Scott from Oregon said he liked science, so here is a bit of practical chemistry you can use. As I’m sure everyone knows, silver tarnishes. It drives me nuts because it’s so hard to remove by typical means: pastes and scrubbing. However, with some items readily available in your kitchen, you can remove tarnish without scrubbing.

You will need:

  • a rectangular or square glass dish
  • aluminum foil
  • baking soda
  • water

Boil enough water to cover whatever silver items you have. You can turn them as the tarnish is removed if they are rather large. You may want to consider lining a rather large dish (must be ceramic or glass) or sink for large items like teapots. Add baking soda. You should use a cup of baking soda for each gallon of water. (4 cups water, 1/4 cup baking soda)

Line the dish with aluminum foil. Make sure it goes up the sides. You can use more than one sheet.

Pour boiling water into the dish. Place tarnished silver items in the pan. They must touch the aluminum foil. Wherever they don’t touch aluminum foil, the tarnish will stay.

This is a simple oxidation-reduction reaction. It is also an electrochemical reaction.

3 Ag2S + 2 Al --/> 6 Ag + Al2S3
silver
sulfide		 aluminum silver aluminum
sulfide

The tarnish is the silver sulfide. As the reaction progresses, you will see the aluminum darken (aluminum sulfide is being formed). This method converts the tarnish to silver and does not remove any silver, unlike abrasive cleaners. This method works very well for intricate designs.

See, chemistry can be fun!