RE: Cleaning Silver
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Post By chris t. (Guest Post)
(10/27/2008)
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I have heard that if you put water softener in a pie pan lined with aluminum foil, it works. I use white king water softener.
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RE: Cleaning Silver
Silver tarnish is a coating of silver sulfide on the surface of the piece. If you use a silver polish, or toothpaste, or a baking soda paste, you are rubbing a bit of the silver off each time.
When you use the hot water and aluminum method, you are creating a chemical reaction that transfers the sulphur from the silver to the aluminum, which is why the aluminum looks dark when you have finished the process. The aluminum is now "tarnished", as it were. The salt or baking soda or combination of these in the water as well as heating the water just speeds up the chemical reaction. You can also use Calgon. I suppose you could use caustic soda, but it is corrosive to your skin, so there is no point in doing so. Some sources also suggest vinegar. What you are doing by adding the substance, whatever it is, to the water, is producing a electrolyte which enhances the chemical reaction. Sometimes you also get a bit of a rotten egg smell, which is some of the sulphur escaping as a gas, hydrogen sulphide. Not enough of this is produced to be harmful in your kitchen. Open a window. It is just stinky.
In my experience, cleaning my collection of silver coffee spoons with this, some spoons cleaned up better than others. Some seemed to be slightly dull. I would polish the dull ones with a silver polish. They were not tarnished, but just didn't seem to be a shiny as the other spoons. I suspect it was the quality of the silver that made the difference.
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RE: Cleaning Silver
Toothpaste (not the gel kind) will definitely work but if the tarnish is fairly bad it would take a lot less elbow grease to use good old fashioned silver polish remover that you can buy in almost every market or hardware store.
You would be better off trying to re-sell the items on eBay, Craigslist, a second hand store or consignment store 'after' you've polished them to fetch a higher price.
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Request: Cleaning Silver
Cleaning Tarnished Silver: I need tips for clenaing badly tarnished sterling silver.
Helen from Ridley Park, PA
Answers:
RE: Cleaning Silver
I tried cleaning my sterling silver jewelry in bicarbonate & warm water in a aluminum foil pan. It only took out a little bit of the tarnish. IT DID give a shine, but not what I expected.
(09/05/2006)
By Beverly
RE: Cleaning Silver
Hi, all this reply is for all the above. First off you can not clean silver with bi-carbonate or mix sodium carbonate {soda crystals} with aluminium. Keep doing this and you will die 'literly' its very dangerous.. i see many tips for cleaning silver with household products, such as aluminum foil and soda crystals? Yes, it will work a little, and will take years off your life! Buy a bag of soda crystals and read the instructions. Do not use with ALUMINUM.
The only safe method proved since 1907 and still sold today is the pristine plate, and they still offer a full money back purchase. I know is sold worldwide.(10/18/2007)
By a-s-c
RE: Cleaning Silver
Hi, this is in response to the advice about not using soda crystals and aluminum foil together. After I read this, I went into the kitchen and looked at my yellow box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda. There is no warning at all. So I got online to look at the recommendations for Washing Soda. There was a warning about not using it on aluminum but it seemed to be more about damaging the aluminum than a health risk.
Curious, I did a little more digging on the internet and I think I have the answer. There is a product called Washing Soda Crystals that is available in Europe which is much more caustic and powerful than what is known as Washing Soda in the US. I believe that the warning was relating to those. I could find NOTHING about any danger at all for baking soda being used in this manner.
If fact, many, many sites recommend it as the best option for safely cleaning anything. I think if you were to just use baking soda instead of washing soda, this silver tarnish tip would be safe and effective. If anyone has evidence to the contrary, please post the link or source here.
Jess (10/18/2007)
By jess_admin
RE: Cleaning Silver
It is important to use foil shiny side up, or it wont work, and there is a world of difference between baking soda and soda crystals! I mean you can put baking soda in green vegetables but you put soda crystals down the sink! (11/10/2007)
By Mary
RE: Cleaning Silver
TOOTHPASTE works wonders!
Use a little and then buff with a soft cloth.
It really works.
Monique
Somerset, UK (04/20/2008)
By Monique63
RE: Cleaning Silver
(submitted via email)
You can use baking soda as a cure for indigestion. You can't use Washing Soda. They are chemically different. Chuck (09/02/2008)
By jess_admin
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Request: Cleaning Silver
Cleaning Tarnished Silver: I need a quick method of cleaning badly tarnished silver and silver plate. A while ago, I moved and then had surgery and by the time I unpacked, all my silver was badly tarnished. Nothing I have tried so far has been very successful, and I cannot stand or sit for long at the present.
