Cleaning Silver

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I have a great pair of silver earrings that are my favorites, but it has always been a chore to try and keep them looking the way they did when I first bought them a few years ago. I really don't like using harsh chemicals so I had been trying to find the correct solution for cleanin silver using the aluminum foil method. I came across it today via a link in a newsletter. The site is www.howtocleananything.com, and here is the formula that I found for cleaning silver: Using Science to clean your Silver…. How to clean Silver utensils etc. Using a sheet of aluminum foil, hot water, baking soda, table salt and a pan to do this in. * Place a sheet of Aluminum foil on the bottom of any baking pan. Put your tarnished silver on the sheet. The silver must be touching the aluminum sheet. * Heat some water (in a kettle or souse pot) enough to pour into the pan, covering the silver. Add a small amount of salt. * Add a cup or two of fresh baking soda to the hot water (add baking soda before it gets to hot or your solution will bubble over) and salt solution. * Once dissolved and quite hot, pour this over the item – making sure contact is maintained between the item and the aluminum foil. * Watch the tarnish disappear, this process is sure to impress small children or anyone who did not pass middle school science. * Remove when water is cooler and polish dry. It works well and is far less time consuming and expensive than using a silver or metal polish. Check out the website of scientist B. Shakhashiri for a scientific explanation of the process. Or just go with what works like I do and not worry abut the reasons why. You can find instructions for cleaning almost anything you could think of on this site! Do you have a particular problem item or area that you find difficult to clean?