How to Clean Silver Soldered Dishes

When you see the "silver soldered" stamp on the bottom of a dish, it means that the joints are silver soldered -- but it doesn't mean that the dish itself is silver. More likely, it is nickel or German silver, a metal alloy that is shiny like silver, but contains no actual silver. Nickel silver tarnishes easily, so if your dishes haven't been maintained in a while, they may appear very dark. Bringing out the shine is simple, using materials you probably already have on hand.

Dish soap
Dish towel
White toothpaste
Paper towels
Baking soda
Polymer car polish (optional)
Soft cloth (optional)

Instructions

- 1
  Wash the dishes in warm soapy water to remove any dirt from the surface. Dry the dishes with a cloth.
- 2
  Apply a small amount of white toothpaste to the dish and rub it into the tarnished surface with a paper towel. If the dish is large or you have a large number of them, sprinkle them with baking soda and rub them with a damp cloth to remove the tarnish.
- 3
  Rinse the dishes well in running water and dry.
- 4
  Polish the dish, if desired, using a polymer metal polish, such as an auto polish. Moisten a corner of a soft cloth with a small amount of polish and rub the dish in a swirling motion. When the polish leaves a hazy cast, buff it off with a dry section of the cloth.

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