Hello, hello, hello! Thanksgiving is mere days away, and you might think, “Gosh! My silver and plate look awful. Maybe I should shine them up.” There’s an inexpensive and eco-safe solution for that.
As much as I wanted to show you how to clean the Bialetti, cleaning silver is more critical now. (Hello, Thanksgiving!) Next time for the Bialetti.
My friend, Bob Scott, who owns a fabulous authentic American Indian jewelry shop in Grand Lake, Colorado, is an expert at polishing silver. I asked him how he got everything looking its best. He said he uses Scotchgard 3m Tarni-Shield. He preferred to use Nixon 7 Metal Polish, but it can’t be found these days.
Fair enough. If you want to go old-school, head over and snag a bottle of the Scotchgard. Make sure you wear gloves, and you’ll get a beautiful shine to your silverware.
However, if you are looking for a more eco-friendly method, here it is. The recipe is:
For every cup of boiling water, add
1 Tablespoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon salt
½ cup of distilled white vinegar.
You’ll need enough of this solution to cover your silverware, so plan on using more than one cup of boiling water, etc.
Use a tray that will hold your silver in a single layer without them touching.
Place a piece of aluminum foil in the bottom of the pan.
Add your silverware in a single layer, but do not let the pieces touch each other or overlap.
While the water is boiling, sprinkle the salt and baking soda over the top, and pour the vinegar over them. There will be fizzing.
Carefully pour the boiling water into the pan.
Set a timer for 10 minutes and allow the silver to rest in the solution.
Remove the pieces with tongs and polish them up with a soft cloth.
Repeat the process anew for each batch of silver you need to polish.
For those wondering about the science of how this works, here you go.
Layperson’s cheat sheet: Combining silver sulfide, aluminum, and water creates a reaction between the silver, aluminum oxide, and hydrogen sulfide, which causes the tarnish to wig out and fall off. Do this and add a little elbow grease, and you have some lovely, shiny silver.
Remember, EATT! Is Thursday from 9 am - 12 pm MT. Please stop by and say hi. If you have any questions, please ask. Happy to help. The link will be posted here before we start.
I wonder if this is based on the method I heard of that was developed at the British Museum. The point being that the silver in the silver sulphide tarnish was redeposited on the artefact being treated whereas the use of other, mechanical and chemical, methods removes silver.
Wonderful! I have two beautiful vases of silver that need some major polishing - eventually.... when I find them again. This won't be the best solution as it will take way too much water but I'll come a-knocking when I'm ready ;-)