Silver is a beautiful noble metal, which is a good alternative to gold: it can be stored for centuries, and costs several times less. But lovers of silver jewelry have to deal with the need to clean them from time to time, since this metal tends to turn black. There are so many ways to clean your home silver and restore it to its former brightness and shine! In our century, in addition to old and time-tested cleaning methods, special products made for this purpose have also appeared. The editors of the YaNashla website have prepared material on how to care for silver jewelry so that it always shines with its beauty, as well as tips on how to prepare jewelry for cleaning, and what methods and means exist for this.
How to clean silver: popular methods
You want to wear your favorite jewelry 24 hours a day and not take it off, but silver items begin to darken over time.
This can occur under the influence of soap, skin care products, or simply high humidity. Cleaning silver jewelry at home will save your favorite rings and bracelets and return them to their original appearance. The procedure does not take much time, and the number of options is extensive. Liquid for cleaning silver can be bought in a store, or prepared from improvised means. Some of them are already in your home, while others will have to run to the store. Professional cleaning products cost money, but at the same time they guarantee almost 100% results. After this, you just need to take care of the jewelry, preventing history from repeating itself.
To remove blackness from 925 silver, you don’t have to go to a jewelry store; you can use soda, ammonia, peroxide, vinegar and similar products. Citric acid, toothpaste and even Coca-Cola will help clean a silver chain, bracelet, ring or cross!
Cleaning with foil and baking soda
You can clean silver using baking soda and foil in a few minutes. This recipe is considered one of the fastest and most effective. First of all, you need to boil water, add soda to it (50 g/1 liter of water). After boiling, pour the solution over the darkened decoration. Due to the chemical reaction of silver sulfide with soda and aluminum, the blackness will disappear in a couple of minutes. After this, all you have to do is wipe the jewelry dry. This is the most effective silver cleaner. It is important to remember that you should never use dry soda, it will only ruin the metal.
Ammonia
Another way to restore your jewelry to its former shine is to wash the silver with a solution of ammonia and water. Ammonia is considered an excellent solvent; it will help to better clean silver from plaque or dirt without damaging the product itself.
Pour water into a small container, add ammonia in a ratio of 1 to 10, put in the decorations and leave them for 30 minutes. If after half an hour it was not possible to return the shine to silver, you need to keep it longer in the solution. After the procedure, all that remains is to wipe the rings, chains or bracelet dry. Cleaning silver with ammonia at home is very simple and quick.
Hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide also cleans silver well, but its use can lead to unexpected results. The fact is that the substance can both oxidize and reduce compounds. In one case, when using peroxide, you will get a brightened product, in another - jewelry with plaque or stains. It all depends on the amount of impurities in the silver product. You can clean silver from blackness using peroxide with the addition of ammonia, but even in this case you need to act with extreme caution. It would be best to test the product on a small area of the product; if it becomes lighter, the procedure can be continued.
Vinegar
If you soak tarnished silver items in vinegar, you are unlikely to achieve a good result. 6% vinegar should be preheated, but you are unlikely to like the smell. If you decide to wash old silver that has turned black, yellowed or oxidized using this folk method, bring the liquid to a temperature of 50 degrees. You can whiten silverware in 15-20 minutes. After the procedure, all items should be thoroughly rinsed and wiped with a dry cloth.
Lemon acid
Citric acid will help to effectively clean silver. It is diluted with water in a ratio of 100g/0.5l of water. You need to boil the jewelry in this solution for half an hour, and then rinse it thoroughly with water.
Toothpaste
Someone manages to clean silver with tooth powder. This is not the worst way, but it is very time-consuming. You will have to lighten the jewelry manually, armed with a brush. Toothpaste for cleaning silver is suitable if there are no more effective products at hand. The advantage of this method is that it allows you to very quickly remove dirt and plaque from small items.
Coca Cola
Cleaning silver with Coca-Cola is one of the most exotic and radical methods. The drink is considered a good solvent and absorbent. You need to boil the cola and boil the contaminated products in it for 5-7 minutes. You can simply throw the jewelry into a glass of cold cola and leave it for a few hours, this method should also work. After this, the silver must be washed with water and wiped.
