UnDiplomatic Wife

  • About TDW
    • Contact
    • FAQ
    • AS SEEN ON
    • Collaborate
    • Policies
  • Diplo Picks
    • Diplo Mama
    • Diplo Home
    • Diplo Tummy
    • Diplo Tips
    • Diplo Travel
    • Diplo Style
    • Diplo Baby
    • Diplo Inspiration
  • Living in
    • BERLIN
      • good to know
      • to do
      • food & drink
      • shopping
    • JAKARTA
      • good to know
      • to do
      • food & drink
      • shopping
    • MANILA
      • good to know
      • to do
      • food & drink
      • shopping
    • GENEVA
      • geneva good to know
  • TRAVEL DIARIES
    • Germany
    • Italy
    • France
    • Greece
    • Indonesia
    • Japan
    • Malaysia
    • Myanmar
    • Netherlands
    • Philippines
    • Poland
    • Spain
    • Singapore
    • Thailand
    • Vietnam
  • BERLIN 2022 ITINERARY

How to clean silver with baking soda

July 17, 2011

Reposting a how-to from Art Bead Scene for future reference. According to her post when you polish silver (what we normally do) we also remove (abrade) some of the silver. The method below seems so much easier than polishing, doesn’t remove any of the silver and means that I no longer need to buy any more chemical silver polish! Yay!

Love this modern silver + wood set called “natural”  via Design Boom

Using silver cutlery is considered the height of sophistication and elegance. I’ll be honest with you I prefer to have high quality stainless steel ones for everyday use because silvers are really a pain to clean and maintain. They tarnish easily and are quite tiring to clean. Besides I prefer modern cutlery with clean lines… none of those swirly “classic” ones. Ew. (No offense since taste is relative!) Though I wouldn’t mind having this simple antique set of sterling silver and real mother of pearl cutlery in the future for really formal dinners. (Don’t panic TD, we are talking about 25 years down the road here.)

But now that I found this really  easy tip online from someone who makes accessories, I might give it a go! I’m going to try it on my silver jewelry first (If anyone is interested silver is abudant and cheap in Bali. Yogyakarta is also known for it’s silver, but the prices are much higher) and will definitely keep you posted on how it goes.

Reposting below from Art Bead Scene.

Did you know that you can brighten up your tarnished silver components and jewelry without leaving your kitchen? Baking soda is the secret ingredient in this method which I recently put to the test and have directions and photos to share with you.

You will need:

  • baking soda
  • aluminum foil
  • pot
  • boiling water
  • metal tray

The photo below shows some ear wires that have been on sample boards for the last five years and had developed some unsightly tarnish.


Below are two cups of boiling water to which I’ve added 1/2 cup of baking soda.


After lining a shallow toaster oven baking tray with aluminum foil and arranging the ear wires so that each one had contact with the aluminim foil, I gently poured the water and baking soda solution over the findings. This photo shows the bubbles that formed during the chemical reaction.

Here are the ear wires free from tarnish and ready for a little buffing with my Sunshine Cloth.

A simplified explanation of the science behind this method is that when silver tarnishes, it combines with sulfur from the air and forms silver sulfide which is black. There are two ways to remove this coating – one is to remove the silver sulfide from the surface using abrasion and the other is to reverse the chemical process. When the tarnish is removed through abrasion (polishing) some of the silver is also removed. With the method described today none of the silver is removed. The aluminum is effective because it has a stronger affinity to sulfur than silver does, so the warm baking soda solution carries the sulfur atoms from the silver to the aluminum.

Thank you Cindy Gimbrone for bringing this method to my attention. Now there’s no need to stress when I notice that my silver pieces are tarnishing with this quick, easy and inexpensive method!

Click here to check out the original post from Art Bead Scene.

2 Comments · Diplo Tips

Comments

  1. (eye)candy says

    July 31, 2011 at 5:03 AM

    reading this post for the second time! will try this! thanks for sharing 🙂

    Reply
    • diplomaticwife says

      July 31, 2011 at 10:04 AM

      You are most welcome! Do let me know how it goes! =)

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome

Hello! I’m Ayessa, trailing spouse to a diplomat, mama to DiploBaby and DiploDog and founder of Declutter MNL. I love talking about how to achieve a minimaluxe lifestyle one step at a time.

READ MORE
 

LET’S GET SOCIAL

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

GENEVA FINDS: Mabuhay Filipino Store

TURIN BITES: Cioccolatitaliani Gelato & Pancakes

What are the Big Pipes Criss-crossing Berlin?

BERLIN BITES: Poco Loco Mexican Cantina

BERLIN FINDS: McArthur Glen Designer Outlet

DISCLOSURE

I am an Amazon affiliate, but all opinions are my own. The content of all my blog and social media posts are products and experiences that I truly enjoy and I only work with brands that fit my life and style.

GOOD TO KNOW GUIDE

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM @UNDIPLOMATICWIFE

Copyright © 2023 · Designed by Fancy Girl Design Studio.