About cleaning silverware with baking soda and aluminum foil--

Factual Questions
1

I’ve heard many sources (including Martha Stewart) say that you can clean silver by immersing it in a warm water and baking soda solution, with a piece of aluminum foil in it.

I don’t doubt the chemistry of this reaction, but I’m nervous about how this treatment might affect the silverware later. What makes me nervous is the childhood “experiment” of cleaning a copper penny with salt and vinegar. Yes, it got the penny shiny-clean in the short term. In the long term, though, the penny would corrode beyond recognizability.

Is it really safe, in the long term, to clean silverware this way?

2

My understanding of this cleaning method is that it can remove patina on the silverware (around the embossed areas), and that might be something you wouldn’t want to do.

3

You won’t get rid of heavy tarnish this way either.

4

Done it many times and it works fine. The silverware must be touching the aluminum sheet and the water needs to be hot. Also note that removing the tarnish does not polish the silver. It won’t be tarnished, but it won’t be polished either.