If you cannot take your eyes off the sterling silver shine and sparkle, then you are arguable the type of person to fall in love with dull, brownish, tarnished silver. We have gathered some useful and easy to implement advice for cleaning and taking due care of your sterling silver jewelry to preserve and maintain its sparkle!
- What makes silver tarnish?
- Types of silver tarnish remover
- Cleaning silver with polishing dips
- Best silver cleaner
- How to clean silver jewelry
- How to take care of silver
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What makes silver tarnish?
Before fighting the problem, it's essential that we dig into its nature and find the true cause of tarnishing. This will boost the effectiveness of all the cleaning methods that we will be discussing today.
The process of tarnishing is a common problem that many people have to face daily. Basically, tarnish is a thin layer of corrosion that is a result of a chemical reaction on the surface of various metals. Silver is one of the materials most prone to tarnishing. Tarnish looks like a grey or black outer layer forming on metals.
Speaking of silver items, they tend to lose their glow and clear color because of sulfur-containing gases; exposure to high temperatures also makes your silver goods darken. It partially depends on the quality of silver as items made of cheap material tend to tarnish more quickly.
Types of silver tarnish remover
How to clean silver jewelry without silvo
First, could you think of the most accessible and easy to use means of taking tarnish off silver? As simple as it is - a polishing cloth makes one of the most convenient ways to polish oxidized silver. This type of cloth was created specifically to remove tarnish from various metals, and you can find it in many stores online.
Cleaning silver with salt and soda
If you want to know how to wash silver jewelry more rapidly and with less effort, you could try out special silver cleaning dips. In order to make one, you will need easily accessible ingredients -- salt and baking soda. You can mix them by adding 2-3 teaspoons or baking soda and 1 teaspoon of salt to the water; some recipes recommend that you add them vice versa.
Prior to putting your silver items into the water, make sure to line the bottom of a container with one sheet of aluminum foil. Then you will need to fill the container with boiling hot water.
Put your jewelry in the container in such a way that it touches the aluminum – the chemical reaction is what we are looking for! Wait for the tarnish to start coming off, if nothing happens - add a bit more soda till you see the bubbles on the jewelry. Once the tarnish came off, you may rinse the jewelry with warm water and use a cloth to remove any undesired remains of baking soda.
Cleaning silver with vinegar
Another highly effective way to make your silver jewelry glow again implies using vinegar to clean silver. Vinegar is acidic and causes a chemical reaction in contact with tarnished silver. If you mix vinegar with some other ingredients, it may well boost the effectiveness of cleaning.
If your silver piece of jewelry has a subtle layer of tarnish on it, you could try to solve the problem by using distilled white vinegar alone. To pursue this operation, take a non-metallic container, 1 cup of white vinegar, and a usual cloth.
Just put your silver jewelry into the bowl and cover it fully with vinegar. Leave the liquid there for about 15 minutes. After the items have soaked, rinse your jewelry under warm water. Use a cloth to get rid of the liquid.
Now, let’s discuss some alternation to the recipe. Specifically, you can also try adding soda to vinegar for a better result.
You will need to mix those two ingredients together for a chemical reaction to occur on the surface of your silver jewelry. Take the same type of container, 1 cup of vinegar, 4 tablespoons of baking soda, and dry and clean tissue.
First, pour vinegar into the container. Then, add baking soda carefully spoon by spoon. After that, put your silver jewelry into the mixture and let it soak for two-three hours. When the time has passed, rinse the items under warm water and dry them with a cloth.
Finally, if nothing of the above mentioned has worked and the tarnish on your silver jewelry won’t go away, there is one more way to clean your adornments with vinegar. This time, we will be adding tea tree oil to the mixture.
The list of supplies is somewhat extended here compared to the previous methods. You will need a non-metallic container, vinegar, several teaspoons of baking soda, 1 drop of tea tree oil, a small brush, and dry tissue.
Mix vinegar with the tea tree oil and soak silver in there for 8 hours or more. When done, take the items out, generously cover them in baking soda, and scrub gently with a brush. Then rinse under warm water and dry with tissue.
Cleaning silver with polishing dips
Alternatively, you can simply buy the polishing dip in a store without the necessity to make it on your own. Once you have the dipping before you, just place the whole piece of your jewelry into the jar and make it all be covered with liquid. Let it rest according to the manual and the tarnish will be removed (Liver of as well Sulphur) from every part of your jewelry.
It is a better way to reach all the grooves on sterling silver design, much more effective than a polishing cloth. Please make sure to read the notes on the use of chemicals, do not let the liquid come in contact with your skin. Dipping silver is ok but you do not want your pearls or glass to be touched by those chemicals.
Best silver cleaner
Speaking of various liquids meant to help you remove tarnish from your silver jewelry, the choice of such products is rather impressive, which can make you get lost in all the options. Let us help you choose the best silver cleaner.
