I read this in a magazine, and thought it couldn't work, but it really did! To clean tarnished silverware, line your kitchen sink with aluminum foil. Fill it with hot water, and add 1/4 cup of salt and 1/4 cup of baking soda. Put in the silver and let it sit for a few minutes. ( I left mine for about 15 minutes, because it was really tarnished, and I thought it wouldn't work anyway [rolleyes])
When I let out the water, the silver was beautiful. All I had to do was wash it in dish liquid, rinse and dry. The only drawback to this is, while it's working, it kind of smells like rotten eggs. But, hey, now the silver is shiny!

Thank you for this. My pentagram is sterling and I've been noticing that it's getting a little spotty.

You're most welcome!

I'm gonna try this. A question: do you know how it might affect any stones set in silver, particularly softer stuff, like amber?

Thanks for the great info![grin]

I would definitely not use this on silver jewelry with stones set into them. A friend who makes jewelry once told me to only use baking soda and water made into a paste to clean jewelry. The method I posted earlier is mainly meant for knives, forks, etc. I haven't used it on jewelry, but I don't see why it wouldn't be okay as long as it's plain silver. Also, this recipe is meant to be used in a sink full of hot water, which would be way too much for a little necklace or ring.[smile]

I used this method to clean a strand of sterling silver beads that I want to pass on to one of my daughters. It worked great to remove the years of tarnish that were on them but they still didn't look as shiny as they did when I bought them. I started looking for a jar of silver polish that I know is here somewhere but I couldn't find it so I thought of an alternative. I use baking soda to polish the sink fixtures.....I rolled the beads in dry baking soda and then using a dry cloth, I polished each bead. As I buffed, it removed all the baking soda and left the beads looking brand new and shiny again. YAY!!! [smile]

I have hard water and have been looking for something to clean my rings with. I will try this. Of course with Distilled water. Thanks for the tip.[grin][grin]