Homemade, Eco-Friendly Silver Cleaning Solutions

With the winter holidays approaching, you may be contemplating the dreaded task of cleaning and polishing those silver place settings, serving platters, or even your favorite silver jewelry for the company holiday party.

Did you know that silver and other metal polishes are some of the most toxic cleaning solutions on the market? Many brands contain hazardous chemicals including sulphuric acid, petroleum distillates, and more. These chemicals can irritate your skin and breathing passageways, and are also dangerous for the environment - polluting water systems and potentially even making it back into our food systems. State environmental protection agencies around the country often classify silver polish as Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) and ask consumers to bring any unwanted or unused portions of these products to special hazardous waste collection sites. Some of these chemicals can even damage your silver pieces by containing abrasive materials that could eventually rub away a significant layer of valuable metal.

In response to this issue, a number of companies have begun marketing non-toxic silver polishes with varying degrees of success. But to save money and avoid the health and environmental risks, there are homemade solutions you can make that are effective (and can even become a science lesson for kids!)

You'll need:

Large pan or baking dish (deep enough to hold water that will cover your silver items - a store bought aluminum turkey roasting pan will work)

Aluminum foil

Baking Soda (1-2 cups for large items)

Salt (a few tablespoons)

Boiling water

Potholders or hot pads

- Boil a large pot of water and dissolve the salt and baking soda into it.

- While the water is heating, prepare your silver items to be cleaned. Rinse or wipe away surface dust, and place them into your pan. If you are using a non-aluminum pan, line it with foil and lie the silver pieces at the bottom, making sure that the silver is touching as much of the aluminum as possible.

- Once the water has boiled and the salt and baking soda are dissolved, carefully pour the water into the pan over the silver pieces.

- Watch the tarnish vanish! This will happen over several minutes - if your item is severely tarnished, repeat the process by reheating the water and starting again.

Why does it work?

The

University
of
Wisconsin

's Science Fun page: http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/homeexpts/TARNISH.html has a complete scientific description, but essentially a chemical reaction occurs, creating an electrolytic current called the "salt bridge." The tarnish on your silver is made up of silver sulfide - during the chemical reaction the sulphur is carried away from the silver, over the salt bridge, and to the aluminum. You'll either see that the aluminum foil or pan is beginning to blacken (like tarnished silver) or small flakes settling at the bottom of the pan. That is the reaction at work.

I use this method in my own home and have found it to be very effective on silver pieces that have largely flat areas without much embellishment or deep crevices. Those areas may require using one of the less toxic commercial products on the market today, but by cleaning other areas with this method, you reduce the amount of chemicals that you must purchase and store in your home. Remember to use caution, even with this solution. Pour out any remaining solution and keep hands and kids away from the hot water and pans.