Looking for an easy way to polish silverware? You have come to the right place. This method uses all natural ingredients, and takes less than 5 minutes to complete.
I learned this quick tip from a Martha Stewart magazine I read about 10 years ago, and I cannot believe how easy and effective it is at removing tarnish from silverware.
What You Need to Naturally Polish Silverware
Affiliate links may be used. Please see our advertising disclosure for more information.
- Aluminum Pan (Must be aluminum for this to work)
- Baking Soda
- Boiling Water
- Clean Cloth
How to Polish Silverware Naturally
Place your silverware in a single layer in the aluminum pan.
Sprinkle 1/2 cup to 1 cup baking soda over the silverware. You really need to pile on the baking soda! Don’t be shy. (In the picture below, I ran out of baking soda, and it didn’t work as well as it had in the past. After buying more baking soda and piling it on… worked like a charm).
Pour boiling water into the pan- enough to cover the silverware. Careful not to burn yourself!
Wait for the water to cool, and then wipe the silverware with a dry cloth to remove excess tarnish.
Done! Nice, shiny silverware!
For more amazing ways to clean with baking soda, check out this post.
Melissa Elliott says
The correct and more effect way would be to lay foil in a dish or glass, sprinkle salt on top, then baking soda and finally hot water off the stove. Not boiling but very hot. You could literally dip it in and out and see the difference. Not much elbow grease is needed. Then buff.
Cathy says
Can the solution be used again?
Erin says
Unfortunately, no. You cannot reuse the solution.
Debbie Land says
I have a silerplated tea set that was my mothers she has wrapped in brown paper but it is really tarnished. I want to clean it ip to sell. It is aTowle silverplate. There are sugar , cream dishes and of course a couple of tea and coffee pots as well as the huge serving tray. Any suggestions to clean please let me know
EVELYN MARS says
I have the same problem with a tea set. What is the best way to clean the coffee pot tea pot and sugar and creamer
Thank you in advance for your help.
Blanche Pinson says
The silver plate must not remain in the solution for long. You can do irreversible damage to the finish, as I learned years ago. I will never again use this method on silver plate which I value.
freya says
same effect you get if you use salt and you do not need to cover everything in it Just some salt on aluminium and some hot water poured over it and you silver will be sparkling clean
Erin says
Interesting. I have never heard of this method. I’ll have to give it a try. Thanks for sharing.
Pat @ Life At Lydias House says
This is a great tip and it does work on other silver items too . I recently used it to clean silver punch cups in a hurry before a shower. You can also use aluminum foil to line another container if you don’t have a big aluminum pan.
Erin says
Great ideas! Thanks for the info.- great thought on lining another container with aluminum foil if you don’t have the right pan!