Tired of paying for “silver polish” solutions which are harmful and expensive?  Try this silver polishing solution next time from items you likely have at home:

Steps

1) Fill up a glass bowl or plastic bucket with boiling water.

2) dissolve 1-2 tablespoons of washing soda.  Washing soda is similar to the baking soda you are likely familiar with, only much stronger.  You can generally find it at your local supermarket.

3) dissolve 1 tablespoon of salt.

4) put aluminum foil at the bottom of the bowl or bucket.

5) dip silver into the water for just a few seconds and take it out.

6) wipe dry.

Your silver should look like new.  The reason this works is you are setting up a transfer of ions so that the tarnish (silver oxide) goes off the silver and is attracted onto the aluminum. The main advantages of this method are:

- It’s cheaper than buying the specialized formula.
- It isn’t hazardous to use.
- It doesn’t strip away any silver like the silver polishers do.

To prevent the silver from getting tarnished quickly, you can also wash the silver afterwards with some dishsoap (mild) or toothpaste.