A proud moment!

I semi-frequently go to the rummage sale in Pittsburgh. Semi-frequently meaning once a month, or every other weekend, but certainly not two weekend in a row. Well this past weekend was my second consecutive weekend attending. It was the last chance I was going to have before going home for Winter Break.
Anyway, I just love this rummage sale so much, I have been attending it since the summer of 2009, and the little ladies who run it know my face and are always excited to see me. It has everything someone could need (which causes one to wonder why on earth they keep producing so many things). This last trip I spent $15 and I cannot even remember all the items I purchased. But one of the items was a SEVERELY tarnished silver tea pot. So I looked up how to polish it and I stumbled upon an easy home method (it's supposedly eco-friendly, but it wastes quite a bit of water if you want to get technical).

This picture is only a glimpse of the tarnish because I got most of it off half of it and the other half actually had some of the tarnish come off. After three tries, I was amazed.

How did I do it?
The first time, I lined my sink with aluminum foil, silver side up, poured in steaming hot water, and added a substantial amount of baking soda and salt. The pot was not completely covered, which is why there is a distinct line on the first image. I tried adding more hot water and baking soda to the sink, but I supposed the aluminum bond with the chemical in the tarnish and maxed out the chemical equation. So next I lined a pan with aluminum, and did the similar process but on the stove. The heat worked as an amazing catalyst because it did a wonder on the pot, but again, the aluminum maxed out, so I repeated the stove top process. I doubt I will be accumulating any more silver, but now I know what to do with it!