I haven't talked to anyone who likes to clean silver, although I am sure there are some folks out there who do.

I want to clean it with as little effort as possible. This excludes sand & salt and "silver pastes."

I want it to be easy. Here are two ways to go.

1. Tarn-X; or Noxon. Buy this at the grocery store, a hardware store, a home improvement store, etc.

• Cut a 2"-wide piece off the short end of a regular sponge (not the kind with the abrasive surface on one of the sides).
• Dip half-way into Tarn-X/Noxon and spread (yes!) on silver. You may have to rub just a bit if there are flowers/fruit/leaves/etc. in relief, but not much.
• Wash in hot, soapy water, rinse well, drain about 1 minute, and hand dry thoroughly. Dry VERY well and leave to air dry overnight, setting bottom-up.
• If you're doing a vegetable dish or a teapot, set the piece with the bottom up. You will get "extra" drying on the bottom, so there is as small as possible a chance that you will mar the surface of your china cabinet/table/etc. when you put the piece away.
• This is strong stuff, so finish with hand lotion.

• Find a large pot. I use a 12-quart "chili pot." (That's what our family calls a large pot - for obvious reasons.) Some people use the sink. Guess you could use the bathtub, too, if you have large trays! Container must be water-tight.
• Concoct your cleaning solution. The ratio is
  1/8 c baking soda : 1/8 c salt : 1 quart water

  Nine quarts fills my pot with some room to slop around. To this, I add about 1 1/4 c baking soda and 1 1/4 c salt.

• Take a large piece of aluminum foil and line the pan/whatever. The items must contact the foil.
• Bring solution to just below the boil. It should be "steaming." Keep the pot on the stove and regulate heat; should not boil.
• Put pieces into solution. They must be in contact with the foil, remember. Let them soak until they are no longer discolored. If they are in bad shape, it might take 5 minutes or so.
• When the foil is dark and nasty (that's the sulfur reacting with the aluminum), replace it.
• Wash in warm soapy water and rinse well.
• Dry VERY well and leave to air dry overnight, setting bottom-up.

Silver is a wonderful conductor of heat! Use tongs with nylon/silicone tips to lift stuff out.

Remove ALL wax and "candle clay" from the "cups" of your candlesticks. If you don't, when it melts you'll have wax/goo all over everything else. (Ask how I found this out.) Do candlesticks last. These days, I do the "cup" parts of the candelabras with Tarn-X and the stem/base with the baking soda solution, just to make certain there are no bits of wax/clay lurking. Tighten candles in "cups" with 1/8"-wide strips of paper towels, wrapping one or two (or more!) strips around base of candle to make it stand straight.

I do the tray of my tea service with Tarn-X because it is too large for my chili pot and kitchen sink, and I don't want to use my bathtub (tote multiple containers of boiling water to bathroom). I do the rest of the tea service with the baking soda bath.

Be careful with silver-plated items (they will be marked "silver-plated," "plated," or something like this. Pure silver is marked "sterling." In silver-plated items, the layer of silver is quite thin. If your pieces remain "tarnished" and they are not marked "sterling," you will have to have the pieces re-plated. The silver is gone. Sorry.

No matter which method you select, have plenty of tea towels on hand for drying! Any left-over water will show later as streaks and circles.

Always finish with hand lotion. Your hands will be very dry. You also could try rubber gloves (and I have done this), but I like the control that I have with bare hands because I don't want to drop anything and dent it.