As a private music teacher, I am often asked by my students how do you clean a saxophone. We do cover things such as swabbing after use, wiping the neck tenon dry after use, and cleaning the mouthpiece regularly. One thing I don't often get to go into detail is how to clean the e.
Written by Herb Kirchhoff; Updated December 09, 2018
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Silver-plated forks and other silver flatware are susceptible to tarnish, spotting and pitting if they are incorrectly handled and washed. Take extra care if you are washing silver-plated flatware in a dishwasher or you could end up damaging it.
Separate the Metals
Never wash silver-plated flatware with stainless-steel flatware in the same dishwasher load. The silver and stainless steel chemically react in the presence of automatic dish-washing detergent, causing silver ions to disassociate from the silver plate and transfer to the stainless steel. This leaves pits on the silver plate and may cause spotting of the stainless steel, especially if the metals are touching each other.
Safe Way to Clean
Hand washing with a mild dish-washing liquid is the safest way to clean silver-plated flatware. Wash the flatware in hot sudsy water right after the meal is done. Rinse them with cool tap water and immediately dry with a clean, soft cloth.
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About the Author
Herb Kirchhoff has more than three decades of hands-on experience as an avid garden hobbyist and home handyman. Since retiring from the news business in 2008, Kirchhoff takes care of a 12-acre rural Michigan lakefront property and applies his experience to his vegetable and flower gardens and home repair and renovation projects.
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Kirchhoff, Herb. 'What Happens to Silver-Plated Flatware If You Wash It in the Dishwasher With Stainless Steel?' Home Guides | SF Gate, http://homeguides.sfgate.com/happens-silverplated-flatware-wash-dishwasher-stainless-steel-88507.html. 09 December 2018.
Kirchhoff, Herb. (2018, December 09). What Happens to Silver-Plated Flatware If You Wash It in the Dishwasher With Stainless Steel? Home Guides | SF Gate. Retrieved from http://homeguides.sfgate.com/happens-silverplated-flatware-wash-dishwasher-stainless-steel-88507.html
Kirchhoff, Herb. 'What Happens to Silver-Plated Flatware If You Wash It in the Dishwasher With Stainless Steel?' last modified December 09, 2018. http://homeguides.sfgate.com/happens-silverplated-flatware-wash-dishwasher-stainless-steel-88507.html
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