There are certain occasions when you want to rush to your jeweler just to get your silver clean – because you don’t know How To Clean Silver on your own. That is fine though because here I am with yet another article to help you out with my amazing and cool tips to clean your stuff at home. In this article, I am going to talk about different Ways To Clean Silver, using various kitchen items to clean up the silverware, and how you can prevent your silver jewelry from corroding.
Previously in the cleaning things articles, I covered Cleaning of Glasses and Cleaning of Windows. I hope that they worked fine for you. If they didn’t, why don’t you comment to me right now!! I will make sure to help you out.
What Does Tarnish Mean?
When you leave silver in contact with moisture, it starts to lose its luster and gains a greenish coating that is undesirable to look at. This greenish layer is called Tarnish, or in scientific terms, we say that a thin layer of corrosion has formed over your silver jewelry. As I mentioned when the silver is in direct contact of moisture, it reacts with the hydrogen sulfide or sulfur present in the atmosphere it gets corroded.
So unless you keep your silverware in an air-restricted place, it is going to get tarnished. As most of the jewelry boxes and cabinets are not airtight, if you keep the jewelry in the boxes it might not prevent the corrosion. The corrosion can also occur due to the presence of Sulfur and amino acids that can be found in the perspiration and it can cause discoloration of your jewelry even though you are keeping them in a safe. So what does prevent the corrosion? Cleaning of the silver regularly.
So, let’s see how our daily-use kitchen items will help us clean the silver.
How To Clean Tarnished Silver
First, let’s see the easy and foolproof plan to clean the silver at your home. The quick fix to your silver problems is your regular store-bought SILVER POLISH. A silver polish not only cleans your silver items but also prevents them from corrosion. Most jewelers will also recommend the best quality silver polishes out there.
How to use Silver Polish to clean the silver items?
- Take a clean, dampened cloth and put a small amount of silver polish on it.
- Rub the polish in an up-and-down motion gently on the item. Do not use a circular motion as it might highlight fine scratches.
- While cleaning, turn the cloth frequently so that tarnish does not deposit back on your item.
- Once polishing is complete, rinse with warm water and buff with a clean and dry cloth to shine.
How To Clean Silver At Home
While you are sitting at home holding your silverware which now not that silver, you might have thought “What Can I Use To Clean Silver so that it wouldn’t cost much and would give me the best results?” Well, for you I have assembled a few of the best items that you will find in your kitchen to clean the silverware in your hand.
How To Clean Silver Plate
To clean a silver plate, you obviously won’t use a polish. You could if you don’t have to use them on a regular basis and they are just a display item in your home.
For cleaning your silverware, you can use these natural fixes.
1. If you have a plate or a spoon that has started discoloring or is losing its luster, then for that mix a few drops of your regular dish soap with warm water, dip a soft cloth in it. Rub the item with this soap-dipped cloth gently and then rinse with cool water. Buff with a clean dry cloth until dry. This should bring back the shine of your item.
2. If the corrosion is too intense, what you can do is make a paste of three parts baking soda with one part water. Wet the silver item and apply the paste with a clean and soft cloth on it. Turn the cloth as it gets grey so that the tarnish doesn’t get back on the item. Rinse and use a clean dry cloth to buff dry.
How To Clean Silver Coins
Another method to clean silver items like coins or display items is to use Aluminium Foil. This is easy to do and works best for small items.
How to use Aluminium Foil to clean tarnished silver?
- Take a thick bottomed pan and bring one liter of water to boil.
- Add one tablespoon of baking soda and one piece of aluminum foil and boil them.
- Drop the silverware in the pan for 10 seconds, or 15 if heavily tarnished, and then remove using a pair of tongs.
- You silver item must be cleaned
- If the built-up tarnish persists, you can use the baking soda and water mix to clean it up using a damp sponge.
- Rinse and buff dry.
How To Clean Silver With Coke
Here is a super easy DIY that most use when they are in a hurry – using Coka Cola to remover the tarnish.
How to use Coca Cola to clean tarnished silver?
- Pour a generous amount of coca cola into a bowl
- Soak your silver piece in it for 10 minutes
- Remove the item from the bowl and rub with a clean dry cloth
It might be a quick fix for silver items which are not heavily tarnished, but you can not rely on this method for items with a thick coating of corrosion.
How To Clean Silver With Toothpaste
Using Toothpaste to clean items is always seen as a wonder fix when you are in a hurry to clean everything up. You just take a generous amount of toothpaste on a rag and rub rub rub on your items and they get cleaned. Well, this works for silver as well.
How to use Toothpaste to clean tarnished silver?
- Take a piece of clean and dry cloth. Put some toothpaste on it.
- Directly rub the toothpaste on your silver item, use an up-and-down motion to avoid scratches.
- Rinse with water – and see how it shines!!
It might not give you the results that you expected, but it will do for the time. Suppose you have to go to a party and your favorite silver bracelet is tarnished. You can use this fix to quickly clean the piece and wear it.
How To Clean Silver Jewelry
The last method that I will share with you is to use Detergent to clean the silver items.
How to use Detergent to clean tarnished silver?
- Line a medium-sized bowl with aluminum foil
- Fill this bowl with hot water and mix in one tablespoon or your favorite laundry detergent.
- Soak the silver for one minute
- Rinse it with clean water and air dry.
This method will not remove all the tough tarnish stains but it will lif the darkness and clean any dirt or gunk from the item.
How To Prevent Tarnish On Silver
1. Using chalk. Keep a few pieces of chalk in the box or cabinet where you keep your silver items. It will absorb all moisture and prevent the silver items from tarnishing.
2. Store individual pieces in their own anti-tarnish bags in a cool and dry spot.
3. Wear your silver jewelry more often. the friction will slow down the tarnish and it will shine more.
4. Put the jewelry on after you use your perfume. Sticking of the perfume on your jewelry will increase the tarnish.
End note
I hope that this article was helpful for the readers. Please comment and let me know what were your thoughts and if you want to add anything else in this article. Please support by sharing the article on your social media sites.
