How to Clean a Silver Plate With Baking Soda

Recovering Silver From Silverplate
Written By
Kathryn Hatter
Kathryn Hatter
Published: Mar 16, 2010
Updated: Nov 5, 2021
1 minute read

Your silver plate was a thing of beauty when it was new, but over time it has become tarnished. Don't let that tarnish keep you from using your fine silver. With some baking soda and water, you can restore that plate to its original gleaming condition.

Things You'll Need:

Things You Will Need

  • Large dishpan
  • Aluminum foil
  • Stockpot (2-gallon capacity)
  • Stove top
  • Water
  • 1 cup baking soda
  • Old cloth
  • Soft cloth (for buffing)
  • Set a dishpan on the counter. Tear a piece of aluminum foil large enough to cover the bottom of the dishpan, and place the foil in the dishpan.

    Place the silver plate into the dishpan directly on the aluminum foil.

    Fill the stockpot with a gallon of water, and heat the water to a rapid boil. Remove the stockpot from the heat.

    Add the baking soda to the hot water. Stir to dissolve the soda. Expect the ingredients to bubble as you add the baking soda, so stir carefully.

    Pour the baking-soda water over the silver plate, making sure the water covers the plate completely.

    Wait for approximately 15 minutes for the baking soda to remove the tarnish. If tarnish remains after this time, pour the baking-soda water back into the stockpot, and boil again. Pour the water over the plate a second time to continue removing the tarnish.

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    Remove the silver plate from the baking-soda water, and rinse in cool water. Use the old cloth to rub away any remaining tarnish.

    Buff the silver plate with a soft cloth.

    Kathryn Hatter

    Kathryn Hatter is a veteran home-school educator, as well as an accomplished gardener, quilter, crocheter, cook, decorator and digital graphics creator. As a regular contributor to Natural News, many of Hatter's Internet publications focus…

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