This all natural, chemical free way to clean silver is such a boon because not only are you not inhaling any toxic fumes,you are saving money too! Baking Soda,Aluminum foil and salt are pantry staples and available in every home.Did you know that every time you use silver polish, you are removing a little bit of silver with it! This chemical free method does not remove any silver!
So you might ask,how does this happen. It’s a chemical reaction that takes place. In the words of the famous Dr Bassam Z Shakhashiri, who who makes science fun for the average person-
“When silver tarnishes, it combines with sulfur and forms silver sulfide. Silver sulfide is black. When a thin coating of silver sulfide forms on the surface of silver, it darkens the silver. The silver can be returned to its former luster by removing the silver sulfide coating from the surface. There are two ways to remove the coating of silver sulfide. One way is to remove the silver sulfide from the surface. The other is to reverse the chemical reaction and turn silver sulfide back into silver. In the first method, some silver is removed in the process of polishing. In the second, the silver remains in place. Polishes that contain an abrasive shine the silver by rubbing off the silver sulfide and some of the silver along with it. Another kind of tarnish remover dissolves the silver sulfide in a liquid. These polishes are used by dipping the silver into the liquid, or by rubbing the liquid on with a cloth and washing it off. These polishes also remove some of the silver. The tarnish-removal method used in this experiment uses a chemical reaction to convert the silver sulfide back into silver. This does not remove any of the silver. Many metals in addition to silver form compounds with sulfur. Some of them have a greater affinity for sulfur than silver does. Aluminum is such a metal. In this experiment, the silver sulfide reacts with aluminum. In the reaction, sulfur atoms are transferred from silver to aluminum, freeing the silver metal and forming aluminum sulfide. Chemists represent this reaction with a chemical equation.
6 Ag + Al2S3silver sulfide and aluminum “gives you” silver and aluminum sulfide
The reaction between silver sulfide and aluminum takes place when the two are in contact while they are immersed in a baking soda solution. The reaction is faster when the solution is warm. The solution carries the sulfur from the silver to the aluminum. The aluminum sulfide may adhere to the aluminum foil, or it may form tiny, pale yellow flakes in the bottom of the pan. The silver and aluminum must be in contact with each other, because a small electric current flows between them during the reaction. This type of reaction, which involves an electric current, is called an electrochemical reaction. Reactions of this type are used in batteries to produce electricity”.
You can read more about Dr Bassam Z Shakhshiri and his Tarnish experiment here.
So no more elbow grease,no inhaling toxic fumes and no losing silver while polishing! Use your kitchen staples to bring a shine to your tarnished silver. Other natural/ home remedies on my blog – Homemade Cough Syrup, Miracle oil for Hair Loss and Frizziness, All Natural Detox Drink for Weight loss, Bloating and Gas/ Flatulence, Miracle Oil to prevent Premature Graying of hair, and All Natural Homemade Remedy for Constipation.
Here is the written procedure followed by the pictorial one-
How to Clean Silver Without Any Chemicals
Ingredients
- 8 cups water
- 1/2 cup Baking soda
- 1/2 cup salt
- Aluminium Foil sheet 12 inch*18 inch
- large pot
Instructions
-
In a large pot bring water to boil
-
Add salt and then add tarnished silver. Should be fully immersed in water.
-
Remove from stove and SLOWLY add baking soda.
-
Tear/cut Aluminium foil and put in the hot water.
-
After few minutes take out your sparkling silver.
-
For heavily tarnished leave it in hot water for a few more minutes.
Notes
Here is the step by step pictorial procedure-
Tarnished silver
Ingredients for cleaning
Boil water and add salt to boiling water
Place tarnished silver pieces very gently
Remove from stove and add baking Soda, very slowly,as it will froth
Put pieces of Aluminum foil into pan
Magic happens immediately! Can leave it longer for heavily tarnished pieces
Remove carefully with tongs. Wash,dry and use.
Sparkling silver without any polish!
Please like my Facebook page to continue to get healthy,easy and tasty recipes from me.
If You try my recipes, please share your feedback on my blog or my facebook page with a comment or picture. Would love to hear back from you.
