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Silver is a firm, time-tested favorite when it comes to jewelry. Buying a beautiful piece of silver jewelry is easy - but maintaining it is not.
Like most jewelry, silver needs regular cleaning, otherwise, it will tarnish. Over time, silver oxidizes, and this leads to a dull tarnishing effect. Your silver statement pieces will end up looking dull and off-color.
So, how can you keep your silver looking shiny and clean? Let's find out.
You may be surprised to learn that silver jewelry isn't pure silver, which is too soft to be used as jewelry. So, regular silver jewelry is made up of around 92% silver and is known as sterling silver.
Even sterling silver is delicate and is prone to scratches on its surface from dirt and grit. This is one reason to clean silver regularly, but the fact is that the remaining 8% of the sterling silver is made up of metals that tarnish when exposed to the air, like copper.
This means that over time, a chemical reaction to the air is inevitable. Tarnish is a form of corrosion, and initially looks yellow, then brown, then an ugly and noticeable black. To avoid tarnished silver, you'll need to clean your silver regularly.
The most obvious way to clean silver is to use commercial silver polish. Make sure you're using a good silver polish, not a cheap knockoff.
Use a damp cloth to apply the silver polish. Rub the cloth in up and down movements, not circular movements. Use a very light hand to clean silver, as this metal is delicate. Being light-handed is especially important if you're cleaning silver-plated items.
The black tarnish will get on the cloth as you clean, especially if you're cleaning heavily tarnished silver. Turn the cloth regularly to avoid getting the tarnish on the item again. Use a q-tip of something small and delicate to clean crevices or molding in the jewelry.
When you're done, rinse the silver jewelry in warm water and dry it carefully with a soft, dry cloth.
Commercial silver cleaning products aren't your only option when it comes to cleaning silver jewelry. You can make DIY silver cleaners from products you likely have right there in your kitchen.
The Aluminum Foil Method
For the aluminum method, you'll need aluminum foil, baking soda, hot water, and salt.
Start by covering a bowl in aluminum foil, shiny side up. Place the jewelry you want to clean in the bowl and fill it with hot water until the silver items are completely covered. Add two tablespoons of baking soda and salt, and stir very well.
Now, leave the bowl for around ten to fifteen minutes. If the process is working, you should see tarnish come off the silver and settle on the aluminum foil.
Remove the silver with tongs (it'll be hot!) and rinse in the warm water. Pat dry with a warm, soft cloth.
This method is an easy way to clean silver without any rubbing or pressing of delicate silver pieces.
Vinegar and Baking Soda
You may already be familiar with using vinegar and baking soda as a household cleaner, so you may not be surprised to learn that you can use it to clean silver, too.