Pretty sure this spoon was silver - has the dishwasher destroyed it? How can I try and fix it?!

[Octonautsoctopod]

I’m pretty lazy when it comes to cleaning my dishes. Dishwasher all the way.

A few years ago I bought some vintage silverware (wasn’t hugely expensive) and have been dishwasherjnf it.

It now looks like this - destroyed???! Or can I somehow clean it?

My dishwasher seems to kill all my dishes. Even bamboo / plastic cups

I suppose if it was plated rather than solid silver, the plate could have come off. The washing tablets are abrasive.

It might just be tarnish - try a silver cleaner.

My best cutlery is plate. It can be washed in the washer, but says it shouldn't be washed with stainless steel as it can cause staying so it could be that.

What do the marks say? Is there an EPNS stamp on them? If yes it means it’s silver plate and you’ve probably washed the plate away in the dishwasher.

Who puts vintage silverware in the dishwasher?

I’ve got silver cutlery that I use for fancy occasions but NEVER dish washer it. It’s the only thing I hand wash.

Not sure your going to be able to save that.....

Eek! I have been dishwashering it for about six years. But I think there’s something weird about my new dishwasher (new house, had for about a year). This is what it has done to melamine cups...

I will try a silver cleaner. The set was inexpensive and in my old dishwasher, was ok. Wonder if it’s this one, or the plate has just worn off

If it is silver and you can't clean with silver polish alone, you can boil it in white vinegar. Bring it up to the boil, switch off and leave it to soak for about 10 mins. It stinks, but it'll clean all the tarnish off. Or You can boil some water and add equal quantities of white vineger and boiling water to a bowl and leave it soaking for longer. Then give it a rub with some silver polish or toothpaste on a cloth if it looks matte, and it'll be back to its gleaming self.
I've done the same with my DC's spoon, sometimes it's just quicker to bung it in the dishwasher. But it has ended up looking very similar to yours. Like a pp said, I think it's a reaction to another metal.

Could it be the silver plate staining the melamine?

No idea about silver but I've found melamine will take on colour and stain from other things. Some of our cups went a bright orange from bolognese sauce so I hand wash all plastic now.

It does look like tarnish, which is silver sulfide.

I'm wondering if maybe the water at your new house has any sulfide ions or maybe the dishwasher has a sulfur-containing rubber seal. (I once left a rubber band on a silver-plated tray, wont be doing that again!). Not sure that this is likely but if it is tarnish then there's got to be a chemical explanation for the difference between what you're seeing now and your old house/dishwasher.

It’s not the dishwasher, it will be the tablets or the water itself.
Get polish and try that first on the silverware. Don’t wash it using abrasive tablets.

Can you take it to a jeweller? I suppose you can’t really see if there are any hallmarks on it!

Give it a rub under the tap.with some tin foil. I made lots of mine look.like new. Can also soak them wrapped in tinfoil overnight in plain water.

I second the foil/boiling water/baking soda method - nice bit of electrochemical cleaning, and very easy

Try one of Lakeland's silver cleaning products. I have ended up with similar quite a few times and those products have worked a treat

Thanks all! I’m going to try these tips tomorrow morning! Starting with the items I already have, working my way up to silver cleaner!

I use Ecover dishwasher tablets. Anyone had any experienced with those being too harsh?

The ingredient list of Ecover dishwasher tablets includes magnesium sulfate. I'm not sure whether this will tarnish silver but it's a possible culprit. For comparison I looked at the ingredients of one of the types of Finish tablets, it didn't appear to include any sulfur-containing compounds.

It's not a question of 'harshness', it's specific chemistry.

Is there a hallmark? I discovered my mum's 'silver' spoons are plated, hallmark explains it. They aren't wrecked, despite constant dishwasher use.

We have plated cutlery which belonged to my in-laws and when it goes ibn the dishwasher you see the plate comes off. On newer plate it is dishwashable so it could be your spoons are older and after plenty of dishwashing the plate has finally gone.
Maybe your new dishwasher is hotter or more turbo charged. Maybe it distributes more salt into the water hence hurting your cups etc?🤷‍♀️

We were told not to put silver stuff next to stainless steel in the dishwasher. Apparently it tarnishes worse.

That’s interesting about stainless steel - I definitely dishwasher them both together every now and again!

I’m going to have a look for a hallmark in a bit... I haven’t noticed one!

That’s interesting, errol!! I wonder if that chemistry is what is doing it? It’s certainly something different. All my dishes are a bit odd since moving here and using it (and those tablets) daily

I wonder, glam!

What clever MNers. I liked this thread :)

Same!!! DocusDiplo

Tomato ketchup can remove silver tarnish.

What has become of the spoon op?

How to make a simple battery to generate an electric current :

Put two different metals (copper and tin for example. Or silver and steel) into an acidic environment where they aren't touching each other

• embed them in a lemon, suspend them in a cup of vinegar or immerse them in a solution of water and detergents.

In the acid, there will be positive and negative ions. The positive ones will be attracted to one metal and the negative to the other - this difference in charge creates a simple electric battery.

As the current is used, both metals will tarnish as the ions from the acid react with the metals.

Congratulations on your science experiment OP.

Silver doesn't go in the dishwasher.