CARE AND CLEANING

Tarnish is created by warm air, dust, and sunlight. Heated air contains a small amount of carbon and sulfide (a mixture similar to smog), which chemically react with the surface of silver and cause tarnish to develop. In air, a silver object can tarnish owing to the reaction of silver with hydrogen sulfide naturally present in the air .

Silver and silver-plated objects naturally react with sulfur and sulfur compounds to produce silver sulfide (Ag2S), or tarnish. Contact of silver and silver-plated items with materials which contain sulfur compounds, such as hardboiled eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, and rubber bands will also cause tarnish.

The chemical reaction of silver with hydrogen sulfide to form tarnish is shown below:

• Silver left unused and uncared for will tarnish. However silver that is daily used will shine. Therefore, the more frequent you use your silverware, the less chance it will tarnish at all.
• Acids and salts contained in food cause silver to oxidize. The prolonged contact of acidic substances with silver can damage the silver product. Get into the habit of washing your silverware after use with soft sponge and hot soapy water. Rinse it afterwards in clean, hot water and dry it with a soft flannel towel.
• When your silver needs brightening, use a silver cleaning polish and follow its instruction. Today's tarnish silver polishes make silver cleaning easy and infrequent task.
• Silver is a very soft metal. It is normal that it gets scratched with use. When cleaning your silver, rub each piece lengthwise, NEVER crosswise or in circular motion to avoid heavily scratching the silver surface.

• Cleaning the silverware depends mostly on the conditions of their storage. The less heat and humidity of the storage, the less is the frequency of cleaning.
• It is highly advisable that the silver is cleaned as soon as the silver starts tarnishing (starts to become yellowish).
• If tarnish cleaning is NOT performed occasionally, heavy tarnishing will build up which might lead the tarnish color to change from yellow to black. Cleaning will then become difficult and it will cause heavy scratching of the silver, and even might need to be polished on specialized machine to be able to remove the heavy tarnish.
• If silver is not being used, it is advisable that it is stored in specially impregnated anti tarnish pouch.
• It is imperative to occasional visually inspect the silverware stock for its appearance and tarnish situation.

• ALWAYS make sure your silverware is cleaned, washed and finger print free before storage.
• We highly recommend the use of cotton or latex gloves when handling and cleaning silverware. This is essential to prevent the finger prints from being applied to your silverware.
• It is highly recommended to store your silverware in a special anti-tarnish flannel impregnated bags. This will protect them during storage from tarnishing. You can always contact our customer service department for the available sizes on sales@siomorfevres.com
• In the event it is difficult to obtain a special anti-tarnish impregnated bags, it is advisable to use 100% white cotton Soft Flannel to wrap your silverware. Please make sure that the flannel used is not dyed with color as during the dying process chemicals and colors are used which might contain sulfur or acids which will react with the silverware causing it to tarnish and even might damage it.
• It is not recommended to store you silver in plastic wraps (cling film, shrink wrap, saran wrap, polyfilm) as some wraps contains sulfur and trap moisture, both of which encourage tarnishing. In warm temperature, the plastic can stick to the metal and chemicals can leach from the plastic into the silver surface which can cause permanent damage to your silverware.
• Display or store silver away from heat or sunlight. The ideal temperature to display or store silver is 18°C (65°F). Store all silverware at a room temperature between 15°C & 25°C. The higher the temperature, the more humidity, and the more the silverware will tarnish.
• For large storage room, It is highly recommended to use a dehumidifier to reduce the humidity in the storage area to about 40%. The less humid the better the silver is protected.
• All silverware must be handled with utmost care. Do not put silverware items into each other as they will be scratch beyond repair. Even heavy polishing will not remove the scratches if this occurs.
• USE HAND WASHING and CLEANING whenever possible.
• ONLY Professional silver cleaning compound must be used.

• Clean your silver Except with Soapy Soft Sponge. No scouring pads, Jiffy compounds, or bleaching compounds are allowed. The use of these items will IRREVOCABLY damage the silver.
• Use unknown Polishing and Anti Tarnish Compound. ONLY Professional silver cleaning compound must be used.
• Leave food, sauce, acids and salts overnight in your silver.
• Store your silverware in Warm and Humid places
• Wash silver on a rubber mat. Rubber contains sulfur that darkens the surface of silver and leaves black marks only a silversmith can remove.

• SIOM's silverware are dishwasher safe.
  
