What is a Cleaning Plate?
Many people keep a set of silver flatware on hand for display or use on special occasions. Although silver is known for its aesthetic qualities, it has the tendency to tarnish over time. Some methods of removing tarnish are costly and labor-intensive, such as scrubbing the items with a silver polish, but these are being phased out, as other more convenient methods are discovered. One quick and easy way to clean tarnished metals is with a cleaning plate, a small sheet of metal alloy with holes in it, which removes tarnish through the process of electrolysis. Unlike traditional chemical polish abrasion, a cleaning plate washes away tarnish without removing any of the underlying silver. Usually cleaning plates are made from aluminum alloy, and are perforated with holes to increase their surface area. They come in many sizes, but perhaps the most common size is six inches by eight inches (15 by 20 cm). For use, the cleaning plate is placed in any container large enough to hold the silver i
