Silverware is prone to tarnishing over time, but you don’t need expensive silver polish to get flatware clean. Learn how to polish silverware with this simple hack… all you need is baking soda, an aluminum pan (or aluminum foil) and some boiling water.
I have close to 100 different cleaning tips and recipes on this blog; of those, there’s about a dozen that I would put into the category of “Jaw-Dropping”. I am talking about those cleaning hacks that are easy to do, use common ingredients (typically from the pantry), and create “jaw-dropping” results.
This method for polishing silverware is in the “jaw-dropping” category. This cleaning hack is the easiest way to polish silverware and make it shiny again.
What You Need to Polish Silverware
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- Aluminum Pan or Aluminum Foil– This hack for polishing silverware can be done by using an aluminum pan or covering a baking dish with aluminum foil. Both ways work.
- Baking Soda
- Boiling Water
- Clean Cloth– I typically use a clean flour sack dish towel
How to Polish Silverware Using Baking Soda & Aluminum Foil
I have polished a lot of silverware using the baking soda and aluminum foil trick. Unfortunately, none of my silverware is super tarnished at the moment, but we’ll work with what I’ve got. Here are the pieces before polishing. As you can see most of the tarnish is in the detailed handles.
To start, place your tarnished silverware in a single layer in an aluminum pan. As mentioned above, if you do not have an aluminum pan, you can cover a baking dish in aluminum foil, and then place the silverware in a single layer.
Generously sprinkle baking soda over the silverware. Don’t be shy.
In the meantime, boil some water in a saucepan on the stovetop. Once the water comes to a boil, pour it over the baking soda covered silverware; enough to cover the silverware.
Please be careful not to burn yourself!
Wait for the water to cool down to the point in which you can safely grab out the silverware, and then wipe the silverware with a dry cloth to remove the tarnish.
That’s all there is to it!
Admittedly, this wasn’t the most tarnished silverware I’ve done this hack with, but it was the only silverware I had on hand when writing this post. Here’s a close-up of the most tarnished piece “before and after”. You can see all the black tarnish in the details of this knife handle prior to polishing vs. how shiny those same details are after cleaning.
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Common Questions About Polishing Silver With Baking Soda & Aluminum Foil
Does this Cleaning Hack Work for Tarnished Silver Jewelry?
I received so many questions about applying this method to other silver items, like jewelry, plates, and tea sets. While I thought it was likely to work for other silver objects, I never really had a chance to test them… until now. I have a silver necklace that was blackened with tarnish, so I thought I’d try out whether I could clean silver jewelry with baking soda and aluminum foil as I had done with the silverware… and here are the results!
Was it perfect? No. But… look at how black that larger circle was “before” in comparison to after. It’s also interesting that both the heart and chain are bright, shiny, and tarnish-free, but not the circles. Hmmm… I’m wondering if it has something to do with the circles resting inside each other so the baking soda doesn’t get in between the circles very well?
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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.
Can the solution be used again?
Unfortunately, no. You cannot reuse the solution.
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
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.
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.
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
Interesting. I have never heard of this method. I’ll have to give it a try. Thanks for sharing.
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.
Great ideas! Thanks for the info.- great thought on lining another container with aluminum foil if you don’t have the right pan!