10 Ingenious Unexpected Uses for Baking Soda

There are a million old wives' tales about how to clean tarnished silver, but this one is backed by science.

Try it: Line a pan with aluminum foil and add in your tarnished silver, being sure that the silver is touching the aluminum. In a separate pan or kettle, heat water to a boil. After it's boiling, add one cup baking soda per gallon. Then, pour the water and baking soda mixture over the silver until it is covered. Depending on the level of tarnish, you may need to repeat the process.

Why it works: When silver combines with sulfur, it creates a thin layer of silver sulfide, which we see as "tarnish", says Rodney Schreiner, Senior Scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Chemistry Department. Baking soda assists in a chemical reaction that transfers the sulfur from the silver to the aluminum.