[Q] Sterling Silver poison question...

[Sowwanishen]

I have a beautiful drinking flask made of silver (sterling?). I've cleaned with with who knows what, but have white, flaky/powdery corrosion caked on the inside of it. Anyone know what this could be and how I can clean it again? Thanks.

[CraigD]

Sterling silver itself, which is about 92.5% silver and the rest other non-toxic metals, usually copper, isn’t at all toxic. You can actually safely eat it, or in a fine suspension, inject it, though this isn’t a good idea for several reasons: it can permanently stain your skin and eyes; it can kill some beneficial microorganisms in your gut; and it’s expensive!

 

The powdery corrosion you’re seeing may be residual silver polish. Most of these are fairly non-toxic, except that they may contain small amounts of pine resin from turpentine, and ammonia. Silver is very non-reactive, so it’s unlikely, but not impossible, that the residue is a dangerous chemical compound. If you don’t know what the flask previously held, however, the residue could be something truly nasty, so cleaning it’s a wise precaution

 

So, while it’s unlikely that drinking from your flask in its present condition would hurt you (any more than drinking an alcoholic beverage from any container would), you can clean it with any silver cleaner, available at most cleaning supply or grocery stores, taking care to rinse it thoroughly to remove all of the cleaning paste or liquid.