Ashes. If you smoke collect the ashes (only the ashes) from smoking, the ash that you knock off while smoking. The butt and the ash that you get when you put out the cigarettes has other partially burnt tobacco in it and is no good for polishing. If you BBQ with charcoal take a bit of the ash from beneath, and sift it getting just the gray, fully burnt ash. If these do not apply, then get a coffee can (metal) and plain white paper (printing paper) and make loose balls out of that - and burn it outside completely. You may have to sift the ash to remove the partially burnt bits. What you should have is a powdery greyish pile of ash. You should only need about a cup (if that). Add a few drops of water to the ash. One drop at a time, mixing the ash with water until you get a thick paste - similar to the consistency of tooth paste. Taking a bit of ash paste on your finger tip, gently rub it on the silver. For lines and grains you can use a soft bristle tooth brush and GENTLY brush in the ash paste. Two processes are at work here. 1. Ash has microscopic grit to it, it is like using a 3000 grit sand paper. 2. It also has acids which are released in the water that will eat a very thin layer off the top of of silver, usually the tarnish. Once you have rubbed/brushed the silver with the paste rinse in cool water then towel dry. Follow with a polish sealer to preserve the shine. You can also use the ash on copper, gold and other metals that you want to shine. Of course test first on an unseen part of any piece you are doing. Sets like silver ware only require a test on one piece. Most are alloyed with other metals to different ratios and some will "pit" or score and react badly to any cleaner you apply. Sterling will not react badly, plated may lose its plating of silver over time revealing the base metal (usually brass) beneath. However all plated silver pieces will, with regular cleaning/rubbing, lose its plating over time.

Toothpaste: To clean off tarnish, coat the silver with toothpaste, then run it under warm water, work it into a foam, and rinse it off. For stubborn stains or intricate grooves, use an old soft-bristled toothbrush.

You can use jewelry cleaner. I've used it on my old silver coins it does a great job

Absolutely the best way to clean silver: Line a sauce pan with aluminum foil, fill it with boiling water and add 1 Tbsp. of baking soda per 2 cups of water. Lay silver items in pan, touching aluminum foil. Remove, rinse, and polish lightly.

Run a quart of hot water into the sink. Dissolve one tablespoon of washing soda (or laundry water softener) and one tablespoon of salt into the water. Place a sheet of aluminum foil on the bottom of the sink and place your tarnished silverware in the mix. Silver that is touching the foil and covered with water should become clean in 10 seconds. Source: http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/at_home/article/0,1801,HGTV_3221_1376413,00.html I've done this... It's AMAZING!!

Whenever you used a commercial silver cleaner you are taking some of the silver off with the tarnish. Tht really hurts the silver if it's silverplate. Soon youwon't have any silver left. SO remove the tarnish without removing the silver. 1.Line deep pan with aluminum foil. lay your silver pieces on the foil. They MUST touch. 2.Boil some water, enough to cover your silver. Add some salt to the water, like you would for pasta, a few tablespoons full. 3.When the water boils, add 1-2 cups of baking soda. 4.When it is dissolved, pour the hot water over the silver items making sure they are still in contact with the foil. 5.Let the water mix do it's thing. It sometimes happens immediately.