I 'll be bringing soup spoons and ladle to a special Christmas gumbo lunch.
I've looked at the Oneida and Heloise websites. They say use a teaspoon of
ammonia to a gallon of hot water to make them sparkle. Anyone have a better
idea on making flatware look its best? Polly

On 12/19/2013 11:43 PM, Polly Esther wrote:
> I 'll be bringing soup spoons and ladle to a special Christmas gumbo
> lunch. I've looked at the Oneida and Heloise websites. They say use a
> teaspoon of ammonia to a gallon of hot water to make them sparkle.
> Anyone have a better idea on making flatware look its best? Polly

Baking soda, white vinegar and water in a bowl deep enough for the
flatware. How much soda will make the vinegar fizz? Add that much.
Then add enough water to cover the flatware. Let it soak about an
hour. It really does work to clean off tarnish.

Jill

On Thu, 19 Dec 2013 22:43:50 -0600, "Polly Esther"
> wrote:

> I 'll be bringing soup spoons and ladle to a special Christmas gumbo lunch.
> I've looked at the Oneida and Heloise websites. They say use a teaspoon of
> ammonia to a gallon of hot water to make them sparkle. Anyone have a better
> idea on making flatware look its best? Polly

I've used whatever that technique is that requires aluminum foil,
baking soda and hot water. It's great for removing tarnish... but
there's no way it makes silver shine. You still need to use silver
polish and elbow grease to make it shiny... but it will be less work.


--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

"sf" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 19 Dec 2013 22:43:50 -0600, "Polly Esther"
> > wrote:
>
>> I 'll be bringing soup spoons and ladle to a special Christmas gumbo
>> lunch.
>> I've looked at the Oneida and Heloise websites. They say use a teaspoon
>> of
>> ammonia to a gallon of hot water to make them sparkle. Anyone have a
>> better
>> idea on making flatware look its best? Polly
>
> I've used whatever that technique is that requires aluminum foil,
> baking soda and hot water. It's great for removing tarnish... but
> there's no way it makes silver shine. You still need to use silver
> polish and elbow grease to make it shiny... but it will be less work.
>
I am just so sorry to be so vague. I'll be bringing a nice grade of
stainless. This Gulf Coast is miserably hard on sterling silver and I gave
that up years ago. Polly

On Thu, 19 Dec 2013 23:23:52 -0600, "Polly Esther"
> wrote:

>
> "sf" > wrote in message
> ...
> > On Thu, 19 Dec 2013 22:43:50 -0600, "Polly Esther"
> > > wrote:
> >
> >> I 'll be bringing soup spoons and ladle to a special Christmas gumbo
> >> lunch.
> >> I've looked at the Oneida and Heloise websites. They say use a teaspoon
> >> of
> >> ammonia to a gallon of hot water to make them sparkle. Anyone have a
> >> better
> >> idea on making flatware look its best? Polly
> >
> > I've used whatever the technique is that requires aluminum foil,
> > baking soda and hot water. It's great for removing tarnish... but
> > there's no way it makes silver shine. You still need to use silver
> > polish and elbow grease to make it shiny... but it will be less work.
> >
> I am just so sorry to be so vague. I'll be bringing a nice grade of
> stainless. This Gulf Coast is miserably hard on sterling silver and I gave
> that up years ago. Polly

You have dull stainless? My recommendation is to run it through the
dishwasher. Dishwasher detergent does wonders for staidness steel
flatware.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

"sf" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 19 Dec 2013 23:23:52 -0600, "Polly Esther"
> > wrote:
>
>>
>> "sf" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> > On Thu, 19 Dec 2013 22:43:50 -0600, "Polly Esther"
>> > > wrote:
>> >
>> >> I 'll be bringing soup spoons and ladle to a special Christmas gumbo
>> >> lunch.
>> >> I've looked at the Oneida and Heloise websites. They say use a
>> >> teaspoon
>> >> of
>> >> ammonia to a gallon of hot water to make them sparkle. Anyone have a
>> >> better
>> >> idea on making flatware look its best? Polly
>> >
>> > I've used whatever the technique is that requires aluminum foil,
>> > baking soda and hot water. It's great for removing tarnish... but
>> > there's no way it makes silver shine. You still need to use silver
>> > polish and elbow grease to make it shiny... but it will be less work.
>> >
>> I am just so sorry to be so vague. I'll be bringing a nice grade of
>> stainless. This Gulf Coast is miserably hard on sterling silver and I
>> gave
>> that up years ago. Polly
>
> You have dull stainless? My recommendation is to run it through the
> dishwasher. Dishwasher detergent does wonders for staidness steel
> flatware.

I was wondering about that but... When we lived on Cape Cod, a few pieces
of my flatware took on an odd cast to their finish and I was never able to
get them to look normal again. My metal canisters rusted out very badly and
so did the metal on my pepper mill. I think it was something in the air
there. Have not had that problem here.

