Hey there! Local science guy here. So what causes the tarnishing color on the surface of sterling silver is actually silver sulfide (Ag2S), which is black. When a thin coat of it lines the surface of silver, it darkens it. There’s 2 ways you can remove this. You can buff out the surface through polishing (which can remove some of the silver) OR you can turn the silver back using this method (which preserves the silver). The aluminum (Al) and baking soda (NaHCO3) form a “bridge” between the silver and pulls the sulfur attached to the silver off because Aluminum loves to bond with Sulfur, creating Aluminum Sulfide (Al2S3). You can do this with cold water too, but the boiling water acts as a catalyst and causes the reactions to happen a lot faster. It’s important that the silver makes some contact with the aluminum to make sure the process of electrolysis happens. After after a while, the sulfur bonded to the silver is carried through the water/baking soda solution and will bond to the aluminum instead, leaving your silver to be alone. Bam! Silver? ~brilliant & clean~ Tarnish? ~gone!~ Edit: H2SO4 to NaHCO3 2nd Edit: Wow! I come back a year later to see 2.2k likes! Thank you all! I hope you’ve found this information helpful :) I’ve noticed some comments below mentioning this method not working: Please be aware that this works on REAL STERLING SILVER! I would not try this method on plated jewelry! Some cheap jewelry is an alloy of copper and other metals which can oxidize and turn green when exposed to water/other chemicals. That stuff is usually coated with a silver or gold colored paint to give the appearance of real, solid jewelry. Please be aware that this method could damage those kinds of jewelry, and can’t really help the tarnishing on that. Best of luck everyone! :)

No exaggeration this made my rope chain look brand new. Dang, thanks for this bro

Just tried this baking soda foil method to clean my 15+ years tarnished neglected Tiffany’s bracelet & necklace. Worked amazingly well! Now I can wear them again. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks for putting a GIANT smile on my silver jewelries faces! 😃

This worked SO well on some super tarnished sterling silver jewelry I had laying around! Thank you!!!

I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW MUCH I APPRECIATE THIS INFORMATION. THANKS!

Thankyou for showing how to do this. Way easier then how I was doing this and way faster and better results. Great video!

This does work just this easy, makes your sterling jewelry look brand new, I've done it a long time ago with mine!!!

Forgot to take my silver necklace off at the hot springs (grade A tarnishing sulfur) and this worked amazing! Took both the chain and pendant from blacker than my soul to sparkling silver again. So this works! Thank you :)

Thanks! I got my silver Tiffany necklace and pendant clean! I haven't been able to wear it for years it was so tarnished. Looks brand new!

Thank you so much . It worked for my jewelry . I followed the steps . I’m grateful to you for making this video ❤️

Thank you I've watched 5 videos on this exact method and nobody has said to put the shiny side out. Perfect.

wow, I am so impressed at how easy, fast and cheap this process is! And my vintage ring now looks brand-new! Thank you so much for this video :)

Thank you so much! I recently got nair on my charm bracelet and it got black and ugly. Decided to give this a go, had nothing to lose. But it worked soooo good! My bracelet looks brand new!

Omg 😳… the way this TRULY WORKS!! Thank you … it’s such a gem 💎

I used this method 50 years ago to clean my silver cutlery and had completely forgotten about it! I'm about to try it again! THANK YOU!!

This worked great on my antique turquoise and silver rings!

Tried this right now, and it worked 🎉. So simple and so effective, thank you.

Wow thank you for this. I WILL Definitely do this tomorrow. I have lots of tarnished silver to clean. Deep gratitude for this tip

Thank you so much, I’m so happy that I tried this method. It works perfectly. Honestly my silver jewelry wasn’t bad condition, not tarnished at all. Just bc I used them every day they were a little “dirty”. Thanks again 🙏

Just want to add to this: after removing jewelry I found using a small toothbrush with dish soap to be very effective to get the last of the tarnish off. I used this on my silver rope necklace and it came out like new. Proved to be a very good way to get the small grains of the leftover baking soda off as well as grease from sweat, oils, etc. and then to use a rag to wipe down after.

I was truly hesitant to try this since the last thing from the internet ruined my bracelet. This truly works! My lions head charm is 25 years old. It was blue/black. This process brought my charm back from being antiqued!

I had 2 old rings that were very intricate cut, very blackened, I had no hope this would work. I changed the water and soda three times, but they turned out looking new !!! I was flabbergasted!! Thank you !

