Q&A for How to Clean Sterling Silver with Baking Soda and Aluminum

You can rub baking soda paste on the silver item with a microfiber cloth. Use a toothbrush for cleaning areas that are difficult to reach. Then rinse with cold water. Finally, wipe with a microfiber cloth to make it shine.

You can use baking soda paste to clean silver. Combine baking soda and hot water in the ratio of 3:1 to make the paste.

If your gems are all genuine semi-precious or precious stones and there are no glues or enamel paints involved with their settings, you can clean them with this solution.

No. Never place amber in liquid - just wipe the amber with a dry soft cloth.

It's a chemical reaction that's doing the work, so when the chemicals are used up, it stops working. So, after the first batch is done, remove it and put the next one in. If it works, great. If it doesn't, it's time to start over, including replacing the aluminum foil.

I just cleaned Swarovski crystal and sterling silver earrings with it and had no problem. The Swarovskis were crystal with the AB finish, and it's just as shiny as it was before.

Yes. Lab generated diamonds are the same as normal diamonds on a physical level. The only real difference between the two is that natural diamonds have fractures and imperfections. Either way the diamond should be fine.

Yes, gold with not rust or tarnish.

Salt and vinegar can be corrosive on metals. For that reason, it's not recommended to use on something as valuable as sterling.

Take it to an instrument shop; don't try to clean any instrument yourself. You'll get baking soda stuck in keys, and it will cost way more to fix your mistakes than getting it cleaned professionally in the first place.

Use Lime Away. Put on rubber gloves, and be sure the ventilation is good.

Yes, you can.

I used apple cider vinegar and it worked fine.

I believe that this was supposed to refer to a paste made of equal parts of salt and vinegar, and then rubbing the silver. That might be too abrasive. In the Museums they use dry baking soda (a mild abrasive) and a Q-tip (yes it is as tedious as it sounds; it can take over 20 hours to polish a punch bowl). If your piece it that tarnished, it may be better to use one of the dipping solutions or try the above method several times over.

Using vinegar helps keep it shiny and free from dust. Make sure to clean it weekly.

You can put it in plastic, but you have to line it with aluminium foil for it to work.

Submerging a watch in water, let alone boiling water, is a very bad idea unless the watch is waterproof/water resistant. If you hold the watch itself above the water, the band can probably be cleaned this way, but I'd be very hesitant to just drop the watch into this mix if I wanted the watch to continue to work.

Do not use vinegar or salt. They are corrosive. Baking soda and boiling water in aluminum foil or tray are all you need.

It is an electrochemical redox reaction. The tarnish on silver is silver sulfide. When we place the cathode (silver) in contact with the anode (aluminum) in an electrolyte solution (baking soda) the silver sulfide gets reduced to silver, and the sulfur atoms bind to the aluminum.

Yes - it's how I clean mine all the time-- but only use aluminum and baking soda and boiling water. Do not use vinegar on sterling silver or silver-plated cutlery.

No, the silver must be in contact with the aluminum foil for the chemical reaction to occur.

No! Tarnex will remove layers of silver at a time. You need a less abrasive option.