I Tried Martha Stewart’s Method for Polishing Silver, and It Honestly Worked Like Magic

I am the proud owner of my grandparents’ entire dining room set. And when I say entire, I mean every single item that fills our dining room — from the custom-made table and the art portraying Italian monuments to the end chairs and the china and silver that are in a credenza. I have 24 place settings of exquisite china and the silver service that goes with it, including serving platters and coffeepots.

But real talk: My family uses the dining room once a year, on average, usually for our Thanksgiving dinner. Even sadder, I haven’t used any of the silver other than the utensils in well over a decade because it’s tarnished. It always feels like such a waste that these beautiful pieces are hidden away. 

So when I saw Martha Stewart’s recommendation for polishing silver, I got inspired to get my special silver presentable for whenever we had a special occasion to celebrate next. I pulled out a gorgeous silver coffeepot, which was super tarnished even though I kept it in a felt bag. 

Martha has been using Wright’s Silver Cream for years as her go-to silver polish. Along with the silver cream, you’ll need cloths, gloves, a soft moistened sponge or soft cloth, water, and dish soap. I read over the instructions on how to clean silver and modified them slightly to fit my situation.

Here’s a step-by-step of everything I did: 

1. Martha lays down a terry cloth and polishes her silver in her sink, but I opted to set up a towel on the counter for my coffeepot.
2. I put on gloves, so I didn’t have to worry about the silver cream coming into contact with my skin. 
3. There was a small polishing cloth inside the Wright’s Silver Cream, so I decided to use it.
4. I coated the coffeepot with the silver cream, using the sponge to make sure the cream got into all the detail work on the silver. 
5. I rinsed the pot clean with cool water. I decided not to use dish soap like Martha does with her silverware since I was only polishing the outside of my coffeepot. 
6. I coated the coffeepot with the silver cream once more.
7. I rinsed again with cool water. 
8. Then I buffed thoroughly with a dry microfiber cloth. 

The first round of silver cream left the coffeepot looking a bit spotted and not quite tarnish-free, so I repeated the process and I was happy (and relieved) to find that the second round left the pot looking super clean and silver-sparkly. The pot was so pretty, I couldn’t stop turning it around and admiring it. 

Wright’s Silver Cream made it so easy to polish the silver, a task that I’d been putting off for years and years because I thought it would be so labor-intensive. But using it was straightforward, effective, and, honestly, kind of therapeutic. Even if you don’t have actual silver to polish, the cream can also be used on porcelain, chrome, and even stainless steel. 

Immediately after I cleaned my silver coffeepot, I texted my mom and my sister pictures and they ooohed and ahhhed right along with me. I kept the coffeepot out because I kept glancing at it, haha! Really, what polishing my silver coffeepot made me want to do was throw a little tea party so I could enjoy it with some friends. It’s this — bringing one of my special “someday” treasures into my daily life — that ultimately makes this cleaning task worthwhile and enjoyable.