Or, if you are just using this for a kid’s party, you could try …

Use Electrolysis Cleaning for Gentle Silver Plate Care. Cleaning Tarnish, Corrosion and Polishing Silver. The term flatware refers to diner and salad forks, teaspoons and tablespoons and knifes. The hot water and baking soda act as a plating bath. While you can have it professionally-cleaned, it is less expensive to clean silver-plated jewelry at home. You might also encounter a lacquer problem if it wasn’t applied properly, and that can ruin the look of your fine silver. European silver has different hallmarks, including a leopard head, anchor, standing lion, crowns and numbers.You may need to use a magnifying glass to read the word "Sterling" or to see the European hallmarks. Using baking soda and water is one of the most popular tricks to clean tarnish off silver. Tarnish is actually a very old word deriving from as far back as Proto Germanic and means to darken.

I’ve had this collection of silver spoons and serving pieces for years, and never really got around to cleaning them. It only takes a few minutes to do and seconds for results to happen. And when the time does come to clean them, did you know you don't have to use synthetic cleaners to remove the tarnish? Cleaning Tarnished Silver The short answer: A good silver polish and "elbow grease". Exposure to air over time can cause metal items to go from shiny and sleek to dull and course. You just need to mix baking soda with warm water and make a thick paste and apply it directly on the tarnished part and rub it with a rug. Both sterling silver and silver plated silverware will bring elegance to the dinner table.

Silver is very soft and easily damaged, and once you go down the road of trying more and more abrasive methods, you may devalue the piece. After cleaning several pieces, you will notice that the foil has become quite dark. Sometimes the lacquer will wear off and begin to peel. Look for the "Sterling" sign imprinted on the silver's surface. All sterling made in the United States since the 1850s has a sterling mark. You are doing electroplating, and the ions of silver sulfide (aka tarnish) are plated onto the aluminum foil. Apply with a damp sponge, then rinse and dry. You'll be able to tell how long your silver will need based on how much tarnish is still left on the piece. And when the time does come to clean them, did you know you don't have to use synthetic cleaners to remove the tarnish? It is a chemical reaction, which allows the tarnishing on silver transferred and absorbed by the aluminum foil. It is better to line the pot with foil.

If you find tarnish too difficult to remove, contact a reputable silver conseravator to avoid further damaging your piece.

Knowing how to remove silver plating from items like jewelry or flatware is useful if you want to strip off old, weathered silver as a first step toward replating the item with new silver.

Next you… According to Silver Institute.org, The properties that make silver ideal for jewelry makes it also ideal for silverware.