How to clean tarnished silver without scrubbing or harsh chemicals

Silver tarnishes over time, and there's not much you can do to stop it.

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• Silver tarnishes when it reacts with airborne sulfur in a process known as oxidation.
• To clean silver, line a bucket with aluminum foil, fill it with warm water and baking soda, and soak.
• While you can't prevent tarnish completely, storing silver with chalk can slow down the process.
• Visit Insider's Home & Kitchen Reference library for more stories.

Silver is a precious metal that shines brightly at first but tarnishes quickly as it reacts with naturally occurring sulfur in the air. It's a process called oxidation, and it's pretty much inevitable. Your jewelry or flatware needs regular maintenance if you want to keep the silver from turning dull and black over time.

Erin Nelson, a jewelry designer from Cape Cod, MA, very much understands the struggle of silver maintenance. 

"The [commercial silver cleaner] alternatives are usually pretty harsh chemicals that I wouldn't want to breathe in, and I wouldn't recommend other people do," Nelson says. She instead recommends this tried-and-true process before resorting to any commercial polish or silver cleaner on the market. 

Grab your silver jewelry or flatware and head to the kitchen, where you'll likely have everything you need to restore the shine.

How to clean silver

This method works with jewelry, flatware, or anything else silver.

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Nelson subscribes to an old-school method of cleaning silver that's not only easy but also environmentally friendly. And all you need to do is soak your silver in a bath of aluminum foil, baking soda, and warm water. "You don't have to put a ton of elbow grease in there," says Nelson, "It's not really polishing as much as just letting [the bath] do its job." Here's how to do it:

1. Wash the silver with water and mild dish soap. This will remove any fingerprints and surface dirt from the silver.
2. Line a glass baking dish with aluminum foil. The foil is the magic ingredient here — it will absorb the tarnish from the jewelry — so you can really use any container. It all depends on how much water it takes to submerge your silver. A baking dish is fine for jewelry and flatware, but you'll need something deeper like a plastic bucket to hold cups or other larger items. 
3. Fill the dish about halfway with warm or hot water and a tablespoon of baking soda. The water will start to bubble as it reacts with the baking soda, which raises the temperature of the water. Some say to use boiling water, which is fine — the hotter water will just make the baking soda start bubbling faster. If you've poured too much water, it might start to bubble over, so be careful if you do use boiling water. Keep a towel nearby or put the dish in the sink for easier cleanup.
4. Add silver to the dish. Let your silver sit in the bubbling bath for a while. As it soaks, you might detect an odor like rotting eggs. This is normal. It's the smell of sulfur that is released as the tarnish is removed. 
5. Make sure all surfaces of the silver touch the foil. Again, the foil is the star of the show here, so all parts of the silver need to touch it at some point. If you use hot or boiling water, use tongs or another utensil to move and flip the pieces.
6. Repeat if necessary. When the tin foil turns dark brown or black, Nelson says it's time to change it and do a new bath if necessary to finish removing the tarnish. However, your silver could very well be cleaned in the first bath alone. If it is, remove the silver, rinse, and let dry.

Quick tip: Nelson notes that while this DIY method is gentle on the silver itself, it might damage gems, so do not use it on silver jewelry with stones.

Other methods for cleaning and polishing silver

Toothpaste is a mild abrasive that can help remove tarnish.

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If you've got large amounts of silver or simply need a backup method to get rid of heavier tarnish, here are a few more methods to try:

Vinegar and baking soda

These are the dynamic duo of household cleansers. Mix a small amount of white vinegar with baking soda to form a paste, then rub it on the silver with a soft cloth to remove tarnish. Rinse it off and let dry.

Toothpaste

Skip the minty gels and go for a regular paste. Nelson recommends one with baking soda, as it's gentle on teeth so it should also behave with your silver. She also says to do a spot check to confirm that you aren't doing more harm than good with this technique.

Ketchup

Yes, the same stuff you put on a hamburger could save your silver. That's because the acid in the tomatoes breaks down the tarnish. Use a towel to gently rub ketchup onto tarnished areas. For stubborn stains or heavily tarnished pieces, let the ketchup sit for roughly 20 minutes before rinsing it away. Use plastic gloves if you don't want to get your hands all goopy, and be sure to rinse the silver well when it comes out of its ketchup bath. 

Cola

If you'd prefer not to have ketchup-covered silver, opt for a cola bath. That's right, the same stuff you might like to drink is acidic enough to destroy tarnish and even rust. Pour the soda — you can even use diet — into a dish or cup and submerge the silver. The cola will work quickly, so take a peek after a few minutes to see how it's cleaning up. When you're satisfied with the results, remove and rinse thoroughly.

Commercial silver cleaners

Any supermarket or home improvement store will have a number of polishes, dips, and other solutions that can clean jewelry and household silver. Nelson says to use gloves with any liquid-based cleaners, as it's "impossible" not to get them on your hands, plus they might cause a rash for some people.

Nelson swears by a gentler commercial option called the Sunshine Polishing Cloth. It's a soft reusable cloth that contains cleaner, so all you have to do is wipe your silver. It's a great option for touching up jewelry between uses. The cloth will get dirty over time, but do not wash it per the manufacturer's instructions.

Protecting silver in between uses

Silver begins to tarnish as soon as it is exposed to air, and it only gets worse when perspiration, perfume, or humidity enter the mix. 

Nelson recommends keeping silver sealed away in between uses. At the very least, put jewelry or flatware in a box and close the lid, though a zip-top bag will also work fine. Don't keep silver necklaces out or hang them on a hook for display. 

Quick tip: Store your silver with a piece of chalk, says Nelson. Chalk will absorb some of the moisture in the air and help stave off tarnishing.

Insider's takeaway

Dull or tarnished silver need not be banished to the junk drawer or a garage sale now that you have these cleaning methods in your arsenal. Any of these DIY strategies are good for regular silver maintenance, but jewelry designer Erin Nelson recommends submerging silver in a bath of baking soda and warm water in a vessel lined with aluminum foil. The foil will absorb the tarnish, and you won't have to do much if any scrubbing. Keep silver sealed up between uses to slow down the oxidation process.

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How to clean tarnished silver without scrubbing or harsh chemicals
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