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https://www.wikihow.it/Pulire-l%27Argento-con-il-Bicarbonato
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Silver objects shine when they are clean, but unfortunately over time they tend to blacken and lose their shine.Blackening is the result of a chemical reaction that occurs naturally.Fortunately, there are several ways to clean silver, one of which is to use baking soda so that it triggers a chemical reaction with the reverse effect.Prepare silver objects and jewelery as described in the first part of the article and, if necessary, repeat the process until they are perfectly clean.
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Wash silver items by hand. Before trying to clean them with baking soda, rinse them to remove dust and dirt, then make sure there are no food or other residues present.
- Use a mild soap and check that it is suitable for cleaning silver.
- Clean the surface of silver objects with a cotton or microfiber cloth.
- Do not put silver cutlery and crockery in the dishwasher.
- Do not use an abrasive sponge, as silver scratches easily.[1]
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Stop the sink. To start the process, you need to clean the sink and then plug it.This is an essential step as dust, dirt or other contaminants could stain the silver and compromise the result.
- Clean the sink with a sponge and mild detergent (or baking soda).
- Once clean, seal the sink tightly so you can fill it with water.
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Line the base of the sink with foil. To obtain a good result, the paper must cover as much surface as possible.Lay it out shiny side up and don't worry if it's not completely flat against the bottom of the sink.- Use a generously sized piece of paper.
- You can reuse a piece of leftover tin foil.
- The paper does not need to cover the entire bottom of the sink.[2]
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Arrange the silver items on the foil. Place them on the paper one at a time and make sure each of them is physically in contact with the aluminum.
- Place the objects on the paper delicately so as not to risk breaking it.
- Don't fill the sink with too many items.If you have a lot of silver things to clean, it's best to do it a little at a time.[3]
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Boil the water. Take a pot and boil a quantity of water suitable to fill the sink and completely submerge all the silver objects to be cleaned.
- For a small sink, a couple of liters of water will be enough.
- In any case, it is best to boil more water than necessary to have it on hand in case you need more than expected.[4]
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Pour the baking soda into the boiling water. Pour it into the pot when the water has reached a boil.The baking soda is essential because, when it comes into contact with the foil, it will trigger the chemical reaction that will clean the silver.
- Use 60g of bicarbonate for every liter of water.[5]
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Pour the water into the sink. After creating the mixture with the baking soda and boiling water, very slowly pour it into the stopped up sink.Be careful so as not to risk burning yourself or dousing the surrounding surfaces with boiling water.
- Pour the boiling water a little at a time.
- Stop adding water when all silver items are completely submerged.[6]
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Observe the chemical reaction taking place. After pouring boiling water with baking soda into the sink, you will notice that some sort of foam will form.The effervescent effect may start slowly and accelerate slowly.The ongoing chemical reaction should last for a few minutes.
- You should notice that some yellowish fragments have formed on the foil:it is aluminum sulfide.
- It may take several minutes for silver objects to become clean again, even if they are slightly tarnished.[7]
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Let the water cool. After witnessing the chemical reaction, let the baking soda and water solution cool for a few minutes.It's important to wait so you don't risk burning yourself while removing silver items from the water.
- Wait for the water to stop smoking.
- You can take a pair of tongs and remove an object from the water to check if the chemical process is complete.
- If you're concerned that the water is still too hot, measure the temperature with a kitchen thermometer.[8]
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Inspect the silver. Watch it closely to make sure the cleaning process worked.Examine the tops, bottoms, and sides of all items to see if they are clean enough.
- Dark streaks should be gone or visibly diminished.
- The silver should be shining again.
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Edit the formula. Try to increase the cleaning power of boiling water combined with baking soda.If the first attempt didn't work as expected, you can try adding salt or white wine vinegar to the base mixture.
- Add 60g of salt for every liter of water.The quantity of salt must be equivalent to that of bicarbonate.
- If you prefer to use white wine vinegar, add 100ml for every 200ml of water.[9]
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Repeat the process. If the silver is only slightly tarnished, it may be completely clean after a few minutes, but if it is very dirty it can take longer and you will likely have to repeat the process several times to get it perfectly clean again.In this case:
- Empty the sink;
- Rinse the silver;
- Remove the foil and replace it with a new sheet;
- Arrange the silver objects on the paper again;
- Submerge them with more boiling water and baking soda.[10]
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Rinse silver items. When all items are clean, empty the sink and rinse them under cold running water.Rinse them very carefully to remove any residual baking soda, salt or vinegar particles.
- Also rinse the sink thoroughly to remove baking soda, salt and vinegar residue.[11]
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Dry silver items. After rinsing them carefully, dry them well one at a time using a soft, clean cloth.When they are dry, place them on another soft cloth and let them air dry.
- It is best to use a microfiber cloth to minimize the risk of scratching the silver.[12]
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Throw away used tin foil. After drying your silver items, remove the foil from the sink and throw it away.Since it has become stained, it cannot be reused to clean silver in the future.
- You will notice that many stains have formed on the paper.They are the result of the chemical reaction that transferred the sulfide from silver to aluminum.[13]
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Warnings
- Do not perform this process in an aluminum sink.
- Do not use this method to clean silverplate items.
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Licensed under: CC-BY-SA