Remove silver tarnish with aluminum foil

Aluminum Foil in bulk
1000 foot rolls

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A. Hi Louis. I've done it for myself and it worked well; my wife has done it several times. And from numerous successful reports on thread 4785, "Polishing Silver with Aluminum Foil and Baking Soda", it's worked well for lots of people! Good luck with it, or read on for some specific hints.

Regards,

A. I just tried the Al, baking soda on a silver US quarter, Nothing much happened.

"420 Ways to Clean Everything" by Harriet Wylie ⇦[this on AbeBooks or eBay or Amazon affil links] , says to use Al foil, kosher salt ⇦[this on eBay or Amazon affil links] , and cold water and to dip the cutlery for 2 minutes to remove stubborn stains. That seemed to loosen the black coating on the quarter, but you still have to brush it.

Spic and Span


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A. My ideas for best success with this technique:

1). - the conversion of the tarnish back to silver depends on conducting electricity, not on whether the dissolved "salt" is baking soda, kosher salt, washing soda, water softener salt, or trisodium phosphate -- you can use anything you have that will conduct electricity well.
2). - but all chemical reactions occur much faster at high temperatures.
3). - the word "cleaning" is imprecise. The reaction we're talking about is not about removing ground in finger oils and dirt, but about electrochemically converting silver tarnish back to silver. Still, removing that oil & dirt is necessary, especially on decades-old quarters, and baking soda or kosher salt in water is a poor detergent :-)

So to me, the best way to help the reaction occur fast & easy, and leave any scum easily wiped off, if you're dealing with old stuff that is dirty as well as tarnished, is probably to use a TSP-based detergent like Spic and Span ⇦[this on eBay or Amazon] and very hot water. The hot water and strong detergent, however, will mean you'd probably want to wear dishwashing gloves ⇦[this on eBay or Amazon affil links] .

Regards,

I have heard of the Aluminum, salt and water method for silver. It is actually supposed to reverse the tarnishing process. The salt water acting as the electrolyte between the two nodes. I have tried it myself, both with cold and boiling water, but with no success.

A. Hi Louis, hi Ralph: Thread 4785 discusses it in great depth and boring detail, but it's really not tricky and nothing is critical. Put a piece of aluminum foil on the bottom of anything non-metallic; mix a generous amount of baking soda [in bulk on eBay or Amazon affil links] , washing soda ⇦[this on eBay or Amazon affil links] , or my favorite, Spic and Span ⇦[this on eBay or Amazon] into hot water, and pour it in. Drop your silver onto the foil, and that's it.

Hi Kelly: Are you sure that your silver is touching the aluminum foil? (it needs to). Might you be working with silver jewelry that has a non-conductive lacquer clearcoat on it?

Regards,

A. With respect to tarnishing of silver, if it's like copper you're getting a corrosion film of the sulfur compounds as well as some oxide and/or carbonate.

I have used the aluminum process, except with baking soda rather than NaCl, with some success. It electrolytically reverses much of the tarnish, and a faint sulfide smell is noted. It didn't work as well as on the TV where the miracle plate of aluminum ($0.25 worth of aluminum, sold for $20!) was used. I tried both scrap aluminum and aluminum foil - the silver must be electrically in GOOD contact with the aluminum, by the way. I suspect that experimenting with different grades of aluminum alloys in waters of differing hardnesses would account for many of the results listed above. Higher temperature water seemed to have a very limited accelerating effect, maybe excluding oxygen by boiling is an important step?

Silver naturally will tarnish in the atmosphere, with a huge dependence on the presence of sulfur. Eggs, industrial atmospheres, and natural digestive processes are probably the important sources for most fine silver. Like brass, you can put on a high quality lacquer finish immediately after cleaning to shield the metal, but silverware and other implements will probably suffer damaged coatings in use. Hope these ramblings are of assistance.

