The Easy Aluminum Foil Hack That'll Make Your Well-Loved Silverware Sparkle Again

Looking for gentle ways to get your silverware sparkling clean with household ingredients? Over time, silverware can become dull and tarnished, and you may be hesitant to use it for special occasions if it isn't looking its best. Perhaps you've put off cleaning your silverware because you don't want to risk damaging it with harsh chemicals. If this is the case, we have the perfect solution for you — an easy hack that uses a few essentials you already have lying around the kitchen. The result? Sparkling clean, tarnish-free silverware that's ready for your next big event. All you need are a heat-proof container big enough to hold your cutlery, some aluminum foil, boiling water, and a couple of tablespoons of baking soda to create a bath that removes the tarnish from the silverware as it soaks.

There are lots of common ingredients that might be damaging your silverware, and the reason aluminum foil and baking soda can often solve the issue comes down to simple science. The tarnish you see is actually silver sulfide that appears when sulfur-containing compounds in the air react with the silverware. Aluminum is more reactive than silver, so it's more likely to lose electrons and accept the sulfide ions through an electrochemical exchange. The baking soda breaks down into ions as it dissolves in the water, creating an electrolyte solution to transfer electrons between the two metals, while heating the water speeds up the process. During this reaction, the sulfur transfers from the silverware to the aluminum foil, and the silverware emerges no longer tarnished.

To do this hack, line your container with aluminum foil, and carefully place your silverware inside it, making sure the cutlery items touch the foil but not one another. Another option is to use an aluminum baking pan, which means you won't need to use any foil and the baking pan will do the work for you. Whatever you use, fill the container with boiling water to cover the silverware. Next, stir in two tablespoons of baking soda, letting the water fizz as it dissolves. Leave the silverware to soak for a few minutes, and watch the tarnish disappear from it and transfer to the aluminum. Then, remove your silverware, and buff with a soft cloth.

Using such basic, everyday ingredients, this hack is practically free, so there is no excuse not to have your silverware looking as good as new. Also, there's no need to dedicate an entire morning or afternoon to performing this hack; it only takes a matter of minutes for the tarnished items to become shiny again. The best part is that, unlike polishing, this technique restores the damaged silver rather than remove it, so you retain every last bit of metal when the process if over. And the benefits of aluminum foil don't end with this trick! Once the cutlery is clean, you can also prevent your silverware from tarnishing with an aluminum foil hack to use in storage, ensuring your pieces are ready to use right out of the drawer.