Why Putting A Ball Of Tinfoil In Your Dishwasher Is A Good Idea

I’ve seen some interesting videos on TikTok, but have also found many incredible cooking and cleaning hacks. The most recent TikTok cleaning hack to go viral involves putting a ball of tinfoil in your dishwasher. And although I was skeptical at first, this hack appears to be legitimate.

All this hack entails is crumpling up a piece of tinfoil into a ball and putting the ball into the flatware basket of your dishwasher along with your dirty cutlery. Run the dishwasher on a normal cycle, and when you remove your clean dishes, your flatware will be gleaming as though it was brand new.

source: The Kitchn/Shifrah Combiths

So, how does this work? Well, according to a study performed by the University of California Davis, an electrochemical reaction occurs between the tinfoil and the dishwasher detergent, removing the tarnish on your flatware and leaving it sparkling.

source: Studio5/Adobe

Whatever the scientific reasoning, this hack involves essentially no effort – so there’s no harm in trying it out, especially if it leaves your cutlery looking brand spanking new!