HELOISE Follow hints to keep silver-plate items stainless

Dear Heloise: I recently washed some of my silver-plate items in the dishwasher, and now they have dark spots on them. What caused this, and how can I clean the items? Yvette Morris, Houston
Here's some helpful information from our friends at The Soap and Detergent Association:
These stains were probably caused when undissolved or concentrated detergent came into contact with the wet, silver-plated items. The easiest way to remove the spots is to use a good-quality silver polish. Follow the label directions exactly.
To keep this from happening again, here are some guidelines:
UBe sure the dispenser cup is closed before running the dishwasher.
UDon't let the dishwasher detergent come into contact with silver items.
UBe sure to follow the directions in your care manual for loading the dishwasher.
And lastly, you might want to hand-wash and -dry these particular items to keep them at their best. Heloise
P.S. Don't use lemon-scented products in the dishwasher if you put silver or silver plate in there. Also, don't mix silver/silver plate with stainless in the same basket -- it could damage the silver -- and don't let silver sit through the heat cycle.
Dear Heloise: Making sandwiches for school lunches (or work) is time-consuming. So, we tried a timesaving experiment of freezing a peanut-butter sandwich and a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich.
My two boys tasted each one the next day, and they loved them. As a matter of fact, they said the sandwiches tasted better than if I'd just made them. Now we make them a week at a time.
On foggy-brained mornings, I am so thankful that lunches are a snap. Cindy Hatzfeld, Carrollton, Texas
King Features Syndicate