Wear cotton gloves as much as possible when handling your silver. This will prevent the oils and acids from your hands from ending up on the object. Cotton gloves are very inexpensive, and can be purchased at photography supply stores and some drug stores. Do not store or display your silver with other objects, which contain sulphur. This includes keratin-based objects, such as horn and tortoiseshell.
Keratin contains sulphur, which is released as the keratin ages, or begins to break down.
Latex, which is found in elastics and latex gloves, also contains enough sulphur to cause silver to tarnish. Remove all elastics from your silverware, and do not wear latex gloves to protect your hands when you do polish your silver. Glues and sealers used in the construction of storage or display cabinets may also contain sulphur. If you have a new storage cabinet, let it air out for at least a month before putting your silver in it. You can minimize the effect of any cabinet-based sulphur by following the next step.