A. With respect to cleaning silver using aluminum --

Perhaps it will work better if you abrade the surface of the aluminum that contacts the silver. Oxide coating may act as insulator.

A. If you don't want to fool with all the mess, foil, salt, boiling water, buy a Silver Cleaning Plate ⇦[this on eBay or Amazon affil links] . They really do work, I've been using one for over 8 years. Simple and easy, no mess no fuss. I love silver and have lots of it.

Thanks, Sue

I just did all my silver using WARM water, Al foil and table salt. I poured the salt directly onto the foil, then mixed it a little to dissolve it in the water. Then the silver was placed DIRECTLY onto the foil (shiny side up). It took about 3 min to clean the entire teapot. Try it, it really works!

A. I find that aluminum foil, boiling water and baking soda only works if you put it in a plastic dish - I use a rectangular shallow dish. If you put it in metal the reaction will not occur. Hope this helps; also rinse the silver in hot soapy water and dry immediately.

Silver Cleaning Plates

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Soda Crystals
Cleaning Plate Activator

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A. Here are links to buy a cleaning plate, but some people say aluminum foil works just as good, Micheline :-)

A. I have used several metal cleaning plates. The safest, and one I like best, can be purchased from a company named Special Metal Cleaners, Inc. It is guaranteed never to wear out and is especially safe for precious jewelry as well as antique silver.

A. I saw, on TV, a method to remove tarnish from silver, It DID utilize water, aluminum foil and salt, but it did NOT utilize baking soda. Instead of baking soda, it utilized powdered water softener salt ⇦[this on eBay or Amazon affil links] .

A. I saw this on Mr. Wizard as a child, from then on it was my job to clean my mom's silver. Use baking soda, salt, hot water and a piece of aluminum foil in the solution. The tarnish should come right off; the foil is there to give the tarnish something to bind to so it won't collect onto the next piece you clean. It's been a while but it worked like a charm then.

A. A great fast way to clean silver that is very intricate and hard to clean is....take a aluminum pie dish...put hot water in it add a cup of water softener and a splash of vinegar ⇦[in bulk on eBay or Amazon affil links] dip your silver in and pull out. comes out spotless.

A. For the water softener, get Arm and Hammer Super washing soda ⇦[this on eBay or Amazon affil links] (NOT baking soda). I put a silver coin in a plastic dish that I lined with aluminum foil, covered it with the washing soda, then put some boiling water on top. It fizzed a little and smelled like sulfur. The coin had to be wiped off gently when removed and it was shiny and new!

A. The principle behind this is that most metals corrode with exposure to oxygen. For example, iron rusts with time because of its exposure to moisture in the air, oxygen. You may also have noticed that cars in the northeast rust a lot faster because of the salt used on the roads in winter. The whole process involves electrons moving between the metal and oxygen atoms. It happens spontaneously with most metals (gold being a notable exception). Silver does pretty much the same thing, only that tarnish is the combination of silver with sulfur [affil links] and not oxygen. Silver is special with its more complex reactions, but the principle by which silver tarnishes is the same by which iron rusts.

Aluminum also does the same thing, only it happens more readily than silver...(see where this is going?)

So we need to move the electrons to and from the metals and we need a metal that will take the electrochemical abuse for the silver. The aluminum takes the hit for the silver, and the salt water allows the electrons to move between the silver and aluminum. I would explain more, but this is not a general chemistry article.

This of course raises the question of why airplanes (which have aluminum) don't dissolve in mid flight...

A. Explanation: Silver tarnishes because it undergoes a chemical reaction with sulfur-containing substances in the air. Silver combines with sulfur to form silver sulfide, which is black, and darkens the silver.The silver can be made shiny again by removing the silver sulfide coating from the surface.

Two ways to remove the silver sulfide are to: remove it from the surface, or reverse the chemical reaction and turn silver sulfide back into silver. The first method involves polishes that remove some of the silver during polishing. The above demo uses a chemical reaction (which is sped up by heating the water) to convert the silver sulfide back into silver, without removing any silver.

