I love finding vintage silver items when thrifting. Sometimes I leave them a little tarnished just for the added texture and story behind them. Other times I want to restore them to their original glory. I have found the easiest method for cleaning them up so I wanted to share it with you! Here are the step by step directions:
1. Line your sink with aluminum foil (be sure to plug it too because you will be filling the sink with water!). I currently have a stainless steel sink but I have also done this method on a porcelain sink.
2. Put your silver items in the sink and sprinkle baking soda on them. You don't need to coat them but just use about 1/4-1/2 cup depending on how much silver you are trying to clean.
3. Fill sink with boiling water. I boiled one pot of water and then filled the rest of the sink with really hot water because our faucet gets really hot.
4. Let it sit for about 10-15 minutes. You can let it sit longer for more stubborn varnish stains. You will start to smell a sulfur-like scent immediately. That is the chemical reaction of the foil, silver and baking soda working their cleaning magic together.
5. Once they are the level of clean you desire, remove the silver items from the sink and wipe with a rag. You will see the excess dirt & varnish come off. It's so satisfying! (you may also need to clean your sink after this as mine was pretty dirty when I was finished)
You can find the full video of how I did this on my Instagram page here: https://www.instagram.com/jillandjune.co/