DIY Natural Silver Polish

October 2, 2012 by Alia 15 Comments

Have you ever wondered if there’s an easier way to polish the silver?  A way that doesn’t take hours and hours and a lot of elbow grease?  If you have, you’re in luck!

Tarnished Silver-Plated Wine Goblets

A colleague of mine was recently faced with this exact question.  She was planning a family reunion of sorts and wanted to use the 6 wine goblets that had been in the family for a few generations.  They were the family heirlooms.

The goblets are silver plated and, of course, badly tarnished.  Bound and determined to avoid hours of polishing, she investigated the possibility of polishing them naturally (and quickly).

Here’s what she did…

Quick and Natural Silver Polish Method

-Fill the kettle with water and set it to boil.

-Run the hot water tap until the water that comes out is very hot.

-Line the bottom of the kitchen sink with aluminum foil.

-Add 2 Tbsp. household salt.

-Add 2 Tbsp. baking soda.

-Fill the sink with very hot tap water.

-Add a kettle-full of boiling hot water to increase the temperature further.

-There is no need to mix the ingredients, the chemical reaction is enough.

-Add the silver to the sink.

-Bathe the silver for about 30 seconds. The tarnish disappears due to the chemical reaction.

-Remove the silver.

-Drain the sink and wipe it down.

-Fill the sink about 1/3 of the way with a mixture of water and white vinegar.

-Bathe the silver in the vinegar water. This will remove any extra baking soda mixture that could potentially cause the silver to pit.

-Drain the sink.

-Give the silver one final rinse with water.

-Polish with a soft cloth. (I used an old towel). It is important to use a soft cloth to avoid scratching the silver.

-Enjoy naturally polished silver.

A tip: Do not use rubber gloves during this process, as the rubber interacts poorly with the silver and may damage it or cause it to tarnish even faster next time. Soft cloth gloves or nitrile gloves are recommended.

The Results

This method removed about 90% of the tarnish. Given that the goblets are old and have not been used in decades, it seemed like a reasonable trade-off.  A cream polisher could be used to handle the tough spots.  Thanks to this natural polishing method, my colleague was able to save herself several hours of drudgery!