Silver
How to Clean Silver with Baking Soda & Aluminum Foil
You can polish silver with silver polishes however, there are natural silver cleaners you can use made from commonly used household items.
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Save money
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Avoid use of harsh chemicals.
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Non-toxic and good for the environment.
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Cheaper too!!
Note: Once you put in the work to cleaning the tarnished silver, it doesn't prevent further tarnish!!!
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You can easily clean silver with aluminum foil, baking soda and hot water. This method uses electrolytic action instead of chemical-polish abrasion and removes the tarnish from oxidized silver without removing any of the underlying metal.
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This is great for heavily tarnished silver. You can even let the tarnished silver soak in the solution and extremely oxidized silver may just need light polishing. Cleaning the silver is only a temporary solution. Once the silver is clean, seal out the tarnish and seal in the beauty with ProtectaClear®.
Step 1.
Gather the needed items:
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Your tarnished silver
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A container big enough for the silver
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Aluminum foil
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Baking soda
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Hot water
Step 2.
Wrap the silver item in aluminum foil.
Add baking soda to hot water in the container. A couple of tablespoons will work but more can be added for heavily tarnished silver or larger containers.
Step 3.
Add foil covered silver items to hot water and baking soda solution. Let it work. The time it takes to remove the tarnish will depend on how badly the silver is tarnished. If the water cools, add hot water.
Check periodically to see if the tarnish is gone. If it is not completely gone, wrap it back up and put it back into the hot water and baking soda mixture.
Step 4.
Unwrap the silver. You will see that the tarnish has transferred to the foil.
Wash and rinse the silver. Dry with a soft cloth.
If desired, polish with any silver polish. Midas Touch Polish is an excellent polish that is not acid based so there is no neutralization necessary.
Step 5.
Apply ProtectaClear so you never have to polish your silver again. ProtectaClear is practically invisible, is easy to apply, is self leveling and will keep silver looking freshly polished for years. ProtectaClear will also protect plated silver from wearing through with continual polishing.
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ProtectaClear is available in 1 oz. for small amounts of silver protection - up to 4 square feet of silver. 4 oz. cans for up to 25 square feet and 6 oz. aerosol cans for intricate silver items. Also available in larger sizes.
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Customer Reviews for Silver
"ProtectaClear helped my silver set sell on Ebay. Thanks. " -Greg Porter
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ProtectaClear® is practically invisible and it will stop the tarnish and keep your silver looking freshly polished for years.
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The usual tarnish on silver is the black sulfide. The cool thing about this is that you can instantly remove the tarnish from any silver item with commonly available household items.
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This method of cleaning will work fast. It works quickly, no scratches, no muss, no fuss, and then all you do is rinse the item off. There is no adverse environmental impact, none of the ingredients are in any way toxic (they are food grade!), there is no abrasion or scratching of the silver and you can use your bare hands to remove the treated items from the solution. Just rinse and dry the silver when you are done, & pour the "used" solution down the drain! Re-use or recycle the aluminum foil.
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You may want to polish the silver to a high shine with polish. MIDAS TOUCH Polishing Cream is excellent polish that is not acid-based. If you use an acid-based polish, then just wash it in baking soda water to neutralize the acid before coating.
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***Tips: Do not wear rubber gloves when working with your silver as rubber is corrosive to silver.
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Once you clean your silver, how do you protect it to prevent tarnishing again?
To prevent your silver from tarnishing again, apply ProtectaClear®. ProtectaClear® is an easy to apply, clear protective coating that looks very natural and will keep your silver looking like it is freshly polished. ProtectaClear® is self-leveling, long-lasting and will keep silver looking great for years. NEVER POLISH YOUR SILVER AGAIN!
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After the silver has the look you want, wash off the polish residue with a couple of drops of dish soap and water. Dry with a soft cloth. Use a clean solvent like xylene or denatured alcohol to ensure a completely clean and dry surface. Simply apply ProtectaClear onto the silver with the applicator that comes with every order of liquid coating. You can also dip the silver into ProtectaClear® or use natural bristled brushes to paint on ProtectaClear® which is self-leveling so any drips or brush marks will disappear. Aerosol cans are also available to spray ProtectaClear onto intricate items.