My vintage silver collection is my pride and joy to pull out for a OTT dinner, or in the past few months just to cheer myself up.
It seems that silver tableware has fallen out of fashion so amazing bargains can be made as heirlooms are being sold off. I think they are just absolutely fabulous on a dinning table and ve collected vintage pieces over the past 20 years. Luckily me so does my mama and she shares her finds! Some of my most cherished pieces were gifts from dear friends, making them extra special.
Part of a sustainable lifestyle is buying and using vintage pieces however cleaning tarnished silver can be quite daunting and not eco-friendly, but it does not have to be.
Also preventing it from tarnishing is pretty easy too!
I set aside the silver cleaning polish and tried these 4 green cleaning options. Here is what I found:
How to CLEAN tarnished silver:
1. Using a banana peel: effective for silver pieces slightly tarnished.
2. Using ketchup: did not work
3. Using toothpaste: did not work
4. using aluminium foil and baking soda (bicarb), and submerging the pieces in hot water: very effective for tarnished silver. To be green, reuse the foil or collect the foil in a large ball before throwing it out so it can be recycled versus breakdown in small pieces.
How to STORE silver to prevent tarnishing:
- Wrap items in a dark plastic bag.
- Place them in an airtight container.
- Store in a dry and dark cupboard.
Where the BUY vintage silver:
- Check out your local thrift stores, car-booth sales or outdoor vintages markets.
- I usually check my mama’s cupboards first; heirlooms are the best and most sustainable way to enjoy vintage silver in my book.
- Online quite a bit of 2nd hand and vintage sites will have silver pieces for sale.
Written and photographed by Sandra Slawinski without commercial agreements. I used vintage pieces from my collection.