Aluminum has a lower ionization energy (energy required to remove electrons from an atom of the element) than silver. As a result, aluminum is oxidized (loses electrons and oxidation number increases), and silver is reduced (gains electrons and oxidation number is reduced). Depending on the amount of tarnish, the silver will be bright and the aluminum foil may be brown with tarnish (aluminum oxide), in a short while. The silver tarnish is "transferred" to the aluminum via reactions, which occur instantaneously, as follows:

3Ag₂S(s) + 2Al(s)+ 3H₂O(l) => 6Ag(s) + Al₂O₃(s) + 3H₂S(aq)

silver sulfide + aluminum + water => silver + aluminum oxide + hydrogen sulfide
(* Note, this reaction can be done without the baking soda, but it takes longer to see results).

The baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) reacts with the (sulfur-smelling) H₂S:

3 NaHCO₃(aq) + 3 H2S(aq) => 3 NaHS(aq)+3 H₂O(l)+ 3 CO₂(g)

baking soda + hydrogen sulfide => sodium hydrosulfide + water + carbon dioxide. The CO₂ gas can be observed escaping from the most tarnished parts of the silver.

The silver and aluminum must be in contact with each other because a small electric current flows between them during the reaction.This type of reaction, which involves an electric current (because atoms are charged), is called an electrochemical reaction, and is used in batteries to produce electricity.

Q. I can understand Tania from Maine's equation from my schoolboy chemistry, and it's exactly what I wanted to know.
What I don't understand are the letters in parentheses next to each compound.

Why baking soda? Does it convert the gas from hydrogen sulfide to carbon dioxide -- hydrogen sulfide is poisonous.

david haynes
- wantage,oxon,uk

"The Dose
Makes the poison"
by Frank & Ottoboni

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A. Hi, David.

Tania is apparently indicating whether the compounds are solids, liquids, gases, or ionized in an aqueous solution.

Baking soda merely supplies conductivity. Similar results can be had with washing soda ⇦[this on eBay or Amazon affil links] , Spic and Span ⇦[this on eBay or Amazon] , or other conductive salts. Although hydrogen sulfide is poisonous, Paracelsus reminded us that everything is poison; it's all in the dose. Eggs release hydrogen sulfide as well.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Q. Tania, I do believe you got the reaction correct. Very nice explanation! However, I don't think the silver needs to be in contact with the aluminum because the saltwater acts as an electrolyte.

Susan Ammons
- Bowling Green, Kentucky
January 10, 2009

A. Hi. The silver does need to be in contact with the aluminum. For silver sulfide to be reduced to silver, electrons must flow to it from the aluminum, and there needs to be metal-to-metal contact so the electrons can flow. Ions flow through the liquid, but electrons flow through metal.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

A. One cheap and easy way I have found to remove tarnish from silver is to use regular toothpaste, not the gel type, just regular paste type. Just rub it on or use an old toothbrush, especially when cleaning intricate parts, like jewelry. Then rinse and dry. No harsh chemicals to harm pearls or other delicate stones.

A. I did the experiment. If you put 500 ml of water, 7.5 ml of baking soda and 2.5 ml of salt in a GLASS pot with aluminum foil covering the inside on the stove on high let it sit. Right before it starts to boil cut it off, put in the silver or the forks and let them sit for 1 minute then take them out and wipe off.

It Works.

A. I doubt that the salt is the problem, although most people recommend washing soda ⇦[this on eBay or Amazon affil links] rather than salt.

The silver may be lacquered, which would prevent the action from happening, or your procedure may be wrong. Unfortunately, I can't understand what you are saying about your procedure, but it's very simple: The silver must touch the aluminum foil and the silver must be fully immersed.

