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If you’re like me, then you’ve probably tried several different types of silver polish to clean tarnished silver pieces.
Most of these types of products do work, but they can also smell bad and be harmful to your hands.
If you don’t already have a product to clean your silver with, or you’re just looking for a simple (and cheap) way to polish your silver… try chalk!
Here are before and after photos:
Before… After…
You may be a little skeptical at first, but using chalk to remove silver tarnish really does work.
Just find an old piece of chalk! (If you have children, then chances are it won’t be hard to find some chalk quickly.)
Materials Needed
- A couple of white chalk sticks
- A plastic bowl
- Something hard that you can use to crush the chalk (a glass coffee cup will work — use the bottom of the cup to crush the chalk in a bowl)
- A soft sponge
- A medium-size soft cloth
How To Clean Tarnished Silver With Chalk
- Place the chalk into a bowl.
- Crush it into a fine powder.
- Add water — until it makes a paste. (It doesn’t take much.)
- Take a damp, soft sponge and apply the paste to the sponge.
- Rub the chalk paste all over the item in a circular motion — beginning on a small area of the silver and working out.
- Use a medium-size soft cloth to remove all of the chalky paste. (Apply a little bit of pressure, as you buff it off.)
Wa-lah… With chalk you should be able to achieve the same results as any silver polish that you could buy in a store.
Try it and see for yourself. You will probably be surprised by the results — and you will definitely be saving money!
Other Uses For Chalk
- 12 Things You Never Knew Chalk Could Do (…includes removing tarnish from silver, polishing silver, and other tips from Bob Vila)
- How To Use Chalk To Keep Silverware From Tarnishing (…as seen in Real Simple magazine)
- Make Your Own Silver Polishing Dip (…using chalk)
- How To Prevent Silver Jewelry From Tarnishing (…using a stick of chalk)
I’m a professional house cleaner. I have been self-employed for the past several years, and I thoroughly enjoy cleaning houses for a living. Yes, it can be very tiring, but I find that it can be very rewarding, too.
