Run about a couple inches of hot water into your kitchen sink. Dissolve 1 tablespoon washing soda (or laundry water softener) and 1 tablespoon of salt in the water. Place a sheet of aluminum foil on the bottom of the sink and place your tarnished silver on the foil. The silver that's both touching the foil and covered by the water should become clean within 10 or 20 seconds. If badly tarnished, rub the silver item with a cloth after removing it from the water. Works on silver and gold jewelry too. Or, the next time you boil potatoes, cool the leftover potato water and dip your tarnished silverware into it.
Two Tricks for Spotless Silver and a Faster Dishwasher Unload
Have you ever wondered what's the difference between flatware, silverware, tableware and dinnerware? Not many people care, but there is a difference — and sterling silver, which is 92.5 percent silver, will last forever if you take care of it.
Clean silver in seconds
Dishwasher time-saver
It may sound like a simple thing, but when loading the cutlery basket in your dishwasher, always remember to give each basket compartment its own item — spoons in one, forks in another, and so on. This will save you lots of time when transferring the cleaned cutlery to your cutlery drawer.
Got a handy tip of your own?
Reply and let us know, we love hearing your tips.
This edition is part of the Genius House Hacks archive — 20+ years of tips, rebuilt from the original Handy Hints newsletter. Browse more hacks →