Follow me on Instagram and Pinterest
Adapted from darylscience
aish das-padihari
Thanks for the tips. I have a lot of stuff need cleaning.
Aanchal Gupta
Welcome.Your cleanup will be a snap. No scrubbing now!
shreyatiwari13
Just in time for the festivals!! thanks for sharing:)
Aanchal Gupta
Welcome Shreya.
Jason B
Minor quibble –
The title saying “without any chemicals” is inaccurate since all the ingredients are chemicals, they’re just not harsh or toxic (you even include the chemical reaction )
The article itself is very good and obviously lots of people find it helpful, so good on ya & thank you. The science guy in me who also likes reading/ writing just wanted to suggest adding something to make your title more accurate, if you wish (like “harsh chemicals” or “chemical cleaners” or whatever) . Tho if you think it gets the attention of your audience better as is, well, it’s yours not mine and I wish you continued blessings in sharing your science/ chemistry based life improvements 🙂
Cheers
Aanchal Gupta
Hi Jason, glad you found the article helpful and well written. I did mean to say without harsh chemicals/ commercial cleaners sold in stores
Lathiya
Awesome tip..very well explained
Aanchal Gupta
Thanks Lathiya.
dhwani mehta
Very useful tip. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Aanchal Gupta
Thanks Dhwani.
dhwani mehta
Please do not try this on jewelry with any stones bc many stones will come out. this is what happened when I tried to clean my jewelry.
Aanchal Gupta
Thanks for sharing your experience.This is not meant for jewelry with stones etc. It should be used for silver plates,bowls, spoons, solid jewelry pieces(without stone) and silver murtis and puja items.
ELEni
For jewelry with stones, I recommend using a soft toothbrush and baking soda. If the toothbrush is soft enough, it shouldn’t make the stone get out.
Afroz Shaikh
Wow!! It’s like magic 🙂
Thank you for sharing this amazing tip.
Aanchal Gupta
Thanks Afroz.
sushma
This is what exactly I needed.. With the festive season on I would want to try this asap.. 😀
Aanchal Gupta
Thanks Sushma, please do try it out and share your experience.
francesca
So this really works? Good to know! I’ve heard about this experiment before but never tried it… now that I see your pictures I want to try it too 🙂 thank you for sharing this!
Aanchal Gupta
Yes Francesca, it does work. The chemical reaction that takes place is the reason why it totally works. Hope you will try it out.
Jagruti
Thank you for sharing this informative post! So useful now that Diwali is approching.
Aanchal Gupta
Thanks jagruti. With the festive season around the corner,this would be a helpful post.
Soniya
Great tips!! This is going to be so helpful when the festive season starts!!
Shravani
Awesome I was struggling hard to clean the idols. Hope it helps in cleaning the silver Idols and it’s safe!
Aanchal Gupta
Hi Shravani, its absolutely safe and you can clean them all at the same time!
Shefali Singhani
Just in time for Diwali! Getting on it now! Thank you for sharing your easy tips and tricks!!!
Aanchal Gupta
Thanks Shefali, it’s a wonderful non toxic way to clean without too much effort! Happy Diwali!
AeleysiaOlsasky
Works 👍 great ! I used a horsehair brush to clean the details. Got all the tarnish off the grapes and leaves with little effort! Wish I could post a pic of the tray. The tray was forgotten in a box left to me by relatives. This method cleaned over 20 years of tarnish. I did several dips and got more excited each time.
Aanchal Gupta
I am so excited to hear that it removed 20 years of tarnish. That too with no elbow grease. Please share a picture on my face book page. Would love to see the before and after.
Melanie
I wish that I’d taken before and after photos. I used the recipe to remove tarnish from rings that I honestly thought I was going to have to throw away. A few seconds after being in the mixture, they looked as good as new. Thank you so much!
Aanchal Gupta
Thanks Melanie for sharing your feedback. So glad to hear your tarnished rings are as good as new.
Aanchal Gupta
Hi Karen, glad this recipe helped remove tarnish from your silver.