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 Cleaning sterling sliver sipper straws? Help please.
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| Author | Topic: Cleaning sterling sliver sipper straws? Help please. |
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jersey Posts: 1203 |
posted 07-07-2012 08:10 PM
  
[01-3033] I have recently acquired a set of heart shaped sterling silver sipper straws which I have yet to use. A friend has suggested they are very unsanitary since there is no way to properly clean the inside of them. Is this true? Any help would be appreciated as always. I would love to use them. Jersey IP: Logged |
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doc Posts: 728 |
posted 07-07-2012 08:45 PM
I actually have a set of sterling sipping straws that came with a cleaning brush. It's a filament wire with a small bristle brush attached to the end that you pull through the straws. Absent that, I would think that you could run hot water through them and clean them fairly well. IP: Logged |
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Kimo Posts: 1627 |
posted 07-07-2012 09:02 PM
I think I would agree that they are pretty unsanitary, especially of they are anything but brand new. Running water through them will not do much. It would be like washing your dishes by just rinsing them under the faucet and expecting them to be really clean. Perhaps pipecleaners might work to scrub the insides? IP: Logged |
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Scott Martin Forum Master Posts: 11520 |
posted 07-07-2012 11:19 PM
If you are really concerned and there is nothing hollow or filled on the straws then just put them in boiling water for 5-6 minutes. IP: Logged |
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Hose_dk Posts: 400 |
posted 07-08-2012 01:59 AM
I agree boiling water in a container for a few minutes and that is it. I would also like to add - who cares ? They obviously do not contain any dangerous bacteria. I even think that silver prevents the bacteria from growing. Or is that something I have dreamed? This is not a thing you will share with everybody Once washed and boiled they will be as good as new. I general I think that we are to scared of a little bit of dirt. I think that silver straw are a bit cool. And something out of the ordinary. May I add when the alcohol runs via the straw - that will clean them IP: Logged |
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Kimo Posts: 1627 |
posted 07-08-2012 08:13 AM
Boiling them for a while should kill any bacteria or viruses in them, but my concern about wanting to really scrub and clean newly acquired old silver before actually using it extends to not knowing what it has been used for or what they may have used to polish it by whomever owned it before and possible residues that are not bacteria and viruses but chemicals. Maybe I am too careful or fastidious, but I have seen some pretty weird looking, not-old-food, not just tarnish, substances on and in old silver. [This message has been edited by Kimo (edited 07-08-2012).] IP: Logged |
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Hose_dk Posts: 400 |
posted 07-08-2012 08:35 AM
A spoon from baroq times say 1715 or 1690 have lived a life and been used by generations. 300 years use and unknown cleaning/polish - well a good polish and a clean in hot water and that 300 year old spoon is ready for use. With no thought of what generations have used for cleaning I understand your point, but I would not hesitate to take the chance IP: Logged |
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Scott Martin Forum Master Posts: 11520 |
posted 07-08-2012 08:41 AM
You might also try reviewing past posts about using Denture Tables OR the antiseptic properties of silver. IP: Logged |
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swarter Moderator Posts: 2920 |
posted 07-08-2012 12:31 PM
You can also use pipe cleaners with whatever cleaning compound or solution you care to use. IP: Logged |
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ahwt Posts: 2334 |
posted 07-08-2012 04:13 PM
Silver straws add a bit of excitement to any drink and I would not worry about cleaning them if you just use them for mint juleps or other drinks that do not contain milk or other ingredients that may not be water soluble. We just give them a good rinse in soapy water and then run them under the water facet. Above are a few silver straws that we have used from time to time. The two that we use the most are on the right. They do not have a scoop and are the best kind to use with mint juleps. I really like the one on the far right as it is the shortest and just sticks out the right length from the top of a beaker. The straws with scoops are meant for drinks that have large ice cubes and require stirring as the scoop is cumbersome in a cup with shaved or crushed ice needed for mint juleps. I included a picture of the mark on the middle straw as the mark seems unusual to me. It appears to have been impressed on a rectangular silver plate that was then attached to the back of the scoop. I have never seen that method before – is this a common practice in Mexico? The second from the left is marked Gorham and the remaining are just marked Sterling. The Gorham straw has the letters H and M impressed on the stem. The letter H is in front of a number and may be part of a stock number, while the letter M may indicate a Gorham year date of 1880. IP: Logged |
