As many friends asked me about cleaning silver articles, I am posting this eventhough this is a food blog. I am sure it will be of use to everyone. Silver articles oxidise soon and cleaning is a tedious procedure and will consume most of your time. It becomes expensive at times. This is a hazzle-free procedure of cleaning silver items in bulk, with the basic things available in your kitchen.
THINGS REQUIRED:
Cooking soda (Aapa soda) - a handful
Aluminium foil torn to pieces - 10"x10" sheet
METHOD OF CLEANING:
Take a very big vessel in which all your silver items fit. Boil water in it to the highest point , put in the soda and torn aluminium foil pieces (which we use to pack food) and also the oxidised silver items. Let it boil for 5 minutes. Switch off the stove. Take the items one by one using a long ladle and wash with a dishwash liquid and a scrub. BE CAREFUL.... IT WILL BE VERY HOT....For intricate items use a NEW toothbrush. YOUR SILVER ITEMS WILL SPARKLE AS NEW. Repeat this procedure once a month OR whenever needed. Do not worry, silver doesn't corrode. I have been cleaning silver items using this method for years. Some items shown in the picture are more than 30 years old.
Please DO NOT put the idols of deities or vigrahams in boiling water, just use the method to clean your articles except the vigrahams. We see idols as GOD. So, I felt that if we put the idols in boiling water, will it not be hot for the GOD OR GODDESS? That's the reason behind it. However, it depends on one's own mentality and conscience. Silver idols can be cleaned with toothpaste(white in colour) and a NEW TOOTHBRUSH. Even pitambari works. Tooth powder and viboothi can be used for idols.
NOTE:
The foil and soda can be increased or decreased according to the number of silver items you clean.
This method is hazzle free for cleaning silver items in bulk.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteA very useful tip....
Sameena@
www.myeasytocookrecipes.blogspot.com
Beautiful tips..
ReplyDeletenice n useful tip...thxs for sharing..
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the valuable tips! We need to add the soda in the boiling water too?
ReplyDeleteYes and Thanks Raks. Its an omission. I have edited it.
ReplyDeleteThats a useful tip. I usually rub the vessels with vibhuthi using a soft cloth. This sounds much easier.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the useful tips, to day only i was thinking of buying some liquid to clean sillver.loved ur pooja saaman.
ReplyDeleteA very useful tip! Will keep in mind.
ReplyDeleteuseful tips,thanks..
ReplyDeletevery informative post...thanx for sharing Shanthi..:)
ReplyDeletegood one...i was waiting for such a tip for cleaning my articles after pooja
ReplyDeleteLovely tip. Even mom used to do this :)
ReplyDeleteYou have nice pooja items at home. Love them all. The naagar is classic :)
very nice post.. thank you very much !!
ReplyDeletewonderful tip..Very informative..thx for sharing.
ReplyDeletelovely tip looks sparkling clean
ReplyDeleteThat is so informative and I sooooooooooo needed it as I have few silver things which are almost black now. So, I am going to try it out today itself. Thanks :)
ReplyDeletevery useful tip ...thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteSatya
http://www.superyummyrecipes.com
These are sparkling indeed! Neat way to clean all silver items!
ReplyDeleteUseful post. Great Tips.
ReplyDeletelove the tip! I guess after that wrap in clear plastic and keep and you wont need to clean as often!
ReplyDeleteGreat tips...Sure try it...
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteVery useful post
ReplyDeleteGayathri
thats really a helpful tip. Thanks for sharing...
ReplyDeletethank u for a such a lovely tip.
ReplyDeleteI use tooth paste and tengai naar to clean the silver vessels!
thanks for the wonderful tips..now I know how to make them shine again
ReplyDeleteDeepa
Hamaree Rasoi
Very nice tip for cleaning silver.
ReplyDeletei love your recipes.tried so many of them.this tip for cleaning silver is amazing.Tried couple of silver items first to see how they turn out.they were as sparkly as new.the next thing i did was to boil water in a large pot and dig out all my silver.the best silver cleaning tip i have come across which works like magic.Great Job!!Love this site a lot.
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent tip and thanks a lot for sharing with us. All these days I was wondering how to clean my pooja items and now that you have shared this tip, I would definitely follow this.
ReplyDeleteVery helpful tip..bookmarked,thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteGreat tip. thank you.
ReplyDeletewow...very useful tip...will definitely try this...Thanks Shanthi
ReplyDeleteyou are a life saver!! this tip is amazing. i had so many and i was tired of rubbing it with bibhoodi and this was less work and quick too. it worked like magic, i even told my friends about your tip. Thanks a lot for sharing.
ReplyDeleteVery very useful for puja items
ReplyDeleteSuch a useful tip Aunty. If I had read this post before I wouldn't have bought that silver cleaning liquid from store. Next time I am gonna clean them as per your instructions. Thanks for sharing this
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful tip. The silver cups and tumblers I got from India are almost black now. I will do it this weekend and let you know !!
ReplyDeleteWow Shanthi akka,
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of this tip. kalakkarale pongo! I plan to try this today with all my silver stuff...and ill let u know. I loved your Devi Vilakku it looks to be a perfect size...not too big and not too small!!!
Shobha
Thanks for this tip Shanti. Very useful.
ReplyDeletehi shanthi,
ReplyDeleteJust now visited ur site while searching for something... it's really awesome.. !
Hey had a doubt... Is it putting silver items to boiling water? Doesnt it lose it's shine and shape..?
Please let me know...
Thanks,
Nagashree.
Yes nagashreee, putting silver items in boiling water doesnt lose its shape.
ReplyDeleteHighly useful, can you please tell me what can be done in case of brass article? pls it will be very helpful.
ReplyDeleteYour tip on silver articles was very useful...
