How to Clean Silver & Other Metals

An unexpected product that cleaned our silver

like nothing ever has!

For the past thirty-five years I've cleaned our silver using an electrolytic cleaning plate. I bought the plate in 1980's. It's a common and popular way to clean silver.

An electrolytic cleaning plate works with hot water and a water softener, Calgon. I've never used another water softener with it, only Calgon.

I wanted to clean the silver today and was out of Calgon, so thanks to google I tried baking soda and Borax with the cleaning plate. Neither worked very well. 

My husband, the car cleaning fanatic saw me struggle trying to clean the silver and jumped in and said, "I have a product that will clean that". When he demonstrated it, I was shocked at how amazing it worked!

Get this, he used Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish for All Metals. He uses it to clean many items, including the rims on the car wheels. He swears by it.

The best way to explain this product is to show you via the photos featured below:

Our Silver Tea Set was Severely Tarnished
(The photo is blurry because it's cropped from a larger photo)

Unfortunately I hadn't cleaned our silver tea set all year. By the time the holidays rolled around, the tea set was a mess. As mentioned above, I used the electrolytic cleaning plate but it didn't work well because I was out of water softener. However, the electrolytic cleaning plate has NEVER cleaned the silver like this.

Here's Our Tea Set after Hubby Used 

Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish on it!

This is not an exaggeration, our set has never looked this clean! It looks almost new now. Hubby didn't just do this quickly though, he was thorough. Check out the photos below for the steps to follow.

He Used a Toothbrush to Clean the Pieces

Where Intricate Areas Need Detailed Attention

I had already attempted to clean the above piece using the electrolytic cleaning plate, but it just didn't come clean without Calgon. So again, hubby used Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish on it. He detailed it using a toothbrush.

Here's the finished result! 

I'm shocked at how amazing the Mag and Aluminum Polish works! Our silver hasn't looked this clean for years.

Here's a Close-up of our Polish

It's Available on Amazon

Step by Step How-to Instructions:

1. Apply polish on the surface with a microfiber cloth
2. For detailed hard to clean areas use a toothbrush
3. With the toothbrush work the polish into all the crevices and tight spots
4. You can put a cloth over the toothbrush to help get into the tight spots
5. Let it dry for three or four minutes
6. Then remove the polish with a microfiber cloth, keep using multiple cloths if they get too dirty
7. Repeat until the product is cleaned
8. When done, give it a final polish with the microfiber cloth
9. The final step is to clean the silver with a little bit of dish soap and water. Give it a quick wipe down, then dry it. You don't need to submerge the pieces in water. Just dip the cloth in water, wipe the silver piece, then dry it thoroughly.

Note, my husband cleaned our silver tea set and five other pieces in just over two hours.

If I had to choose between an Electrolytic Cleaning Plate and the Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish, it's the Mag and Aluminum Polish all the way!

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Reviewing Garbage Disposer Cleaner By Glisten

Keeping Your Garbage Disposal Unit Clean

I think it is safe to say that most of us run our garbage disposer more than once per day. I would also venture to say that most of us don't give much thought as to whether we are keeping it clean enough or not. I know it wasn't something that I had given much thought to until I had to replace my old disposer unit with a new one. 

I always figured that by running the garbage disposer it was keeping itself clean. Well, it sort of does but there is a build up that can occur over time that can get pretty nasty and run the chance of having a clogged drain if we aren't careful. There is also the chance of having rather unpleasant odors emanating from the disposer. I think we have all had that happen once or twice. Both of these situations can be avoided if we clean our disposal unit out about once per month or so. I now use Glisten Disposer Care to clean mine out.

Glisten Disposer Care

It is so very simple to use and only takes just a few minutes to do. After the blue foam recedes back down into the disposer, the kitchen smells so clean and refreshing with the scent of lemon!

This video gives you an idea of what I am talking about.

A few tips for using your garbage disposer

Did you know that you should use cold water when you turn your disposer on? It should be a strong stream of water and it should be cold instead of hot or warm. The cold water helps to solidify any grease that might be in there and makes it easier to grind. Using warm or hot water melts the grease and pushes it on down the drain where it might become solid and clog your drain later on. 

Placing potato peels down your disposer is not a good idea, either. The potatoes contain starch which can build up as a paste in your disposer and may prevent the blades from working properly. It is a good idea to grind small hard materials like eggshells, small chicken bones and small fruit pits once in a while. These materials create a bit of a scouring action that can help clean the walls of the disposer. 

It is never a good idea to put corn husks and silks, celery, onion skins or any other fibrous material in your disposer. The fibers can get entangled and actually jam the motor along with possibly clogging your drains. 

Maintaining  and cleaning your disposer may not have occurred to you but I think you can see that proper use and the occasional cleaning of it can most probably extend the life of your garbage disposal unit and prevent costly plumbing bills in the future. 

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Do you know how to keep your Gal happy?

All the girls I know love bling!  Moms, Grandmas, Sisters, Nieces and any other Gal in your life will love a special piece of jewelry given for a special occasion.

You know all the pretty shiny things that catch a girl's eye and keep them fixated on that sparkle until it is theirs. There is only one problem with aforementioned fixation, and that is, in a few weeks the sparkle on that gal's bling, is starting to wear off.

Now most of the fellows I know can't just keep on buying bling, week after week, just because the original is not quite as sparkly as it was just coming from the jewelers. So what's a guy supposed to do. You want your gal as happy as the day she got that piece of jewelry, but you can't afford to re-buy it just to keep her smiling....

Enter to the rescue, a handy dandy, not so fancy Ultrasonic Cleaner! It may not be fancy, but it certainly has a place in almost everyone's life. If you don't have one yet, I would strongly suggest getting one. You will be amazed at what this little machine can do for you and those you love. It will help to keep all your gal's fine jewelry sparkling clean and shiny. The stones will look like they did on the first night you gave them to her. The rings and earrings, necklaces and bracelets, will all sparkle like they did in the jeweler's showroom. Her eyes will need sunglasses to admire the shine and sparkle that is now on her cute little hands and around her wrists and neck.

But WAIT just a minute! The Ultrasonic Cleaner isn't just for her jewels. It can be used by many members of a household. It is great for cleaning toothbrushes, combs, eyeglasses, small parts for hobbies. It can clean anything that you can submerge in water, and only takes 10-20 minutes to get the object clean and germ free. Grandma and Grandpa could each use one for their dentures. Added to the nightstand, they can put their teeth in the container and in the morning, their dentures are clean, fresh and sanitized using utrasonic sound waves to power out the most stubborn of stains. No chemicals are needed to have this machine do it's work! You will be amazed, I'm sure.

These little units are very affordable, and look really neat and tidy in anyone's powder room, or on a nightstand. My daughter and Daughter in Law will both be receiving one of these units, for their Christmas gift. They may not appreciate it right away, but I know that both of them will be smiling when their beautiful rings are sparkling and shiny as the day they got them. It is so much easier than using an old toothbrush to try and get between the claws that are holding all those beautiful stones in place. I already know that they will call me afterwards and tell me that they always meant to buy one of these for themselves, but never got around to it!

Well isn't that what a great mom or MIL does? She makes sure that her daughter and DIL have great things that they never seem to buy for themselves.......I'm sure to score a touchdown with this gift.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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