SheilaMay from Bronx, NY
Answers:
RE: Cleaning Silver
I read somewhere that to clean silver you put them in the sink with a few polident tablets and pour hot water on them and let them set for 1 hour. I hope this works but it surely will not hurt to try. (01/06/2007)
By Nancy
RE: Cleaning Silver
The hot water foil method does work but please folks be careful. It can ruin your silver. The best fastest creme is Wrights silver polish and it not only cleans but protects your silver also. If you have silver that you don't use everyday, Why not invest in some Silvercloth? You can buy it by the yard and make some drawstring bags to store your silver in. Lots of Places on the internet sell it. It is impregnated with silver so when you store your silver in it It does not tarnish. This is the safest way to store your silver. The fabric sells for about 17.00 a yard but a yard of fabric makes alot of bags. Plus some internet sites run sales as low as 6.95 a yard it is called Silvercloth or Pacific Cloth. Good Luck. (01/06/2007)
By Debra in Colorado
RE: Cleaning Silver
I swear by a product called Never dull
It comes in a can, looks like dryer lint that has been infused with some cleaning solvent-but works great and never scratches-is very easy to use and then toss the dirty pieces. Purchase at True Valu Hardware for about $5 per can
(01/06/2007)
By Diana
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Request: Cleaning Silver
I need to know a easy way to clean silver, is there a homemade recipe or what product will not scratch it.
Laureen from CA, Napa
Answers:
RE: Cleaning Silver
I have just cleaned my silver ware in time for Christmas dinner. I used cheap toothpaste and an old toothbrush. It certainly works and I preferred it to using the aluminium foil method. (12/04/2006)
By downunderchick
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Request: Cleaning Silver
Tips for cleaning silver: I have a collection of silver mustard spoons that are beginning to look a little tarnished and yellow. Does anyone have any ideas on how to clean silver?
Many thanks to you all in advance.
Julie (UK)
Answers:
RE: Cleaning Silver
Be very careful with this method since the solution along with the aluminum foil can totally ruin your silver, especially if you have any plate it will be destroyed, the sterling can be pocked marked when done. (02/06/2005)
By lahlbrand
Quickly Cleaning Silver
My daughter would spend hours cleaning the silver service in our home. I decided one day to surprise her and clean it all in a few minutes. Here is what I did.
Take a deep pan of water and heat it quite hot. Add a piece of tinfoil with the shiny side up and pour a blob of salt in the middle along with a blob of Cascade Water Softener. Stir and just dip your silver for a few minutes and wolla, all clean. Rinse with warm water and dry.
She was quite upset with me! =) (03/09/2005)
By Giagemgal
RE: Cleaning Silver
One of the best ways to keep silver serving forks, spoons, etc. looking polished & tarnish free is to simply use them & carefully hand wash & dry often, at least twice a month. (03/09/2005)
By
Cleaning Silver
Absolutely the best way to clean silver: Line a sauce pan with aluminum foil, fill it with water and add 1 Tbsp. of baking soda per 2 cups of water; heat over burner to boiling and remove. Lay silver items in pan, touching aluminum foil. Remove, rinse, and polish lightly.
By Brenda Cole (05/08/2005)
By ThriftyFun
Warm Water, Salt, and Aluminum Foil
Cleaning Silver Request and answer from NEWTON
From: gottfried
Text: I teach middle school science, and one of my colleagues, who thinks I know everything, asked why the following recipe works. (I was at a loss, so in order to continue to appear brilliant I need help!) Tarnished silver can be cleaned if placed in a glass bowl which has warm water, salt, and aluminum foil. I assume that in some way the Aluminum displaces the Ag, but, what is the role of the salt?
Author: Robert Topper
Text: I will try to confirm or deny the displacement theory. Basically, it sounds like the silver oxide on the surface is reduced by aluminum, and brought into solution. The salt raises the ionic conductivity of the water and makes it easier for electron transfer to take place (oxidation/reduction, as the other readers may not know, is the chemical term for the loss/gain of electrons from a chemical species). The way I will check out the displacement theory is to look up the thermodynamics of the situation, i.e., to check whether the half-reactions, added together, give a positive or negative EMF/free energy for the reaction. But I think you are right about it being a displacement reaction. Thanks for asking this question! I never knew this way of cleaning silver...now my wife is going to want me to clean all our silverware.
Author: jchultz
Text: The reaction is a redox reaction but not a displacement per se. The half reactions are Ag+ +e- ---) Ag and Al ---) Al3+ + 3e- When added together the cell potential is +2.48. This positive number indicates that the reaction will be spontaneous (the number is in volts). The silver oxide is reduced to silver metal and the aluminum foil is oxidized to aluminum ions. The salt is present to help the transfer of the electrons (usually called a 'salt bridge'). If the aluminum actually displaced the silver, you would not have silverware after you cleaned them...they would all be aluminumware! So it is the electrons that are being shuffled around, and not the elements themselves.
Source: NEWTON (05/08/2005)
By ThriftyFun
RE: Cleaning Silver
I have a collection of CLEAN silver mustard spoons in 5 minutes! The warm water - aluminium foil - glass bowl and salt method really works! (Must call my friends and let them know!) Thanks everyone! Brilliant advice! (05/08/2005)
By Julie UK
RE: Cleaning Silver
Wow! We sure do attract an educated crowd on this site. Never thought I'd be getting a chemistry refresher course. I am amazed at the things I have learned from you all! Thanks! (05/10/2005)
By Claudia
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