Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Things You’ll Need:
- A pan or bowl
- Warm water
- Salt
- Baking Soda
- Aluminum Foil
Step1
Choose a bowl or pan large enough to contain the items you want to polish, and line with aluminum foil, shiny side up.
Step2
Shake in some salt, about two tablespoons, and shake in some baking soda, about two tablespoons. This measurement is for a cake pan or salad bowl and will increase if you are using a very large bowl or even, a bathtub. I have never used a bathtub because I have polished smaller items, but increase the amounts of salt and soda accordingly.
Step3
Fill the lined salted and soda-sprinkled pan or bowl with warm or hot water.
Step4
Put the silver pieces in the water, completely submerged. Walk away and do other things and come back every few minutes to check progress. Depending on the tarnish, the sterling silver will clean quickly. This is chemistry and I am not able to explain why it works, but it's all about reaction. Now, if there are parts of your silver that are darker, or you do not have foil...
Step5
Make a paste in the palm of your hand using salt, baking soda and warm water. Paste is thick, not thin. Rub this into the tarnished silver with your fingers, and wipe away the darkness.
Step6
Rinse clean under the faucet and either rub dry with paper towel or air dry.