The Experiment
For this post to really make sense, you should probably read Cleaning With Condiments first. Anyway, I had just published the article to the site and I had a few minutes, so I decided to test ketchup’s ability to shine silver. Surely this wouldn’t really work, I told myself. But, what the heck, it’s only a 10 minute test, I’ll give it a shot. I took pictures of each of the steps. See my test results below.
Step 1: Find Something Silver
Ok, so this took a little longer than I expected. I used to have a number of silver utensils, serving pieces, candle holders, tea service, etc. I think I might have tossed most of them. Eventually, I found a cake server that worked. It had some tarnish.
Step 2: Put Ketchup on the Server and Rub It On the Silver
I found some ketchup and squirted it on the silver part of the server. Following that I spent about 5 seconds spreading the ketchup with the tip of my finger.
Step 3: Set a Timer For 10 Minutes
I set the timer to go off in 10 minutes. Then I paid no attention to the ketchup covered silver server.
Step 4: Polish Off the Ketchup With an Old Soft Cloth
Ok, so I didn’t actually polish the ketchup off with a cloth. I wiped it off with a paper towel. I took my time and wiped it all off. After I wiped off the ketchup, I rinsed the server in warm water and dried it.
I have to say I was really surprised. I put no effort into this experiment, yet the tarnish came off!
Well, this was fun. You’ll have to try this yourself…if you can find something silver with tarnish on it.