Silverware is something wonderful and extraordinary, with its unique and particular brilliance. Too bad that over time, the silver tends to oxidize, to become darker.
By losing its brilliance, silver loses much of its charm. Here we have to clean it then and polish it to restore its original splendor. There are several products suitable for the market’s purpose, all with strong chemical components harmful to the environment and our skin.
Luckily, we can use natural products. . will be easier and more environmentally friendly, and our silverware will be as good as new.
Take a large enough container and line it with aluminum foil for food use. We fix the aluminum well to the edges, and we pay attention to turn the shiny side inwards. We calculate the container’s capacity, or how many liters of water it contains if we fill it in three quarters.
For every liter of water, we put a spoonful of salt and two of baking soda. We boil enough water to fill the bowl three quarters. When the water boils, pour it into the container. Let’s not worry if white smoke comes out and if it sizzles all over. It is completely normal and not harmful to health.
At this point, we can clean our silver. We dip the pieces to be polished in the solution of water, bicarbonate, and salt. We are careful not to burn ourselves, perhaps helping each other with rubber gloves.
First of all, we put the cutlery, laying them on the bottom. They are the silvers that oxidize faster, so they need more immersion time. Then add the other pieces to be polished one at a time not to overflow the water.
Let the silver soak until it becomes shiny. It will not take long, it will take a few minutes, and there will be no need to rub. When we remove the silver from the water, we dry it in the shortest possible time.
We first use a cloth, then brush it over with another dry cloth. In this way, we will be sure to have completely dried each object. We pay particular attention to any corners and coves.
There may be some points of our silver, which are particularly oxidized. In this case, the mixture of water, baking soda, and salt may not be enough. We put on the point some toothpaste and rub gently. The oxidation should thus decrease, and we can then immerse the silver in the container together with the other pieces.
- We do not overfill the container; if necessary, we make more passes.
- To slow down the oxidation of the silver, periodically clean them from the dust.
