Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1930-01-24
HOme-Making Helps
BY ROSS

heeP tHe ouCer ShtHtug.
S6TTow can | keep the sparkle
Of this lovely silver
always?" that's the first
thought. on behoIding a new set
Silver Is one Of the very few items
In the household thai q be ex-
pected TO last ones lifetime. its
beauty unimpaired. But II does need
q certain amount Of attention regu-
larly.
To begin with. silver requires
careful placing. The simplest
method Is TO keep IL in the fitted
box In which received-if II is the
compartment style. where each piece
has a groove OF its own. and nc two
pieces can touch each other. II the
silver has not come In such a box,
then the least expensive c~cntainer
is one made OF red or gray cotton
flannel. white flannel Is not de-
sirable because the chemicals used
in bleaching the material may cause
the silver 10 tarnish.
These flannel cases can be pur-
chased for any quantity OF silver.
from a few spoons TO complete dinner
sets. including serving knives.
spoons. ladies', etc. The fitted case
a then be suspended on a door on
the pantry or wherever most con-
venient to dining room. And since
there Is room In zach stitched space
only for item. there Is little
chance that silver win be thrown In
c~arelessly In a hurried moment.
A o expensive container for
silver IL one made to order. and con
sisting or shallow trays made with
special wooden grooves. in which
each piece fits perfectly. In turn.
these grooved trays lit into the
drawers of sideboard. buffet or what
ever kind OF space they are ordered
for. Trays and grooves are all
tightly lined with flannel. completely
protecting the silver from mars or
scratches.
II a few pieces OF silver are pur-
chased at a time. these special
and eventually a perfectly fitted cab
pearls. n at a time.
Another small job that helps 70
preserve silver brightly is to give II
a bit OF rubbing at every use. A
piece OF chamois or specially pre-
pared cloth. such as sold by silver
smiths. should be kept In the
drawer with the silver. A quick
flick over each piece Just before u
is placed on the table VII add a
sparkle "a the whole table
as for cleaning. hot soapy water
Is usually adequate. A quick i'm
mersion. hot rinse and drying Is
sufficient daily treatment. Egg.
stained spoons or forks can first be
treated with a salt and cold water
solution before washing.
Silver. OF course. will tarnish. and
for all sorts OF reasons having moth
ing to do with the quality OF the
silver. II gas or coal are burned In
the room. there will DO sulphur com
pounds In the air. and this will tar
nish silver. no matter how little II
In exposed. Contact with rubber.
with bleached or dyed fabrics. win
tarnish silver. But as this is only
a surface discolorstion. IL requires
little effort 10 emov
There are all sorts OF excellent
cleansers for this purpose. Fine
whiting, silver pastes and polishes
car be rubbed OF to the silver.
allowed to dry. then wiped off with
a soft cloth or a bit Of chamois. A
quicker way 10 clean silver Is 70 i'm
merse all In an aluminium kettle con.
tanning ! teaspoon Of washing or
baking soda and l teaspoon Of salt
for each quart OF water. There
should be enough water TO cover the
silver completely. and the utensIl
should be large enough SC that each
piece OF silver can touch the alumni
mum. Bring 10 a boil. then remove
the silver. wash and dry. The alumni
mum container will be d~iscolored and
must be cleaned thoroughly before
using.
There are prepared silver cleaning
utensils that ma be purchased for
this purpose alone.