On 12/19/2013 11:43 PM, Polly Esther wrote:
> I 'll be bringing soup spoons and ladle to a special Christmas gumbo
> lunch. I've looked at the Oneida and Heloise websites. They say use a
> teaspoon of ammonia to a gallon of hot water to make them sparkle.
> Anyone have a better idea on making flatware look its best? Polly

I put them in the dishwasher with Cascade Platinum and they look brand
new. Other than that, I'd try the ammonia.

On Fri, 20 Dec 2013 13:36:26 -0500, Ed Pawlowski > wrote:

> On 12/19/2013 11:43 PM, Polly Esther wrote:
> > I 'll be bringing soup spoons and ladle to a special Christmas gumbo
> > lunch. I've looked at the Oneida and Heloise websites. They say use a
> > teaspoon of ammonia to a gallon of hot water to make them sparkle.
> > Anyone have a better idea on making flatware look its best? Polly
>
> I put them in the dishwasher with Cascade Platinum and they look brand
> new. Other than that, I'd try the ammonia.

I buy Cascade and Finish "Complete" and from what I've read, people
who have used both don't see much a difference between Complete and
Platinum. One is powder, one is gel. That's the difference.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On 12/20/2013 2:56 PM, sf wrote:
> On Fri, 20 Dec 2013 13:36:26 -0500, Ed Pawlowski > wrote:
>
>> On 12/19/2013 11:43 PM, Polly Esther wrote:
>>> I 'll be bringing soup spoons and ladle to a special Christmas gumbo
>>> lunch. I've looked at the Oneida and Heloise websites. They say use a
>>> teaspoon of ammonia to a gallon of hot water to make them sparkle.
>>> Anyone have a better idea on making flatware look its best? Polly
>>
>> I put them in the dishwasher with Cascade Platinum and they look brand
>> new. Other than that, I'd try the ammonia.
>
> I buy Cascade and Finish "Complete" and from what I've read, people
> who have used both don't see much a difference between Complete and
> Platinum. One is powder, one is gel. That's the difference.
>

Platinum is a tablet. All I know is what I see on the dishes and a new
machine may be part of it too. About a year ago we bought new flatware.
Over time, using Cascade gel, the started getting some spots. The
manufacturer does say they may need to be polished at times and I
planned on doing just that. Meantime, I did a load with a sample of the
Platinum. They came out looking as polished and shiney as the day we
bought them.

A Corningware dish that is over 30 years old came out looking better
than it has in years. Glassware is perfect and glistens. My dishes are
perfect so I see no reason to experiment but other detergents may or may
not work as well in our machine.

Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>
> On 12/19/2013 11:43 PM, Polly Esther wrote:
> > I 'll be bringing soup spoons and ladle to a special Christmas gumbo
> > lunch. I've looked at the Oneida and Heloise websites. They say use a
> > teaspoon of ammonia to a gallon of hot water to make them sparkle.
> > Anyone have a better idea on making flatware look its best? Polly
>
> I put them in the dishwasher with Cascade Platinum and they look brand
> new. Other than that, I'd try the ammonia.

I would go with the Oneida recommendation. Surely they would know.
That said, I have a nice set of Oneida flatware but I don't use them
daily..they are only for special occasions. Still looks brand new
after about 20 years and I live only one mile from the ocean so the
environment is not some issue.

I do store them in a closed box with felt. And whenever I use them, I
hand wash and dry with a towel immediately...then put them away.

G.

On Fri, 20 Dec 2013 19:52:06 -0500, Gary > wrote:

>Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>>
>> On 12/19/2013 11:43 PM, Polly Esther wrote:
>> > I 'll be bringing soup spoons and ladle to a special Christmas gumbo
>> > lunch. I've looked at the Oneida and Heloise websites. They say use a
>> > teaspoon of ammonia to a gallon of hot water to make them sparkle.
>> > Anyone have a better idea on making flatware look its best? Polly
>>
>> I put them in the dishwasher with Cascade Platinum and they look brand
>> new. Other than that, I'd try the ammonia.
>
>I would go with the Oneida recommendation. Surely they would know.
>That said, I have a nice set of Oneida flatware but I don't use them
>daily..they are only for special occasions. Still looks brand new
>after about 20 years and I live only one mile from the ocean so the
>environment is not some issue.
>
>I do store them in a closed box with felt. And whenever I use them, I
>hand wash and dry with a towel immediately...then put them away.

Me too... all my good table service is hand washed, only crappy every
day stuff goes in the dishwasher. Lately I've been on a hand washing
spree, haven't run my dishwasher for about a month now... when I'm
washing pots I may as well wash the dishes too, most times I'll check
the dishwasher and pull out what's in there and hand wash that at the
same time too, may as well. I actually enjoy hand washing dishes,
what I don't like is emptying the dishwasher.

In article >,
Brooklyn1 > wrote:

> same time too, may as well. I actually enjoy hand washing dishes,
> what I don't like is emptying the dishwasher.

I like to wash and polish silver flatware. And I don't like to empty
the dishwasher, either. In fact, that's a task that Rob does. He's
pretty good at putting things away in the correct place, too.
--
Barb,
http://www.barbschaller.com, as of April 8, 2013.