Keep Your Silver Menorah From Tarnishing With This Genius Storage Hack

After Hanukkah has ended, properly storing your silver menorah can help keep it beautiful for years to come. Certain sulfuric gasses in the air and high levels of humidity can cause silver to tarnish quickly. While tarnishing can be cleaned or polished off your menorah, over time the silver could become damaged and it's often difficult to fully get rid of the tarnish. To prevent your silver menorah from becoming discolored, all you'll need is a piece of chalk, tissue paper, and a plastic bag.

Before putting your menorah away until the next holiday season, make sure that it is clean and free of wax that may have fallen from the candles. To clean your menorah, place it in your sink and gently dump boiling water over it. This can be repeated several times to remove wax before using a silver polish. Your silver can also be washed with a little dish soap and hot water. Once your menorah is clean, using chalk during storage can help prevent your silver from tarnishing.

When putting your silver menorah away for the season, you'll want to store it in a cool, dry area of your home to prevent exposure to humidity. To start preparing your silver menorah for storage, wrap it in paper, such as tissue paper. It's important to ensure the paper has no printing on it and does not contain acid, as this could cause your silver to tarnish more quickly. Once your menorah is carefully wrapped and secure, place it in a plastic bag with a piece of chalk. The chalk will keep out moisture and help prevent sulfuric gasses from reaching your delicate silver and tarnishing it, while the paper will protect your menorah from being scratched by the chalk.

If you prefer to avoid plastic bags, simply cover your menorah with acid-free tissue paper and place it in your regular storage container, such as a bin or a box. A few pieces of chalk can then be added to absorb any moisture. Because basic chalk can be found in many stores and typically costs about $1, like this 12-count Crayola chalk from Target, this storage hack is extremely inexpensive, easy, and will keep your silver menorah in great condition for each year.