How to Clean Sterling Silver With Aluminium Foil
Sterling silver will get dirty and become tarnished over time. Whether it's sterling silver jewelry, flatware, coins or any other silver pieces, you must clean them regularly to maintain their appearance. Although you can buy silver polish from the store, a quicker, less expensive way to clean sterling silver is with aluminum foil. Using aluminum foil to clean sterling silver will provide the same results as silver polish at a fraction of the cost. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Plastic dish or bowl
- Aluminum foil
- Large pot
- Water
- Washing soda
- Spoon
- Tongs
- Rubber gloves
- Soft cloth
Instructions
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1
Line a plastic dish or bowl with aluminum foil, making sure the shiny side of the foil is facing up. The size of the bowl or dish you will use will depend on what you are cleaning. The dish needs to be large enough to hold your silver pieces, as well as cover them water.
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2
Place your silver pieces into the bowl. In a large pot, boil enough water to cover the silver pieces.
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3
Sprinkle washing soda onto your silver pieces. Use ¼ cup washing soda for every gallon of water that you are boiling. Pour the boiling water on top of the silver.
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4
Stir the water with a spoon and let the silver soak for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the silver looks shiny and no tarnish is present. Use a pair of tongs to rotate the silver around periodically so that each part of the silver comes into contact with the aluminum foil at some point. The reaction the aluminum foil has with the washing soda is what cleans the silver and removes tarnish.
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5
Put on a pair of rubber gloves or use the tongs to remove the silver from the bowl. Rinse the silver under cool water and buff with a soft, dry cloth.
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Tips & Warnings
If your silver is especially dirty or tarnished, it may be necessary to repeat this entire process a couple of times.
References
- Photo Credit silver dinner fork on a grey background image by Stepanov from Fotolia.com
