system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Aluminum foil, when put in a dishwasher, acts as a polisher for stainless steel utensils. Why?
gpt
The aluminum foil stays trapped in the cutlery basket, so it’s not scrubbing your silverware clean. Instead, the explanation has to do with how the foil ball interacts with the chemicals in your dishwasher tablets.
  

  
The reaction is a sort of oxidization process, similar to the trick used to polish silver. In that case, aluminum foil is used to line a container, and tarnished silver is soaked in water and powdered detergent. The chemicals in the detergent interact with the metal in the foil, according to Reader’s Digest. This process, known as an ion exchange, oxidizes the tarnish and leaves your silverware looking as good as new.