Sterling silver is beautiful, no matter what object it takes, like a tea set or piece of jewelry. Tarnish may make the sterling only temporarily ugly but the good news is that it can easily be polished quickly without too much of a mess. Once your sterling silver is polished, you can proudly display it in your home.

After you purchase a can of sterling silver polish, check inside the package to see if a soft sponge is included. Some containers do not always include this, which is used to apply the polish to the sterling silver. In the event no sponge is used, get a soft synthetic sponge with even holes throughout it. These sponges are usually gray in color and thin so they are easy to use for projects like this. A hardware or department store usually carries sponges like this.

Moisten the sponge with a little bit of warm water. It doesn’t have to be drenched in water; squeeze out the water before dipping the sponge into the polish jar. The polish will look like a pink paste. Proceed to rub the paste into the sterling silver using circular motions. The tarnish will come off with the sponge. Rinse the sponge before apply more paste to another area and repeat the process.

On sterling silver pieces that have intricate detail work, use an old toothbrush to apply the paste and rub in between crevices. This will remove tarnish more easily than the sponge will. Rinse off the remaining polish from the silver with warm water, and wipe dry. You can set the newly polished pieces on a towel to dry.

Wash off your hands from any sterling polish residue and clean up your work area. Now your sterling silver is bright and shiny.