ReplyDeleteCan u pl provide tip for washing pooja articles made out of Taamra[as we call in kannada].. I think brass in English... Usually we use it to offer water to God and while doing tulasi pooja...
thanks,
Nagashree.
Came across ur site while searching for something.Thanks for the useful tip. It worked like magic.Hope to see some more tips like this
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Aparna
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI tried this tip, and it worked like magic.Thanks for sharing. can u provide us tip to clean brass items?? currently I use Pitambari. Good blog.
Pallavi.
Maami - I cleaned all my silver stuff with your idea for Navarathri - everything is sparkling clean now and my mom was amazed too. She's going to do the same thing once she's back in India. It was super easy to do. Thank you Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Navarathri to all of you at your home. Waiting to see your golu pictures and navarathri recipes!
I cleaned my silver articles using you method and mann were they shining. I don't think they were ever than shiny. It easily took out all the oil residue from nooks and cranies which was really great for my puja items. Thanks for the great tip.
ReplyDeletegreat tip...do u have any tip for cleaning brass lamps(vilakku)?
ReplyDeleteShanthi mami,
ReplyDeleteI am a regular reader of your blog. I want to ask you that if we clean silver idols what happens? Why you said no to silver idols? In your photos i see Lakshmi idol . I cleaned all my silver pooja vessels in your method ..it is awesome. Thanks. I want to clean silver idols too. Please help me.
Silver idols can be cleaned with toothpaste(white in colour) and a NEW TOOTHBRUSH. Even pitambari works. Nothing happens but we see idols as GOD. So, I felt that if we put the idols in boiling water, will it not be hot for the GOD OR GODDESS? That's the reason behind it. However, it depends on one's own mentality and conscience.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is not possible to immerse vigrahas of silver in this aluminium water and "boil" it. Cannot imagine a worshiping vigraha being boiled. The solution is to understand the chemistry. The rate of reaction is actually increased at elevated temperature. Instead allow a couple of days at normal temperature water and gentle mixing once a while. Most important is keeping silver idols in a glass, for example, inverting a good quality BOROSIL beaker over it and opening only in puja time. This will prevent the sulphidation process. Make sure the rim of the beaker rests of a clean cloth of two or three folds to prevent air passing through
DeleteDr SS
Romba nalla tip shanthiji!!!! ithai nethaiku paarkame poitennu iruku!!!! had a pooja @ home yday!! so maangu maangu Silver articles theichen!!!! Friday Cleaning intha method than!!!!
ReplyDeleteExcellent tip for cleaning Silver items.Thanks
ReplyDeleteThanks for this valuable method. My silver is sparkling now! Will do this again!
ReplyDeletecan we use baking soda
ReplyDeletethanks for the great tip....
ReplyDeleteI came across this blog whil on google search for navarathri recipes.Very informative.the traditional recipes are great.Ecofriendly tips on cleaning brass and silver was very useful.I have tried white toothpaste for my silver and that works too.Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeletewhat is cooking soda, i live in the usa what would it be called here?
ReplyDeleteIt is edible soda (powder form) which we use for cooking, and not the baking soda
ReplyDeleteA very useful tip. I was very much impressed by the result and i cannot express my happiness over words.
ReplyDeleteThanks a million. And just so you know, this is the first time i am leaving a comment on a blog :) i normally read things and try out, but since i was very much impressed, i thought i need to thank you and so typing this comment.
Thanks again.
very very useful tip!!! i jus dropped by your blog like most of the above did and i instantly fell in luv wid this ite.. even called up my mom and MIl to follow this blog.
ReplyDeletejust wanted to add my piece of info on this article so that ppl who still hav doubts if their silver could get damaged can confidently go on with this method.(cos wen i tld my frenz the 1st ques they askd was: wil smethng happen to d silver?) i myself was curious to know what happens, so here it goes:
the black colour on silver is its sulphide. when aluminium reacts with silver sulphide the sulphide comes out of silver. this reaction happens in the presence of bakind soda(NaHCO3) and faster if the temp is higher. thats why we boil. so the sulphide sticks to the foil and thats why the aluminium foil turns black!!
3Ag2S+6Al--> 3Al2S+6Ag
(pardon if the balancing is wrong)
Thanks a lot it worked :)
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot, but how do i clean the vigrahams? your vigraham looks so clean what did you do for hte vigraham. Please tell me?
ReplyDeleteyou have advised not to put vigraham in hot water...
Thanks
Wonderful tip Shanti. Lovely blog!
ReplyDeleteAkka, I just tried this to do my Navratri lamps cleaning n it worked like magic... Absolutely stunning idea .. Thank u..
ReplyDeleteI have exactly the same set of kutti vilakku, kamakshi deepam n Sesha peetham
Thank you for the excellent idea on cleaning silver items. You have advised that except silver vigrahams other items can be cleaned using the boiling method. How do you clean the silver vigrahams please.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the excellent article on how to clean silver items, can you also advice the procedure to be followed for silver vigrahams please.
ReplyDeletewow wonderful design and all collection are nice design. Thanks for sharing and More jewelry information please visit.silver pooja articles bangalore
ReplyDeleteOMG!!!! It was just amazing. it worked like a magic. looks awesome now. thanks Shanthi
ReplyDeleteIs cooking soda that you have mentioned different from baking soda? Also do we need to boil the articles in water?
ReplyDeleteIs cooking soda that you have mentioned is baking soda?
ReplyDeleteNice blog and amazing method of cleaning silver items.
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This thali decoration is very beautiful and stunning that attracts to me.
ReplyDeleteBuy puja items online
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ReplyDeleteGreat tip mam... Thank u for the simple neat explanations... Stay Blessed... "Stay Positive and Keep Smiling".
ReplyDelete