How to clean & care for cutlery properly

Important care tips

How to prevent cutlery from becoming tarnished

Always handle your fine cutlery very carefully to ensure it remains a sparkling addition to your table setting. Cleaning and caring for your cutlery properly is the best way to prevent stains and deposits forming in the first place. Correct storage is important too. Store silver cutlery in a dry and airtight place to prevent dark stains. Wrap it carefully in a cotton cloth, multiple layers of napkin, aluminium foil or cling film. Read on to find out how to get your cutlery to shine and prevent unsightly stains:

Always rinse cutlery in clean water after cooking and after every use. This will remove the larger remnants of food before it goes into the dishwasher.
To stop your cutlery becoming tarnished, always use a suitable dishwasher detergent and ensure no corrosive salt enters the dishwasher cycle.

Tip:

Leave space between cutlery in the dishwasher rather than packing the items too tightly, so that the cutlery is rinsed more thoroughly.

Why does my cutlery become tarnished?

Cutlery is exposed to various stresses and strains in daily use. Despite its highly resistant and robust composition, cutlery can become stained, in particular after contact with acidic foods or salt. Discolouration from tea or coffee can also occur if you do not wash your cutlery carefully. Water stains can appear on cutlery if it is not taken out of the dishwasher soon enough after washing or if too much detergent is used.

Polishing cutlery

Are you wondering how to clean tarnished cutlery and make it shiny once more? You can select different polishes for your stainless steel, copper or silver cutlery sets and apply them using a cloth. Then rinse the product off with clean water and leave the items to dry completely.

A summery table with a plate from the Villeroy & Boch Old Luxembourg collection and Boston glasses.

Stainless steel, silver cutlery and the like

Cleaning your cutlery properly

There are various household tricks you can use to clean cutlery made from different materials. To make your Cromargan or stainless steel cutlery shine, we recommend a starch bath. Immersing cutlery in water leftover from boiling potatoes will remove even the most stubborn greasy residue. Afterwards, rinse your stainless steel cutlery in clean water and dry it thoroughly.

Even silver-plated cutlery responds well to certain homemade remedies. First, rinse your silver cutlery carefully. Then fill a large bowl with salt and warm water. Wrap the silver cutlery to be cleaned in aluminium foil and place it in the warm water for an hour. After this, you can clean the silver cutlery as usual, with no need for any special products. However, a word of caution when drying the items: use a cotton cloth to polish them! Silver is more delicate than stainless steel and could be scratched by a rough microfibre cloth.

A table set with Afina plates shown in a side view to see the floating effect of the plates.

How to clean and care for silver cutlery

To keep your stylish cutlery sets looking good, including the versatile Victor and modern NewMoon collections, place some chalk or salt in the cutlery drawer. These materials will absorb moisture which will help care for and protect your silver cutlery.

How do I make stainless steel cutlery shine again?

Do you prefer the timelessly elegant Piemont cutlery set or the modern Blacksmith table cutlery? To restore the shine to these two stainless steel sets, all you need is a little baking soda and some lemon juice. Alternatively, you can mix up a fine polishing paste using chalk and alcohol and then use this to polish them and reveal their shine.

Methods & household tricks

How can I get my cutlery really clean again?

As you now know, there are various household remedies you can use to help restore the shine of your tarnished cutlery. Depending on the material, you can use baking soda, lemon juice, or even cola to clean your cutlery.

Caution: Delicate materials such as silver do not tolerate acidic products. However, you can use baking soda and lemon juice for stainless steel sets. We recommend that you avoid using steel wool or abrasive materials to apply these household products. Use soft lint-free sponges and cloths to apply the solution to your cutlery. To remove stubborn stains and rust, which appears as a brown stain on the cutlery, you can use phosphoric acid. For this, use regular cola and soak your cutlery in it.

Washing cutlery in the dishwasher

With a few exceptions, Villeroy & Boch’s high-quality cutlery sets are dishwasher-safe. You can clean gold-plated sets, such as MetroChic, and simple stainless steel cutlery such as the Ella collection in your dishwasher. However, we recommend that you clean our dishwasher-safe silver cutlery separately. Do not put these items in the dishwasher together with stainless steel utensils as the harder material could scratch the more delicate silver.

Cleaning cutlery using aluminium foil

Using aluminium foil when cleaning will leave your stainless steel and silver cutlery sparkling. Simply place tarnished cutlery or cutlery with unsightly coffee or tea stains in a bowl lined with aluminium foil. Add warm water and a little salt and leave your cutlery to soak for an hour. When you take it out again, the stains should have disappeared and your cutlery will be beautifully shiny again.

Can you use vinegar to remove rust stains from cutlery?

Vinegar is a tried and tested alternative to aluminium foil for rust stains. You can simply immerse your stainless steel cutlery in vinegar and water. This household remedy is particularly useful to clean rust stains, fingerprints and limescale from cutlery. Wash and dry the cutlery thoroughly afterwards.

Cleaning cutlery

Baking soda, a common household product

Baking soda is another tried-and-tested household product that you can use to clean your stainless steel cutlery. To remove stubborn stains or clean your tarnished cutlery, cover the items in a paste made from water and baking soda. Mix three tablespoons of baking soda with one tablespoon of water and rub it over your cutlery. Then rinse, polish and dry the items as described above. Baking soda is a particularly good ingredient for removing tea stains.

Cleaning cutlery with citric acid

Citric acid will also make your dirty cutlery shine once more. Use a dry cotton cloth to rub a little citric acid or lemon juice onto the items. Then rinse the cutlery in clean water and leave it to dry thoroughly.

Cleaning cutlery with baking powder

Baking powder can also be used to clean cutlery. Mix some baking powder with water to make a paste and apply it to the contaminated area. Then wash, polish and dry the cutlery thoroughly. However, beware of baking powder’s abrasive effect, which should not be used on fine silver cutlery.

A Villeroy & Boch Vapiano bowl with salad on a wooden table, beside a NewWave knife and fork.

Cutlery with a handle decorated with fine gold - Ella partially gold-plated from Villeroy & Boch.

A black table setting with glasses, rectangular crockery and cutlery from the Villeroy & Boch Manufacture collection.

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Cleaning your cutlery properly to make it shine

Cleaning your cutlery properly will not only bring a sparkle to your cutlery sets, but also bring a smile to your guests’ faces. The high-quality Villeroy & Boch collections improve the appeal of your food and dishes by blending beautifully into your table setting. To elevate your dining experience, your cutlery should always look sparkling clean and well-maintained.

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