It won't hurt the silver, but it probably won't clean it very good either. If the silver is tarnished, you need a cleaner that will take off that tarnish. There are creams or pastes that work but are a pain to use. I use a liquid that you just dip the silver in and it takes the tarnish right off. Be careful when using it with jewelry that has stones or pearls in it, since it could be harmful to the stones. You can get this in the jewelry department at places such as Walmart.