots, which have also become a problem to jewellers and manufacturers, vary in colour from pale brown to almost black, and cannot beremoved even by a dip, or the aluminium and soda procedure. Many housewives wash their dinner plates and silver together and if is generally believed that it is the salt from the plates together with the effect of modern solid detergents, that causes the spot trouble.

' Wash your silver separately, and always use a mild liquid ; detergent to prevent the blemishes forming. To remove them, J immerse the silver in a hot and strong salt solution, and then give' it the normal polishing with a , rouge-tyoe cleaner after drytife it. Although salt helped cause ’ the stains, it is. curiously enough, the way to remove them. A comoany has carried out research work on this question', and has found that electrical action enters into the process. A solid particle, of salt touching a small area of silver produces a different electrical potential at this spot, compared with the rest of the surface. The resulting electrochemica’ action produces the stain. But deposition of* silver occurs in the stain area when the whole article is placed in a wellmixed. hot and strong salt solution Although the stained area may differ slightly in colour from the rest of the silver surface, vigor- i ous polishing will soon make it invisible. Dull, dusty, spotted silver on your sideboard, looks much worse than no silver at all. and family heirlooms will soon deteriorate If they are not cared for. regularly.

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