Used this on a ring I got as a kid 25 years ago and it brought it back to life. Thank you. ❤

Thank youuuu! I was getting super nervous about my wedding rings!😮‍💨🙌🏽 you’re a godsend

Effective use of speed-up. Kudos. Viewer can _see_ that you're really doing everything (no trickery), but it just gets through the obvious parts quickly. Not all how-to videos are as straightforward and unpretentious. Good job!

This is AMAZING!!! literally within minutes it was like new!!!! This is the BEST hack for cleaning sterling silver!!!! THANK YOU

Thanks mate , I have an Italian made Large Belcher Chain 925 Silver, I have not worn for years , my Daughter got me a Siler guitar Plectrum as a gift , just cleaned my chain using your method and ive put my plectrum on the chain to , the Plectrum is engraved with I LUV YA , So thank you so so much.

This worked great for my wedding rings! Thank you!

Amazing!! Worked like a charm!!Thank you so much brother!!

My sterling silver bracelets had years of tarnish build up on it from sitting. This method was the best ever. Bracelets look brand new. Thank u.

I am going to try this now! I have some lovely bracelets from my Older sister whom has passed & they are very tarnished. Thank you for this tutorial. So happy to be able to wear my sister's jewelry with pride 😀

I've been doing this for years. It works great.

Wow, I was amazed at this method. for silver jewelry. I had a gold bracelet and wore it into the pool. The bracelet has silver indented ridges on it. Turned the ridges black. I tried this method and it worked. Got a tooth pick and cleaned the ridges out. Bracelet looks brand new. Thank you very much!

I just did it now, and I'm amazed about the results! Thank you so much for sharing your video!

Wow! It cleaned my earrings INSTANTLY!!! I've been trying for years to find a cleaning method. Couldn't THANK YOU enough!

This works amazing and fast, within 3 mins my chains and pendants were like brand new I was left speechless.

I have used this method in the past on Old Sterling spoons that I've collected from garage sales and thrift stores and whatnot it works excellent on tarnished silver anything.... 👍👣🙏🏻

Thanks for the video! I’m a sweater and live in Texas so my Necklace was completely black in spots. Because of this I had to repeat this a few times but after the fourth time everything was shiny and new looking. Thanks again

Oh wow 😲 Best cleaning hack I have discovered. Thank you so much 😊💗

Worked very well. Transformed my Pandora earrings and now they look brand new. Thanks so much for sharing this.

Great tip!! So easy. Works better than the pricey silver cleaner in my closet and you can clean more than one piece at a time. Excellent video!!

I had two black bangles sitting on my dresser for the longest time, I just tried this and it works. Thank you very much.

Worked great truly recommend i found a rusty necklace that I found and it was so tarnished and I tried this method and it worked so well I gave it to my mom

I was going to ask how long you should leave the jewellery in for, but I got my answer when trying this. I really didn’t think the results would be instantaneous but my earrings looked as good as new after a few seconds. Thank you for uploading this!

It work really well for my Tiffany bracelet! Thank you for sharing 🥰

This hack helped me to restore the shine of my silver jewellery back. Thank you for this information. Keep doing the good work.

It worked like a dream! Did it to my grandma's ring she gave me, and I am going to wear it in honor of her, at her memorial.. thank you!

Straight to the point, thanks for the help bro! :)

Great video, very helpful and so easy to do. I have some sterling pieces that were so difficult to keep shiny that I seldom wore them. This technique absolutely works, plus no nasty chemicals used in the process. Thanks so much.

This literally made my old fully blacked out jewellery shine like new! Wow! Thank you!!!

I tried this.. and the result is awesome.. Thanks for this amazing technique 😊

Oh my goodness. I wish I knew about this years ago. I thought it was permanently tarnished. I've even thrown jewellery away, only keeping sentimental pieces...which I will now clean! Thank you

This worked like a charm. I had to do it twice on my sterling silver pendant and chain. I was a little worried about the gems in it (garnet and period) but there's no damage to the stones. It's incredibly shiny and beautiful again! The comment above mentioned making sure that the silver touches the aluminum and I think that's an important step. Thank you so much for sharing this video.

OMG! Thank you so much for this VDO. I thought I’d never wear my Tiffany necklace again, but now it looks like new. 🙏🙏🙏

My goodness. I just tried it a few minutes ago and I need to look for your video again to THANK YOU. It really worked. My jewelries are reborn. Thank you and kudos. God bless.👌🤗

No joke it really worked! Thank you!

Wow! What a great video!! I really appreciate it!! Thank you!