I read the articles on how to get rid of tarnish because I have a ring holder that is all silver and shaped like a swan. My swan was extremely tarnished, and I mixed together two of the ways to get rid of the tarnish because none of them worked by themselves. I boiled water with salt, and then I poured baking soda all over my swan. I got the baking powder wet with the salty water so that it was damp, and then I scrubbed it with tin foil. The tarnish came off easily, I wish I figured this out thirty minutes before when I started my project!

A. The aluminum foil should be bright side up.

A. Hi Shiv,
I don't think it makes any difference. The difference in appearance is only because of how it has to be made. To make foil two sheets of aluminum must be placed together then rolled down to thinness. The outsides which rub on the rolls gets shiny. The sides where the two pieces of foil are touching each other remain matte in appearance.
Luck & Regards,


Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

A. Hi, Rod. There is no end to the size of containers. Bathtubs or stoppered shower areas can accommodate rather large trays. But I have heard, without personally verifying it, that scrubbing the tray with the aluminum foil wetted with the washing soda ⇦[this on eBay or Amazon affil links] will work. Good luck.

Regards,

A. Pearls should only be cleaned with a good quality pearl cleaner barbara fein
- Los Angeles, California

A. Hi. Some people say the reaction is instantaneous in hot to boiling water anyway.
Sure, external electrical power can be used to drive an electrochemical reaction ... it's done in electroplating and other processes ... but it makes a simple reaction more complicated :-(

Regards,

A. Hi Soren. To my knowledge, brass and bronze don't become sulfided like silver, so the reactions would be different. I believe that copper "bright dips" can be used on brass and bronze. The bright dips are comprised of an acid and an oxidizing agent. Nitric acid is one example, sulfuric acid plus hydrogen peroxide is another. But here we're talking about materials that are far more dangerous and less suitable for home use than aluminum foil and washing soda ⇦[this on eBay or Amazon affil links] . Good luck.

Regards,

A. For the large serving trays, scrubbing with aluminum foil works for me. For my jewelry, I use an old toothbrush with foil wrapped around the handle end. Use the brush end to soak crevices with solution, then gently scrub with the foiled handle. When possible, I do this with the item IN the solution.

My formula is 1 cup near-boiling water with 1 T each salt, soda, and liquid dish detergent.

I'm no chemist, but when cooking, baking soda can be substituted with baking powder and salt. Both soda and salt may create a reaction with the foil, but they are also mild abrasives, and therefor excellent for cleaning. You can make an inexpensive scouring powder with equal parts coarse salt, baking soda, and borax ⇦[this on eBay or Amazon affil links] . (Works wonders on ceramic stove tops.)

For cleaning brass or bronze, try this formula. I use this solution for my bathroom cleaner and it?s simply amazing. Just spray, let sit a few minutes, wipe and rinse. Soap scum, hard water build up, and any kind of "crusties" will start to disappear in just a few days; and it leaves your fixtures bright and shiny. For gunked-up shower heads, just spray and leave. We've also used this for burnt pans, grill grates, car bumpers, and all kinds of outside surfaces.
1 c. white vinegar ⇦[in bulk on eBay or Amazon affil links] (dissolves soap scum)
2 T borax (scouring agent)
2 T lemon or lime juice (polishes/makes shiny)
1/4 tsp. bleach [adv: bleach/sodium hypochlorite in bulk on eBay or Amazon affil links] (cleans/disinfects surfaces)
1 c. water

A. Hi Leslie. You should lay the plate under the punch bowl, with the bowl fully submerged in a large plastic dishpan or a fiberglass or Corian sink (not a conductive metal sink). I can't countermand the instructions that came with the cleaning plate, but I'm sure you're supposed to rinse it. Good luck.

Regards,

I just tried the boiling water/baking soda/aluminum foil method. It does work. My silver bracelet looks great. Thank you for the advice.

K-

A. I read through this site and didn't have baking soda and salt was taking too long. So I asked someone and she said try ashes. So I did and it worked at first try.