This new, efficient, and environmentally friendly way to remove tarnish from silverware is storming into kitchens around the world, using only the most common household items.
The scoop
The use of toxic chemicals to clean and preserve silverware is no longer necessary. This new method only requires four items, one of which you don't even have to pay for — hot water. The other three — salt, baking soda, and an aluminum pan or aluminum foil — are probably already in your kitchen.
A video posted on Reddit, also found on YouTube, shows the "satisfying silverware cleaning" hack.
To begin, find an aluminum pan and fill it with hot water. If you don't have an aluminum pan, find a Tupperware container large enough to fit the silverware and place some aluminum foil at the bottom before filling it with hot water.
Add half a cup of baking soda and half a cup of salt to the pan or Tupperware with aluminum foil inside, then stir the water until everything dissolves. Submerge the silverware pieces inside the hot water solution for a few seconds.
You'll notice a chemical reaction as the tarnish appears to be magically removed from the utensils.
Finally, take the silverware out of the solution, then rinse and dry.
How it's helping
This hack saves time and money since it is a cheaper and more efficient way to clean silverware, as salt and baking soda are generally much cheaper, especially considering the small quantities needed for the trick.
But there's more.
Most household cleaning products are not good for the environment. Chemicals in dish soap and dishwasher detergent often end up in rivers, lakes, and ponds. This causes algae to grow, which removes oxygen from the water, and lack of oxygen is extremely harmful to aquatic animals and plant life.
The use of natural ingredients like salt and baking soda instead of chemical cleaners reduces the amount of chemical waste produced, which minimizes water pollution and helps protect biodiversity in the world's waterways, helping the planet overall.
Lastly, this method requires much less water than the traditional methods for cleaning utensils. At a time when water conservation is becoming more important in many parts of the world, saving water is something we should all take seriously.
What everyone's saying
There was no shortage of comments on Reddit about the video showing how easily it's done, with one user writing, "I'll have to try that, almost looks too good to be true."
Another person seemed so surprised by how quickly it was done that they added, "Is it trick foil paper, or trick spoons?"
Meanwhile, one commenter posted the question, "Why would you ever put them directly into/on top of/anywhere near the garbage disposal? That's a great way to accidentally drop one down the hole."
Perhaps we can consider this a good reminder to keep your utensils away from the garbage disposal after completing this environmentally-friendly hack.
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