How to Clean Silver With Salt
Silver candles sticks and decorative items add sparkle and style to any decor. Whether you are entertaining guests in a formal setting or simply bringing out the silver for special holiday celebrations, polishing the silver to remove tarnish and restore its natural sheen is necessary. There is no need to run to the store to buy silver polish when you probably already have the ingredients you need to make your own at home. Using salt, aluminum foil and some baking soda is a quick, no fuss way to clean silver. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Line the bottom of a pan with aluminum foil with the shiny side up. Heavy-duty foil works best. If your aluminum foil is thin, place a double layer in the pan.
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Place the tarnished silver items on the aluminum foil so that the items are in contact with the foil.
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Add 1/2 cup salt to a pitcher of hot water. Stir to dissolve. Add 1 ½ cups of baking soda and allow to dissolve completely. Salt works as a catalyst in the cleaning process. Baking soda simply works to soften the water to allow the salt to work better.
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Pour the salt and baking soda solution over the tarnished silver. All areas of the silver should be covered with the salt solution. Allow to set until the water cools and the aluminum foil turns dark.
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Check that all pieces of silver maintain contact with the foil, as the process involves a small electrical current between the foil and the silver. Through an electrochemical process, the tarnish from the silver is transferred to the aluminum foil. Although salt and water alone will activate this chemical reaction, the addition of baking soda speeds the action.
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Remove the silver and rinse away salt residue with cool water. Dry with a soft cloth and polish to a shine.
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Tips & Warnings
Severely tarnished silver may require more than one application of the solution to remove all tarnish.
Dissolve salt completely before pouring the solution over silver.
Resources
- Photo Credit John Boyer/sxc.hu
