Dear Mary: I have a set of silver flatware that I use daily. It's not a particularly good set, just a nice set for daily use. After a few times through a normal cycle, the pieces become very tarnished. Can you put silver in the dishwasher? Do you think the dishwashing detergent is tarnishing the silver? — Anne

Dear Anne: Yes, your silver-plate or sterling silver pieces can go in the dishwasher and come out beautiful as long as you follow a few specific guidelines.

Case in point: One of my favorite things is a small silver-plated pie server. I love it for its size and the way it feels in my hand. I use it daily, and it goes in the dishwasher every evening — in its own little compartment by itself so it is not touching any other type of metal. Since I inherited it many years ago, I have done nothing to it but use it, clean it and enjoy it.

As for your flatware, I'm going to guess that what you see is not tarnish but rather a reaction that occurs when silver comes in contact with other types of metal in the dishwashing process.

First, it's important to know that when it comes to silver, cleaning and polishing are not the same thing. Polishing should be a very occasional activity, while cleaning is something you do after every meal. The dishwasher is an excellent way to take care of cleaning.

Tarnish is the result when sulfur in the air reacts with silver. If you have silver pieces that are very tarnished, you need to give them a good polish. Simichrome Polish and Hagerty Silversmith's Spray Polish are highly regarded for fine silver care. Once polished, frequent use is the best way to prevent tarnish buildup.

Here are my house rules for how to clean silver (silver-plate or sterling) in the dishwasher:

Rule 1: Only solid flatware and pieces in the dishwasher. That means no pearl handles, items with glue joints or weighted/reinforced items.

Rule 2: Rinse off immediately after use. Don't let food sit on silver, as it may cause corrosion or pitting.

Rule 3: Don't let the silver pieces touch any other type of metal, including stainless, which will leave marks that are very difficult to remove. You can put silver in the same dishwasher load as stainless, just in different flatware compartments. Never allow the two materials to come into direct contact.

Rule 4: When washing silver in the dishwasher, stick with the normal or delicate cycle, not heavy-duty scrubber or high-temp sanitizing-type options.

Rule 5: Do not use automatic dishwasher detergent that contains lemon, citrus or phosphates.

Now that the silver is clean, use it and enjoy it!

Dear Mary: We've been putting money in a 529 savings plan for our daughter's college education for the past several years. She recently told us she wants to attend beauty school instead. Now that the surprise has worn off, we're concerned about penalties when we withdraw the money. How much will we lose, and is there any way to avoid it? — Rebecca

Dear Rebecca: I've got great news for you! That 529 plan money can be used at any accredited trade or vocational school — not only at colleges and universities — to pay for tuition, room and board, fees, books and supplies. If you have more in the account than the total cost of the vocational training and related costs, you can withdraw the balance.

Federal law imposes a 10% penalty on earnings for nonqualified distributions. This means that you will get back 100% of your principal and 90% of your earnings.

Another option is to change the beneficiary to another child or qualifying family member to keep the account going and avoid (or at least delay) taking nonqualified withdrawals. Your particular fund may have additional provisions, so be sure to check with the fund manager.

You can learn more about 529 college savings plans at www.savingforcollege.com.

Mary invites questions, comments and tips at EverydayCheapskate.com, "Ask Mary a Question." This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually. Mary Hunt is the founder of Debt-Proof Living, a personal finance member website and the author of the book Debt-Proof Living, Revell 2014. To find out more about Mary visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: cocoparisienne at Pixabay