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jersey Posts: 1203 |
posted 07-08-2012 06:41 PM
Well, to all of you a great big Thank You for all your suggestions it's a great help. I must ask though, the 2nd sipper pictured by ahwt is similar to mine in that is appears to be a very thin opening. I don't think a pipe cleaner would fit through. Something on the order of the width of a cake tester. Doc mentioned a brush came with the set. Can it be purchased separately & from where? BTW ahwt, I have seen the Mexico mark you mentioned applied as opposed to impressed mostly on jewelry but why it was done that way I can't tell you. It is the bell, eagle mark, # 3 indicating the town of Taxco. Now given the heat wave we are having, a mint julep sounds like an appropriate way to try them out & cool down. Any further help will always be welcome. Again thanks to Scott, doc, Kimo, Hose_dk, ahwt, & swarter. Stay cool! Jersey IP: Logged |
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dragonflywink Posts: 993 |
posted 07-08-2012 07:35 PM
Used to collect sippers (lemonade spoons), have to admit to envying Doc's special brush..... Some were pretty grungy when I got them, being the crafty sort, used a fairly fine 28 gauge wire about 2-1/2 time the length of the straw, folded it in half over a length of wool Persian yarn and twisted it into a needle - fed it through the straw and ran it back and forth with polish or soap (the yarn could be split for the really slender straws). Only have one set left, heart-shaped like yours, usually just clean them with a chenille stem from the craft store - the fibers aren't as dense as on pipe cleaners, so they generally fit through any size and they're long enough that I don't have clean from one side, then the other (they even fit into the very thin tube on set of Japanese sippers my Mom has). Truthfully, mine are usually used with a fairly strong dose of alcohol-based, ummm, 'disinfectant', so I don't worry about it too much..... ~Cheryl IP: Logged |
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Hose_dk Posts: 400 |
posted 07-09-2012 11:29 AM
Though I say - don't be afraid of a bit dirt. This mate straw I have no intention of using. That is much to   IP: Logged |
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Polly Posts: 1970 |
posted 07-11-2012 11:21 AM
I would try soaking them overnight in a water-ammonia solution, then rinsing and boiling them in plain water. That should clean stuff out and kill anything living. IP: Logged |
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dragonflywink Posts: 993 |
posted 07-12-2012 07:46 PM
Polly ~ I've used ammonia to clean serious salt-corrosion on salt spoons and cellars, but even the relatively short time (about half an hour) I soaked the pieces left them with a dull cloudiness that had to be polished off.....does dilution with water prevent that? ~Cheryl IP: Logged |
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Polly Posts: 1970 |
posted 07-13-2012 10:11 AM
Cheryl-- Interesting--that's not my experience with ammonia, but I only use it on quite dirty, tarnished stuff that I'm going to polish anyway, so maybe I didn't notice? I have noticed that denture cleaner leaves a stubborn dullness that needs to be polished off, though. IP: Logged |
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dragonflywink Posts: 993 |
posted 07-13-2012 11:01 AM
I've only used it full-strength, on badly corroded pieces, so perhaps the dilution with water does negate or lessen that effect. ~Cheryl IP: Logged |
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doc Posts: 728 |
posted 07-23-2012 01:06 PM
Took me a while to remember where I had stashed my set of spoons with the brush, but here's a photo of the cleaning brush. Just before posting this, I did a "dry run" through one of the sipping spoons, and it feeds through nicely. IP: Logged |
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jersey Posts: 1203 |
posted 07-25-2012 07:47 AM
Thanks Doc! I'll check my brush supplies & see if I have one that resembles yours. Do you have the measurement for the width of the brush part? Thanks also to all of you who have been as always so generous with your knowledge. Jersey IP: Logged |
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doc Posts: 728 |
posted 07-29-2012 10:18 PM
The brush width is about 3/4". The key is to make sure that the wire attached to it is long enough to be fed through the entire length of the straw and come out the other end, so that it can be pulled through. I didn't think mine was, but when I fed it through, it worked well. IP: Logged |
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