  Please follow the guidelines below before using the dishwasher.
• Clean your silver with Soapy Soft Sponge to remove all food residues before placing it into the dishwasher.
• Follow the dishwasher instructions concerning the soft water required. Water with high hardness and mineral content can be corrosive.
• Segregate your flatware and place them according to their type together (i.e. Knives / Forks / Spoons). Place the segregated items in similar directions. (ex: blades down for knives, prongs down for forks). This helps to avoid items scratching each other.
• The alkaline content in some detergents (high phosphate dishwasher soap) is harmful to Silver, a mild detergent without bleach is recommended.
• NEVER wash silver and stainless steel together. Always wash silver plated articles separately. An electrolytic reaction occurs when silver and stainless steel are washed together. Ions of silver disassociate, transfer to stainless steel, and leave silver articles pitted.

• USE ONLY CHLORINE-FREE DETERGENT

• The Stainless Steel cutleries are considered stain resistant. However, they are not completely stain proof. It is highly recommended to rinse and wash cutlery after every use to keep it in the best condition.
  
  One of the most common cause for the pitting and the staining of the stainless steel cutlery is the extended contact with acidic materials such as salt, vinegar, egg, tomato sauce, acidic fruits, aggressive detergents and hard tap water which contains high mineral salts.
  
  It is advisable to follow the below instructions to best preserve your stainless steel cutlery for your day to day usage.
• Wash before first use and immediately after each use.
• Do not soak your stainless steel cutlery in water overnight as mineral salts present in the water may damage the metal surface.
• After washing, rinse with hot water as this can reduce the chemical reaction of salts or acids.
• NEVER wash silver and stainless steel together. Always wash silver plated articles separately. An electrolytic reaction occurs when silver and stainless steel are washed together. Ions of silver disassociate, transfer to stainless steel, and leave silver articles pitted.
• Wash the knives separately using the dishwasher as the knives are made of 401 stainless steel while the rest of the cutlery are made of 403 stainless steel.
• Segregate your flatware and place them according to their type together (i.e. Knives / Forks / Spoons). Place the segregated items in similar directions. (ex: blades down for knives, prongs down for forks). This helps to avoid items scratching each other.
• Immediately dry the cutlery after dishwasher cleaning while being attentive to the knife blades. Cutlery left in damp conditions can become stained or damaged.
• Never leave the cutlery in a closed dishwasher.
• Follow both the dishwasher and detergent manufacturer's guideline for best usage.
• Use stainless steel polishers to restore the cutlery to its original condition since cutlery shine may begin to fade due to normal usage.
• Avoid washing with any products containing abrasive properties such as wire wool or other abrasive cleaners.
• Before washing the cutlery in dishwasher, make sure to rinse off any acidic food residue.

Cutlery

Before washing the PVD flatware, please follow the below guidelines carefully.

• Rinse very well your cutlery before putting it in the dishwasher in order to remove any food residues, as well as any salts or acids that may be contained in particular foods. Prolonged exposure to these salts and acidic food residues may cause damage to your cutlery.
• Segregate your flatware and place them according to their type together (i.e. Knives / Forks / Spoons). Place the segregated items in similar directions. (ex: blades down for knives, prongs down for forks). This helps to avoid items scratching each other.
• NEVER wash PVD colored cutlery together with silver or stainless steel cutlery. Always wash PVD cutlery separately.
• When using the dishwasher, avoid aggressive detergents as these could damage your cutlery. Use a very mild detergent. The alkaline content in some detergents (high phosphate dishwasher soap) is harmful to PVD, a mild detergent without bleach is recommended. Use gentle detergents with a phosphate level below 3% and avoid the use of sodium.
• Separate your knives from the forks and/or spoons in the cutlery basket, as the knives are made of a different type of steel and the contact of different types of steel could damage your cutlery.
• DO NOT use any bleach detergent.
• Never use FAIRY PLATINUM, PLATINUM PLUS or FINISH QUANTUM ULTIMATE PRO dishwasher tablets. These products are abrasive on the PVD coating.
• Use a dishwasher program following the below maximum temperatures:
  • Pre-wash 45°C maximum
  • Washing phase 60°C maximum 
  • Sanitizing phase 80°C maximum 
• Remove the items from the dishwasher when the cycle is finished and gently towel dry your cutlery with a soft cotton or flannel cloth to prevent spotting. detergent and water will leave marks if left to air dry.
• Never use an abrasive cloth or scourer, this will cause irreparable scratches.

HOLLOWARE

• Avoid throwing or using sharp objects on the PVD Coated surface as this will scratch and damage the PVD coating beyond repair.
• DO NOT use an abrasive cloth or scourer to clean the surface, this will cause irreparable scratches and damage.
• When cleaning, rub each piece lengthwise, NEVER crosswise or in circular motion to avoid scratching the surface.
• We recommend the use of cotton or latex gloves when cleaning to prevent the finger prints from being applied to the PVD surface.