Household Discoveries and Mrs. Curtis's Cook Book

Household Discoveries and Mrs. Curtis's Cook Book, (c)1914 — the great household encyclopedia: cleaning, curing, building, baby care, and a whole cookbook bound in.

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The Day's Routine: Afterwards

To Polish Tarnished Silver. - After boiling tarnished silver, if necessary apply with a sponge or rag powdered whiting moistened with sweet oil or alcohol. Rub over the articles thoroughly with this and allow it to dry on. Afterwards rub it off with a soft cloth and polish with chamois leather.

Or use prepared chalk and alcohol.

If the articles are carved or rough, use a soft bristle brush to remove the cleanser.

Or, if silver is badly tarnished, moisten whiting with ammonia, or polish with a cloth dipped in ammonia water or in a mixture of 1 teaspoonful of ammonia water and 10 teaspoonfuls of vinegar. But use the ammonia with caution, as it tends to dull the luster of the finest silver.

Or use whiting moistened with vinegar.

Or polish with flannel dipped in kerosene and afterwards in dry whiting.

Or, to remove stains that remain after boiling, take a piece of raw potato dipped in common baking soda. Or dissolve 1 tablespoonful of alum and 1 ounce of hard white soap in 1 pint of water, and apply by rubbing.

Or the burned-out hood or mantel of a Welsbach gas burner is one of the most effective silver polishes. Drop the hood into a tin spice can or other small covered can or jar, and pulverize it with the fingers. It will fall to pieces at a touch. Moisten a cloth with water and apply the pulverized ash to the tarnished spots. One hood will clean about two dozen knives, forks, or spoons.

Or put all the silver in a shallow pan, cover with sour milk or buttermilk, and let it lie until it is bright. Afterwards wash in soapsuds and polish.

To Remove Egg Stains. The sulphur contained in eggs speedily discolors any silver that comes in contact with it. The air is also contaminated from the sulphur in illuminating gas, other gaslights, or gas cook stoves, and from rubber. Hence silver should be kept from contact with these or any other sulphur compound. A small piece of camphor put with the silver will prevent it from staining. To remove the stains moisten a cloth in water and dip it in dry table salt. Rub with this and polish.

Or wash them in water in which potatoes have been boiled.

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