How to clean silver with soda and foil?

Jewelry, silverware and cutlery tend to darken over time. This happens for several reasons: the formation of an oxide film due to contact with oxygen, exposure to aggressive chemicals (soap, dishwashing detergent, cosmetics, chlorine in the pool), dust and dirt particles getting into small cavities.

But you don’t need to immediately get upset and think that nothing can be fixed. There is a simple way to restore shine and attractiveness to products and stop the oxidation process. You just need to clean them with baking soda and foil.

Cleaning silver at home with foil

You only need three components:

• baking soda;
• foil;
• water;
• suitable dishes that will accommodate all the products.

Soda in this case acts as the main assistant. It is the powder that cleans and bleaches silver, interacts with aluminum (foil) and water, releasing atomic hydrogen, which, in turn, restores the metal from its oxides.

This method is suitable for 800, 830, 875, 925 and 960 silver. However, it is strictly not used for blackened and gold-plated ones.

The step-by-step cleaning process looks like this:

• Place foil on the bottom of any suitable container or cut off small pieces from the sheet and roll them into balls.
• Place silverware on top.
• Add a layer of baking soda to cover them completely.
• Pour boiling water into the bowl. But be extremely careful! A reaction will occur that will cause foam to appear and may spill onto the work surface.
• After 10-15 minutes, remove the product, rinse it with clean water and rub it with a dry cloth.

If silver items are too dark, the procedure can be repeated until the metal is completely clean.

How to enhance the effect

Sometimes other ingredients can be added to this classic recipe with foil and soda, which will enhance the effect of the composition on the metal. In addition, you can even use cold water, but then the time of exposure of the solution to the products should increase: from 1 to 2 days.

What else can you add:

• grated laundry soap;
• salt;
• dentifrice;
• lemon acid.

However, such recipes are best used in cases where the condition of the metal is critical. If the silver has not darkened too much, then the classic recipe, which includes only soda and foil, is sufficient.