How to Clean Silver With Baking Soda for a Quick Refresh

Cleaning silver to reveal its original luster is easy with commercial polishes or a few DIY methods with items from your pantry. Whether you are cleaning silver jewelry, sterling silver flatware, or silver-plated serving pieces, the process is the same.

Learn how to clean silver with baking soda, distilled white vinegar, dishwashing liquid, and other household products.

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How to Clean Silver With a Baking Soda Paste 

1. Gather Supplies and Mix a Paste

   You’ll need a small bowl, sponge, microfiber cloth, baking soda, and water. Make a paste by mixing one part water and three parts baking soda.

2. Apply the Paste

   Wet the silver with plain water. Use a sponge to apply the paste to a small area. You don’t want the paste to dry too quickly. Gently rub the silver in small circles to release the tarnish.

   Cleaning Tip

   If the silver is heavily tarnished, rinse the sponge often in a separate bowl of water. You may need to apply more paste to the same area a couple of times to cut through the tarnish.

3. Rinse and Dry

   Rinse away the paste and immediately dry the silver with a lint-free microfiber cloth to prevent water spots.

3 Additional Methods to Try

There are a few alternatives you can try to get silver clean as well.

Baking Soda and Aluminum Foil 

You can also try using baking soda and aluminum foil to clean your silver pieces. Gather your supplies first: you’ll need boiling water, baking soda, table salt, aluminum foil, a deep glass dish, plastic tongs, and a microfiber cloth.

1. Line the bottom of a glass baking dish with aluminum foil. 
2. Place the silver pieces so they do not touch each other on the aluminum foil.
3. Sprinkle the silver with two tablespoons of table salt and two tablespoons of baking soda.
4. Add enough boiling water into the pan to completely cover the silver.
5. Allow the silver to soak for four to six minutes, turning it often with a wooden or plastic utensil so that all the surfaces of the item touch the foil. If the water cools down before all the tarnish is gone, add more hot water and refresh the baking soda and salt.
6. Carefully lift the silver items off the foil, rinse in clean water, and buff dry with a microfiber cloth.

Vinegar Rinse

To remove tarnish from small items like jewelry, simply put it in a small bowl and cover it with vinegar. The acetic acid in the vinegar will cut through the tarnish film.

1. Use a bit of baking soda on a damp sponge to gently buff away tough areas of tarnish.
2. Add 1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar to the baking soda, salt, and aluminum foil cleaning method to boost results.
3. Allow the silver to soak for about 15 minutes, rinse well, and dry with a microfiber cloth.
4. No vinegar? You can use lemon juice, pickle juice, or ketchup, too.

Dish Soap and Water

Simply washing silver with dishwashing liquid and hot water will remove light tarnish. Allow the silver to soak for a few minutes in the hot, soapy water and wipe well with a sponge.

Rinse and immediately dry the pieces with a microfiber cloth to prevent water spots.

4 Tips to Prevent Future Tarnish on Silver

• Use your silver—silver that’s used often and washed tends to tarnish less.
• Store silver pieces in a cool, dry place.
• Wrap stored silver in acid-free tissue or unbleached cotton, silver cloth, or tarnish-resistant flannel to absorb excess moisture.
• Place pieces of chalk or silica bags in the storage space to help absorb moisture and prevent tarnish.