Caring For, Cleaning and Restoring Silver - Reader Question

THIS POST IS FROM ROOM REMIX - THE BLOG .


BHG.com



This is a comment/reader question that was left on the Decorating With Silver Trays post: "I have a slight addiction to silver trays. For some reason I always find ones that I MUST have when I go to the thrift stores!!  I'm curious though if anyone has any ideas on how to make one shine again? I bought a beautifully shaped tray, but the inside of it looks like all of the silver has worn away. :( Any Ideas? I would love to keep it metal and not paint it if I can."

House Beautiful  Photo Reed Davis

Not being any sort of an expert on silver, at all,  I did a little research to see who might be.  I'm sure this post doesn't cover all of the possible sources and information, but it's a summary of what I found.  I hope it will be helpful to Leslie, who asked the question, and to anyone else who is trying to care for, clean or restore any of their silver pieces or silverware.   

Veranda Photo John Grover

How to Care For Silver:
1.  Prevent tarnish by storing silver in acid-free tissue paper or unbleached cotton muslin (found at fabric stores) inside a resealable bag. (source: Real Simple)
2.  Care for Silver (House Beautiful)
3.  Silver Care (Society of American Silversmiths) 

BHG.com

To shine your silver:

Option 1:  Use a silver polish and a clean dry cloth.  myhomeideas.com gives you the full scoop. 

• Good Housekeeping tested 21 silver polishes and shares their findings with you - The Best Silver Polishes.

Option 2:  A more in-depth method from realsimple.com to remove tarnish and polish your silver using household products.

Southern Accents

Replating silver:
1.  How to Tell If Something Is Silver and Not Silver Plate.
2.  What is Silverplate?
3.  How to Replate Worn Silverplate.
4.  How to Repair Silverplate.

Southern Accents has a good article on how to make the most of your silver...

Have an awesome day and don't forget to enter the $220 CSN Stores Shopping Spree Giveaway!

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Removing Vinyl Lettering from Walls

THIS POST IS FROM ROOM REMIX - THE BLOG .

I've had this saying on one of my walls for a while now and, even though I love the saying, I decided I was tired of having it on the wall. I assumed that removing it would be a no-brainer type of project that would take two minutes to do and that would be that. Hmmmm... not true.

I heated the letters with the blow dryer as I was pulling them off (I had heard that this was the best way to ensure that they would come off easily). This worked well, but still left a sticky residue with a clear image of where each letter had been. By the time I got to the last letter, the large H in Home, I was on a roll and got a little ahead of the blow dryer in pulling off the letter. Unfortunately I was left with exposed sheetrock as it pulled the paint off in the form of a large part of the letter. :-( At this point I knew I would be re-painting that section of the wall. I used sandpaper to sand around where the letter had removed the paint to smooth and blend it, and then used rubbing alcohol to remove the sticky residue of the rest of the letters (again, I had read that this was the thing to do). It worked, but the rubbing alcohol removed some of the paint from the wall.

After repainting, the wall looks good as new so it turned out fine, but I have to admit I was a little frustrated during the process.

I would probably use vinyl letters again at some point but not before knowing that there is a way to remove them without having to repaint. I do have flat paint on my walls, so I think this may have been the source of some of my issues? Any experience, comments, ideas on the best way to remove vinyl lettering from walls?

Carpet Tip and Inspiration

This is for those of you who like to remix your furniture as much as I do. (Please don't tell my husband that I just publicly admitted this because I'm always telling him that I do not move the furniture that much!)

A little tip to help remove those stubborn grooves and dents that seem to want to stay in the carpet after you've moved the furniture. I saw it some time ago somewhere (can't remember where) and I've used it several times since with pretty good success.

Lightly spritz (don't soak) the carpet with water and, using your fingers or some other tool (I think they suggested a fork), massage the carpet and blow it dry with your blow dryer. I used the warm, not hot, setting on my blow dryer. If you DO use your hands, you should use gloves or something. I have a blister on my finger today from just using my hands and not protecting them.

Carpet in one of my rooms before:

Carpet after (not completely gone yet, but much better):

I can't possibly just post boring carpet photos and nothing else, so here's a little inspiration for today. No rhyme or reason to it really...

To view this awesome room photo click on the source -

Source: Traditional Home

Have a great day!