I just cleaned some jewelry and it looks brand new. Thank you for posting this video.

Very excited about learning this method from you. My husband has a Sterling Silver Hamsa he wears daily and it's very intricate in its design making for a cleaning it nightmare 😅. I'll definitely try this method for certain. Thanks for sharing this.

Worked really well!! I thought the silver turned even more black but then I cleaned it with a brush and voila! Thank you!

thank you so much! cleaned up my chain really nice

It does work! You can use a soft cloth and baking soda tooth paste to get in the small crevices. Thank 😁 you for sharing.

My original engagement ring and wedding bands look amazing.!! I wish I could show pictures.!!! Thank you thank you thank you.!! This brought my rings back to life and they’re beautiful once again.!!!❤ much love.!

Great video, do you know if you can clean it in a pendant with a malachite stone in the silver piece?

This worked like a charm! Thank you! :)

Omg. I bought a sterling silver bracelet when I visited India last summer and this worked perfect on my tarnished bracelet. It looks even better than when I first bought it. Thanks so much!!

Thank you for the video. This worked better than expected!

Worked beautifully on two oxidized chains! Thank you!

It works very well! 🙌🏽💚

Wow amazing results, and so quick, inexpensive and easy!😊

You saved my life with this! It worked like magic!

No cap this works so well

Thank you thank you.... I was so said I spoiled my ring with chemicals on my hair . Then I started to look for videos how to clean my ring and don't want my husband to be sad. I remember when he bought them for our wedding his eyes was shining. It works 100%. God bless you.🙏🏽

Brilliant, this is a fast & amazing method that works! 🙌✨thank you 🤩👌

Love good advice and this one is a..ok! Thanks for sharing. Unless everyone else already knows about it, this video should have millions of thumbs up.👍🏽

Thank you for this video! I’m a silver girl and this works brilliantly 👍🏾

Excellent 👌!!! I've been doing this for years using salt instead. Works great on my vintage pieces.🦋

WOW, awesome! Thank you very much, I only uses silver and using silver cloth cleaner, it does clean, but takes forever rubbing them! 💓💖💟☮️👍

Perfect! I've just done this and my dingey-looking silver jewellery is now gleaming. Thank you!

Can you do this with mixed metal jewelry? I have some pieces that are gold and silver that I’d like to try this with. Are semi-precious stones safe with this method? Thank you for the video.

Awesome I have been doing this with my jewelry for years also 😊 I have a couple videos up also that just amazes me I love the before ans afters. I will subscribe to your channel I like your video

Now this is how a true demo that works!!! Tx bro..will give it a go

Thank you!!! I tried this today and it worked better than the silver cleaner i used years ago!

Perfect timing mine just tarnished

This did work for my wedding ring however, I did have to use a soft bristle toothbrush to help it out. I left it in the mixture for about 30 minutes took it out brushed it a little (on some of the tougher areas) then rinsed and dried them off.

I just listened and tried your recipe. It worked better than anything else. My necklace loohs brand new ❤

Thank you! To the point , effective , no nonsense video 💖

Thank You! I've been searching for something other than the harsh chemical cleaner they sell @ Walmart! All I wear is silver & this worked great! #newsub👍

Lime with baking soda afterwards leaves it with a finishing shine ✨

It works! Recovered my husband’s wedding ring color again. Million thanks!

works great. Made my chain shines again. Thanks

Is this a safe method for cleaning a tarnished silver bracelet with garnets throughout? I.e., is it safe for gemstones?

Can this be used on a silver bracelet that has amethyst in it? I realize it's out for pearls since they are really fragile.

I tried it on my sapphire silver ring, worked almost instantly. Thank you for sharing!!

This is brilliant. Works like a dream. Thank you for sharing.

What about if there are stones, pearls, etc in addition to the sterling silver?

I went to the thrift store cos I was bored and wanted to get something that’s looks good and is inexpensive And I got 2 rings one looked tarnished so I wanted to look at what can remove it So I hope it works I’ll up date after I do it if it worked or not Scientifically it should Update:it worked like a crane it was bronze and it no longer looks black

Thank you! I found a ring I bought in Australia this morning organizing my closet. It only took 60 seconds to get the tarnish off. I am so happy to be able to wear it today! Tomorrow is the birthday of my friend Prem Rawat and it's why I was visiting Australia to spend time with him when I bought the ring as a memento.

Man I cant thank u enough for sharing. I was super bummed when my almost 300$ chain started to tarnus. This method got it lookin new again. Thanks man