Why People Are Putting Aluminum Foil In Their Dishwasher (& Should You Try It?)

Who knew five years ago that TikTok would be the best platform for cleaning advice? In fact, "#CleanTok" is the most followed hashtag on the platform, with views at nearly 150 billion. Of course, not every cleaning hack is a winner, and it can be hard to know which work without trying them for yourself. Most of us don't have a ton of extra time or money to gamble away on subpar cleaning tips. That's what makes this hack so appealing. It uses an item you already own, takes about 20 seconds, and if it doesn't work, no harm done. Simply ball up a piece of aluminum foil, drop it into your dishwasher's cutlery basket, and run your cycle as usual. At the end, you could have sparkling silverware. This hack seems to be effective, but there are caveats.  

The TikTok video from @carolina.mccauley demonstrated a seemingly brand-new aluminum foil hack that went viral, but the idea has been around for years. Some of you may have grown up with parents who plopped aluminum foil in the dishwasher, but thought it was some old wives' tale passed down from generations. Now that people are taking notice, many people want to see if there is any scientific information behind the phenomenon. As it turns out, there is evidence to support that aluminum foil will clean tarnished silver-plated silverware and stainless steel cutlery, but only if it comes into direct contact with the aluminum.

First, let's look at how it doesn't work. Putting aluminum foil in your dishwasher will not clean all of your dishes: it only works on silver or stainless steel. And even then, it will not work on your entire cutlery basket, but just the section that is in physical with the foil — so only around four or five pieces of silverware will get the treatment for each wash, which is exactly what happens in the TikTok video of the hack. Finally, while it is a method for making dull or tarnished pieces sparkle, it does not act as steel wool that will scrub away caked-on food. 

So how does it work? It's called an ion exchange. When the cutlery and foil ball are touching, an electric current passes between them. Because aluminum has a stronger bond for sulphur (the culprit that causes tarnishing) than silver, the tarnish basically transfers from the silverware to the aluminum foil. 

The tried-and-true method for cleaning silver is to place all your pieces in an aluminum foil-covered, heat-safe bowl, and cover it with boiling water, a teaspoon of baking soda, and a hefty pinch of table salt. The dishwasher hack is just an easier version with fewer steps. Your dishwasher produces hot water, and the detergent pod causes the same reaction as the baking soda and salt. This can be useful if you have only a few pieces of stainless steel or silver cutlery than need to be polished. However, if you have a large amount of dull silverware you need cleaned fast, using the foil-covered bowl and baking soda version of this hack would be best.