Tips and Tricks: Polishing Silver

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 (¼ 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.

tarnished silver

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.

silverware

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?

Tips and Tricks Tuesday

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!

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