How to Easily Clean Silver with Aluminum Foil + Baking Soda

Inside: Cleaning silver with foil and baking soda is an easy method to remove tarnish without harsh chemicals or abrasive polish. The chemical reaction does the heavy lifting, leaving silver items looking clean and bright!

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There’s nothing like the soft gleam of real silver to make an occasion say “special”. With the holidays around the corner, it’s time to put to use those heirloom and thrift store silver pieces that we’ve so lovingly collected!

But if it’s been hiding away in a cabinet for the last year or more, chances are it’s not ready for the big meal.

And during this hectic time of year, who has time to rub the tarnish off grandma’s entire set of sterling silverware? Before you stuff it back in the closet, there’s an easy way to get it shiny again that is not only natural, but strangely satisfying and fun!

With a few commonly available household items and hot water, this trick to cleaning silver without scrubbing or harsh polishes will banish the black and make your silver sparkle.

What You’ll Need for this Foil Silver Cleaning Method.

• A heatproof container or sink (large enough for silver pieces to lay flat)
• A piece of aluminum foil (enough to line the bottom of your container or sink)
• Baking soda
• Salt (any kind)
• Boiling water
• A dry microfiber or soft cloth
• Rubber gloves, tongs, and/or a spoon to protect your hands

The Simple Steps to Clean Silver with Baking Soda and Foil.

1. Line the Container or Sink with Tin Foil.

Place a piece of aluminum foil shiny side up, along the bottom of the container or sink basin. The foil helps create the chemical reaction needed to remove the tarnish.

SH&H Tip: If you use a smaller container like an aluminum pan or glass baking dish, it’s much easier to keep the water hot by changing out the solution as it cools, and you won’t need as much baking soda and salt. I only used the sink in this demo because I was cleaning some larger pieces.

2. Add the Baking Soda and Salt.

Sprinkle the baking soda and salt into the bottom of the container. The amounts will depend on how much water you’ll be adding.

The basic ratio is: 1 tablespoon of baking soda and 1 tablespoon of salt to 1 ounce of water.

For reference, that’s a cup of each for a gallon of water. Don’t make more solution than you need at once, because you’ve got to keep that water really hot or start over.

3. Add the Silver Pieces and Hot Water.

Place the silver item into the container making direct contact with the foil, along with hot water (the order doesn’t matter). Ensuring the pieces touch the foil is key, as the foil and baking soda create a chemical reaction that lifts the tarnish away. If you’re cleaning silverware or multiple items, make sure it isn’t stacked and has at least a tiny bit of space between.

The amount of water will depend on the size and number of silver items, but make sure there’s enough to fully submerge each piece. You can add more baking soda and salt if needed. I found the hotter the water, the better it worked, and when I used boiling water, some of the tarnish disappeared like magic.

Let the items soak anywhere from 2 to 15 minutes, adjusting the time based on the amount of tarnish.

As the silver sits in the water, you may notice a slight fizzing or bubbling and a faint sulfur smell. This is the hydrogen sulfide (a form of sulfur) reacting with the aluminum foil, and it means the tarnish is dissolving.

5. Remove the Silver Items, Rinse, and Dry.

Carefully remove the silver pieces from the solution with tongs or rubber gloves to avoid touching the hot water.

Rinse each piece with cold water, then dry with a paper towel or rag. Follow up with a soft, dry microfiber cloth to polish the silver to a shine.

SH&H Tip: If you use a stainless steel sink, make sure the silver pieces only touch the foil, not the sink or you may have some black marks from the chemical reaction.

My Real Life Results Cleaning Silver with Foil and Baking Soda.

These are my real-life, unretouched results. These vintage silver trays have lots of scratches and wear from use over the years that no amount of cleaning can remove, especially the small cheap silver plate one, but all the tarnish has vanished.

This method worked best for me for cleaning silverware.. It cleaned them in a flash because they were only slightly tarnished. And no washing silver polish out of all the little grooves!

How Often You Should Change the Water and Foil.

It depends on the amount of tarnish. You can clean several lightly tarnished items with the same foil and solution. You’ll want to replace the foil and solution after soaking any items with heavy tarnish.

Why Silver Tarnishes.

Silver tarnishes when it reacts with sulfur compounds in the air, creating a layer of hydrogen sulfide (AKA tarnish) on the surface.

To avoid having to clean my silver every time I want to use it, I store most of it in silver anti tarnish storage bags to protect them from the air.

Why this DIY Method for Cleaning Silver Works.

How does this method work? It’s science.🤓

The combination of aluminum foil and baking soda creates an electrochemical reaction with the hydrogen sulfide (tarnish) on the silver’s surface.

Extra Tips for Cleaning Silver.

• For heavily tarnished silver: If some tarnish remains after soaking, try repeating the process with new foil and solution. Or gently rub the stubborn tarnish spots with a silver tarnish removing cloth.
• Don’t clean silver too often: While this process is gentle, avoid over-cleaning delicate antique silver, as frequent cleaning could wear down silver plating or patina.
• If you’re cleaning valuable or very old fine silver: Consider consulting a professional or antique dealer, especially if a valuable piece of silver has a lot of detail or has never been polished.

You can also use this cool cleaning hack on sterling silver jewelry and real silver coins too. If you try it out, let us know how it worked for you in the comments!

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