Polishing Silver Without Harsh Chemicals

I have recently inherited some silver pieces from my husband's family when his mother passed away last summer. Well in the domestic revolution that I have been going through I decided to get them out and polish them up and actually use them. However I hate the typical metal polish that I get from the store because every time I use it, I feel like I will pass out from the fumes, and I hate having to wear gloves because the stuff is so nasty.

So I decided that there must be a better way. After all they didn't have all this chemical stuff back in the Baroque or Victorian eras. How did they keep silver back then? So I went where I always go when I need knowledge, to Google the font of all wisdom. And in a very short time I found several methods of polishing silver using baking soda. After some experimentation, I came up with the following process which I am very pleased with.

For large items you can use a steel sink, but smaller ones you can do the same process in a steel cooking pot. It has to be steel though for the chemistry to work correctly. First line the bottom of the steel container with Aluminum foil. Then add in the silver pieces and pour in about 1/4-1/2 cup of table salt. 

Add the hottest water you can until the silver pieces are fully covered. I usually boil water in a teapot and then supplement with hot tap water. Allow the pieces to rest under water until the water cools down. 

You will notice during the time that the pieces are in the cooling water that they will begin to gleam and that the aluminum foil will become milky and begin to get holes in it. This is a chemical reaction that is occurring which is removing the oxidized layer from the silver. This is the same vase as in the initial photo after it went through the salt bath. You can see most of the black  tarnish has been completely removed.

This salt bath is actually enough to completely polish many pieces. You can also do the bath multiple times if you have a difficult piece. However, some need a little more work. To really make the silver gleam make a thick paste of baking soda and water and use a cloth to polish the pieces with it. This requires a bit of elbow grease, but it is worth it. 

Here is the same vase as the beginning after both steps of he polishing process. It looks great and best of all there are no noxious fumes, and if anything the baking soda and salt bath make your hands feel softer and in better condition afterward rather than feeling chemically stripped. This works very well with silver jewelry also. When I get some pictures of jewelry polishing I will add them here as well.