On Christmas Day, we were expecting company to arrive in two hours. Stacks of clean china and rows of shining crystal sat on the dining room table, ready to be used. I had forgotten one thing, however. The silver wasn’t polished! I went to my folder for household tips, which is not kept in my file cabinet, but on Pinterest–of course! The directions read:
To polish silver: Wash items, then place on aluminum foil in the bottom of a pot. Add a baking-soda solution (ΒΌ cup soda, a few teaspoons salt, 1 quart boiling water) and cover for a few seconds. The result? A chemical reaction that gets the black off the gravy boat.
I dutifully boiled water in my kettle, poured it into a measuring cup, and added a quarter cup baking soda.
Ed and I literally jumped back as the baking soda and water EXPLODED. Thankfully, the cup was sitting on the stove and no one had been holding it! I quickly dumped the remaining water into the pan, added some salt and the silverware, and then tried to soak up the mess with towels.
This trick did get the tarnish off of my silver. However, I found that it worked best when the silver was completely immersed in the water. I also had a super clean and shiny stove top after that baking soda explosion.
Steps to follow for shiny silverware:
1. Line a pot with aluminum foil.
2. Add a quarter cup baking soda and a few teaspoons of salt.
3. Place washed silver at bottom of pot.
4. Pour a quart of boiling water into the pot to submerge the silver.
5. You’re ready to set the table!
So, share with us: What tip have you tried that has gone horribly wrong?
The original link for this tip is as follows: Baking soda for polishing silver. Check out the linky at Milk & Cuddles for more tips and DIY projects!
I'm going to try this one….thank you!
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Yikes! I'm glad no one was hurt when the cup exploded. The silver looks great, though!
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Whenever one of my rings looks a bit black, I use some toothpaste. Just rub it in with your finger and rinse off! Toothpaste is also handy if you need to fill in some holes in the wall!
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Oh, that's a great tip! I've never tried using toothpaste, but it would be a lot easier than the baking soda trick!
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That works great! I will have to remember this. Kind of scary about the water exploding though… I probably would have went running out of the kitchen! lol
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I was really surprised when that happened! Now I know better.
My recent post Tips and Tricks: Polishing Silver
Well, this is totally helpful! Thank you!
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You're welcome!
My recent post Tips and Tricks: Polishing Silver
It doesn't look like it went too terribly wrong. The silverware is nice and shiny! Would you do it this way again? I wonder if it works for silver jewelry.
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I would definitely do this again! I think it would work on silver jewelry. I could see the tarnish on the foil when I was done. I wouldn't try it if your jewelry has any precious stones in it, though.
My recent post Tips and Tricks: Polishing Silver
Wow, that works beautifully! Did you feel like a magician?
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Yes! And it was so much easier than sitting down with a tub of silver polish!
My recent post Tips and Tricks: Polishing Silver