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 Polident Denture Cleanser

Effervescent Cleanser For Dentures 

Public Domain Image From Wikimedia Commons

If you are new to denture wear, as I am; you may be wondering about the need to use an effervescent cleanser for your new teeth. Today, I will review my choice for a cleanser and give you the reasons why I chose this particular brand. 

First of all, the cleanser that you use on your dentures needs to be non-abrasive. Regular toothpaste would be too harsh and scratch your denture and would not necessarily clean them as well as you would hope. 

Using an effervescent cleanser once per day will clean your denture of any odor causing bacteria and remove any stains from foods or liquids that you might have consumed during the day.  

Since there is more than one brand on the market, which one should you choose? It all boils down to preference, I guess. I chose to use Polident because I was familiar with it. My Mom used this brand for as long as I can remember. She wore dentures for 40 or more years before she passed several years ago. I figured, why try to re-invent the wheel when I knew Mom had much success with this brand. 

Polident Denture Cleanser

I chose the 3 minute tablet due to it's quick results. The box says that for better stain removal that you can leave your denture in for 5 minutes or longer. I do leave mine in the fizzing solution for 5 minutes each night. Dentures are porous so it is important to make sure the solution has time to remove the stains. My main concern for staining is the coffee I drink during any given day. So, far the Polident is keeping my nice new teeth pretty and white.

I, also, really liked getting a box with 96 tablets in it because that is going to last me for a little over 3 months. There are two other strengths of cleanser by Polident; one is an overnight solution and the other is made for smokers. I like that people have options from the same brand.

For me, the choice seemed simple. I chose to use the brand that I knew worked well because I saw it in action for over 4 decades. You should also know that I use a special toothpaste for dentures after meals and a special toothbrush specifically designed for dentures. In the near future, I will review your options for those products.

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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