How to Polish Silver With Baking Soda and Tin Foil

When you have silver pieces in your kitchen, remember to use them as often as possible. With regular use, you will find your silver tarnishes less, which means you will not need to clean it as often. When your silver does tarnish, you can clean it with common kitchen items. With minimal effort, you can quickly restore your silver pieces to their former beauty with baking soda and tin foil.

Things You'll Need

• Large stockpot
• Tin foil (aluminum foil)
• Stove top
• Water
• Baking soda
• Measuring cup
• Tongs
• Silver pieces
• Soft cloth

Instructions

1. Line the inside of the stockpot with tin (aluminum) foil.

2. Fill the stockpot with enough water so your silver piece(s) will be completely covered by the water.

3. Add the baking soda to the water. If you are using approximately 1 gallon of water, add 1 cup of baking soda. Decrease baking soda amount accordingly for smaller amounts of water.

4. Stir the baking soda in the water with the tongs until it dissolves.

5. Put the pot on the stove and bring the baking soda solution to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove the stockpot from the burner.

6. Place the silver piece(s) into the hot water, making sure the silver is touching the aluminum foil directly.

7. Leave silver in the water for approximately 5 minutes. During this time, you should begin to see small flakes floating in the water and you may notice the aluminum foil beginning to turn dark. The aluminum foil turns dark as the sulfur that was coating the silver transfers to the foil.

8. Lift the silver from the water with the tongs after 5 minutes and assess the cleaning progress. If the silver looks satisfactorily clean, remove it. If you still see traces of tarnish, place the silver back into the water for another 5 minutes.

9. Remove the silver from the water and place it onto the soft cloth. Use the cloth to dry the silver and buff it carefully. As you buff, you may notice additional tarnish coming off the silver onto the cloth.

10. Rinse the silver under plain, cool water to remove any residual baking soda. Dry the silver again with the soft cloth to finish cleaning it.

References

• How to Clean Things: Silver