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The Easiest Way to Polish Silverware

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Cleaning Tips

21 Apr
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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.

How to naturally polish silverware

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. I have only tried this trick on silverware, but you can probably try it on any tarnished sterling silver or silver-plated item you have (maybe try a small section first, and proceed with the whole piece if all looks well on the small trial section.)

Here’s What You’ll Need to Naturally Polish Silverware

Items needed to clean tarnished silverware... naturally.

  • Aluminum Pan (Must be aluminum for this to work)
  • Baking Soda
  • Boiling Water
  • Clean Cloth

Directions: How to Polish Silverware Naturally

Place your silverware in a single layer in the aluminum pan.

Silverware placed in single layer in an aluminum pan for cleaning.

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).

Naturally Clean Silverware with baking soda

Pour boiling water into the pan- enough to cover the silverware. Careful not to burn yourself!

Adding boiling water to baking soda covered silverware to naturally clean tarnished silverware

Wait for the water to cool, and then wipe the silverware with a dry cloth to remove excess tarnish.

Done! Nice, shiny silverware!

Naturally Polished Silverware using baking soda and boiling water

For more amazing ways to clean with baking soda, check out this post.

 

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Easy way to naturally polish silverware using baking soda and boiling water.

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8 Comments

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Comments

  1. Cathy says

    November 4, 2019 at 9:15 AM

    Can the solution be used again?

    Reply
    • Erin says

      November 8, 2019 at 1:28 PM

      Unfortunately, no. You cannot reuse the solution.

      Reply
  2. Debbie Land says

    January 5, 2019 at 7:19 AM

    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

    Reply
  3. Blanche Pinson says

    April 3, 2018 at 6:37 AM

    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.

    Reply
  4. freya says

    February 25, 2018 at 10:20 AM

    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

    Reply
    • Erin Meyer says

      March 8, 2018 at 8:21 AM

      Interesting. I have never heard of this method. I’ll have to give it a try. Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
  5. Pat @ Life At Lydias House says

    April 21, 2015 at 9:52 AM

    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.

    Reply
    • Erin Meyer says

      April 21, 2015 at 9:55 AM

      Great ideas! Thanks for the info.- great thought on lining another container with aluminum foil if you don’t have the right pan!

      Reply

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Hi there! I'm Erin. Welcome to Lemons, Lavender, & Laundry, a place to find cleaning tips, organizational ideas, DIY projects, and budget-friendly room transformations. [Read More...]

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