Goddards
One of the biggest silver cleaner manufacturers, Goddards produces a variety of polishing options to make silver sparkle again. It is quite affordable and sold worldwide and throughout the US.
The manufacturer promises to remove the oldest stains from your silver jewelry and provide long-lasting protection from tarnishing. You can always give it a go and see whether Goddards can live up to your expectations.
Hagerty
Another company taking the leading positions in the industry of silver polishing dips. It is meant to eliminate tarnish from any silver piece regardless of its shape; whether flat or hollow, Hagerty silver dips should always come in handy when restoring silver’s initial shine.
Slightly more expensive than the previous option, Hagerty is still somewhere in the middle in terms of product pricing. Feel free to purchase a smaller bottle before a big one to see if the results are sufficient for your specific case.
Wright's
Wright’s silver cleaning products are available in a range of forms, from usual liquids to polish creams that gently polish your silverware and eliminate tarnish from it. If we take silver cream in particular, the company promises that the product will leave a protective layer on your silver jewelry after you clean it with the chemical substance.
Wright’s silver cleaning products are great for all kinds of items, including antique things, jewelry, kitchen utensils, and more. Examining the instructions for such products is always a good thing to do!
Silvo
An extremely popular silver cleaner brand, Silvo makes one of the bestsellers in this sphere. The company is known for providing the highest quality when removing tarnish from silver with their products.
Silvo polish products are cheap and, for this reason, not always that easy to get if you’re looking for a package online. Feel free to try Silvo in action and see for yourself if it deserves all the fame.
Other means of tarnish removal include sandpaper, steel wood, emery paper, or a file. Still, polishing dippings appear to be the most effective of all. If you're interested in how to clean silver jewelry with pearls, we have come up with some tips waiting for you here.
How to clean silver jewelry
Now, let’s focus on some tips and tricks as for removing tarnish from silver jewelry pieces. Each type of embellishment requires some specific skills and techniques that would make it shine to the fullest. Here are some insights only for you!
How to clean silver chain
You can utilize a huge choice of products to clean silver chains, including baking soda and vinegar. However, this is not what specialists recommend you to do.
The best solution for getting rid of that nasty tarnish on silver chains is using the specially-mixed solutions created according to various formulas and norms. Sticking to certified products would be the safest option when cleaning silver chains. Also, make sure to get in all the hard-to-reach spots on your chain with a microfiber cloth.
How to clean silver necklaces
If you have been wondering how to clean your silver necklace, we are here to answer that question. Necklaces with different shapes and gemstones may be extremely challenging to clean; it takes a lot of patience to remove tarnish from them.
You will need a soft cloth that won’t scratch the surface too much. You could easily make a bath for your necklace by pouring some soup into warm water; stir the liquid up, soak the cloth with the water, and get down to polishing your silver necklace. Alternatively, you could use toothpaste instead.
Rub the basis of your jewelry back and forth for better results; move the cloth in an opposite direction from the necklace so that you put the tarnish away rather than scrubbing it into the same place.
After the procedure, make sure to rinse your necklace under warm water and enjoy the outcome.
How to clean silver ring
Rings tend to have some miniature curves in them that are challenging to reach. This is why scrubbing your ring with a cloth doesn’t always help.
The more successful way of getting rid of tarnish on your silver ring is leaving it in a cleaning dip for a night. Over this short period, the cleansing chemicals will reach all the deeply hidden spots and make your silver ring sparkle as if bought yesterday.
How to clean marcasite sterling silver
The procedure is simple and takes little of your time. To clean marcasite sterling silver jewelry, the best solution would be utilizing a cloth, soap water, and a toothbrush with soft fibers.
First, soak the piece of jewelry in the soap liquid for 10 minutes. Then, use the toothbrush to gently remove all the tarnish from the surface. Rinse your item under cold water and dry it with a cloth.
How to clean silver bracelet
The question often arises among jewelry lovers on how you can clean silver bracelets. The techniques are just the same, you will need all the accessible supplies to make your bracelet glow again.
You can soak your silver bracelet in warm water mixed with soap and then cover it in baking soda to scrub the tarnish off later. Alternatively, using a silver cloth will also be a viable solution to make the process of cleaning less harsh.
How to take care of silver
Let us provide you with a few additional tips on how to take due care of your sterling silver jewelry as well. Do you best to keep it away from humidity, which implies not storing jewelry in your bathroom. It is always better to place your jewelry in an airtight container if the high humidity is commonplace in the place where you live.
Apart from that, you could try wearing jewelry that tarnishes too easily more often as jewelry that is worn daily seems to be less affected by tarnishing. A polishing cloth is great for wiping dirt and oils off of your jewelry a day of wear.
The cleaning of sterling silver is pretty easy as it does not take too long to solve the issue and can be done with the help of household items available in any store. Since it is obviously inevitable to have your precious collection always shiny and ready for a night out, make sure to write these tips down; they will surely help your jewelry look as if bought just yesterday.