How to clean tarnished silver in 15 minutes
Old silver will shine like new
How can you clean silver at home without using poisonous chemicals? We’ll show you!
Reagents and equipment:
- bowl;
- aluminum foil;
- baking soda;
- kitchen salt;
- water;
- silver object.
Step-by-step instructions
Add two tablespoons of baking soda and table salt to the bowl and pour warm water over it, so that they dissolve well. Mix thoroughly. Then place a piece of aluminum foil in the solution, with the silver object wrapped in it. Wrap the object so that it makes maximum contact with the foil. After 15-20 minutes the silver will look like new!
Processes description
Over time, silver objects become covered with a layer of silver sulfide, and thus lose their original shine. 4Ag+2H₂S+O₂=2Ag₂S+2H₂O However, there is a simple method to give silver back its initial beauty, where three “reagents” are required, not counting water, which can be found in any kitchen – baking soda, table salt and foil. When the silver touches the foil, it forms a galvanic pair, in which aluminum as the more reactive metal gives its electrons to silver, in the compound of silver sulfide, thus reducing it to a metallic state. The salt crystals added are electrolytes which help the aluminum electrons to reach the silver ions more quickly.
3Ag₂S + 9NaHCO₃ + 2Al = 3NaHS + 2Al(OH)₃ + 6Ag + 3Na₂CO₃ + 6CO₂
6NaHS + 2Al(OH)₃ = Al₂S₃ + 3Na₂S + 6H₂O
