I have become acutely aware of another problem in my life:
My silver is seriously tarnished. And not in a charming patina-enhanced way, but in a way that made me wonder what kind of strange metallic substance was forming the spoons in my mother’s tea service - is that SILVER? Is that what silver is SUPPOSED to look like? Suffice it to say that I realized that something had to be done, but I can not stand silver polish. It smells like some circle of hell and reminds me of those symbols that you see on the back of trucks carrying hazardous waste. You know the one that shows something dripping on a hand, and then the hand has a little part worn away?
Yeah, that one. credit
So my aversion to silver polish has gotten me to the point where it looks like my spooner is filled with carved chunks of meteorite. Enough’s enough. I had heard rumors that aluminum foil and baking soda could get the tarnish off of silver, so I figured I had nothing to lose. Well, I’m pleased to announce that it works!!! Here’s how you do it:
All you need is aluminum foil, baking soda, table salt, very hot water and your embarrassed collection of silver spoons. These spoons are so dirty, I feel like they should have little black bars over their eyes.
Plug the drain to your sink and line it with aluminum foil. Add about a cup of baking soda and half a cup of salt. Next, don’t do what I did in the picture above. Tap water is not hot enough to get the job done. Boil your water and add it to the baking soda and salt. Then you just plop those dirty little spoons (or whatever silver you have) in the water (making sure they come into contact with the foil) and set your timer for 30 minutes.
Before and after!
When the timer goes off, pluck them out of the water and dry with a soft cloth. Be sure to use a cloth that you don’t mind getting dirty because a lot of tarnish will rub off on it. You don’t have to polish you just have to dry the silver. The results are absolutely amazing! All natural, no rub silver polish!