Paste GOI
You can clean silver with GOI paste, but remember that this is a very troublesome and dangerous method. This is a special product for polishing silver jewelry; it can be purchased in specialized stores. GOI paste is applied to a piece of cloth moistened with gasoline (this is done so as not to scratch the surface of the product). Silver is processed very carefully and patiently. It takes a lot of time, but the result is worth the effort.
Comparison table
| Name | Description | pros | Minuses | Price |
| Aladdin (Russia) | Liquid for professional cleaning of silver products | High efficiency. Speed of action. Convenient accessories (immersion net, brush). Low cost | Cannot be used for natural stones, blackening, enamel, rhodium plated silver. Unpleasant smell | A 50 ml jar costs about 80 rubles |
| Talisman (Russia) | Liquid cleaner for silver | High-quality cleaning within 1–2 minutes. The drug lasts for a long time. Budget cost | Cannot be used for natural stones, blackening, enamel, rhodium plated silver. Unpleasant smell | The price of a 50 ml jar is about 120 rubles |
| Silberpflege Centralin (Germany) | Paste for cleaning silver products | Not only cleans silver, but also protects against oxidation for a long time. Universal: suitable for cleaning many alloys and mirrors | Difficult to clean hard-to-reach places on jewelry | Estimated cost of a tube - 250 rubles |
| Connoisseurs (USA) | Napkins for jewelry | Compact convenient packaging. The ability to quickly and anywhere refresh the look of your silver items. Reusable napkins | It is impossible to properly clean hard-to-reach places on jewelry | A pack of 25 napkins sells for 410 rubles |
| Hagerty Silver Foam (France) | Foam for silver against tarnish | High quality product - works quickly and effectively. Convenient for caring for silverware | High price | A 185 ml jar costs about 1,300 rubles |
| Pro-Brite SILVER CLEANER (Russia) | Silverware cleaner | It works effectively. Large packaging volume is convenient for use in industry and restaurants | The considerable weight of the canister requires caution in its use. | The price of a liter canister is about 380 rubles |
The range of silver care products is large and allows you to choose the one that suits your specific situation. All these products are created specifically for long-term preservation of the attractive appearance of the noble metal, the beauty and elegance of products made from it. Unlike homemade remedies, they not only clean silver safely, but also protect it from oxidation for a long time.
How to clean silver with stones
You can clean silver rings with stones in a jewelry store or at home. You should focus on the density of the stones. Aquamarine, emerald and sapphire can be cleaned with washing powder; laundry soap will help remove grease and dirt from malachite, moonstone, opal and turquoise. Silver earrings with ruby or garnet stones should not be immersed in hot water. It is important to clean jewelry with inserts very carefully and carefully: do not damage the insert itself or loosen the fastenings. Products containing amber, coral or pearls should be washed with lukewarm water and soap. Aggressive cleaning agents can destroy the structure of the stone.
How to clean rhodium plated silver
Rhodium is a noble platinum group metal that is sometimes used to coat silver jewelry, giving it shine and durability. You can clean rhodium-plated silver at home with special liquids for cleaning jewelry, napkins or a velvet rag soaked in warm water. A bath of soapy water helps remove stains from rhodium-plated silver; the jewelry is immersed in water for a few minutes. Some people prefer to wipe such products with cotton swabs soaked in glycerin. If all of the above methods do not help, it is better to take the jewelry to a jewelry workshop. Specialists will restore the rhodium-plated coating using the galvanic method.
Reasons for darkening of silver items
Deterioration in appearance, the appearance of blackness, plaque, accumulation of dirt, sweat and fat deposits, loss of shine - these are the problems faced by owners of cutlery and jewelry made of precious metal.
Complaints are often heard: the silver has darkened within a couple of weeks after the start of wear. What is the reason? Factors influencing the condition of silver items:
- dampness;
- Sun rays;
- sweat and sebaceous discharge from the skin;
- prolonged exposure to moisture;
- improper storage: items touch each other, scratches appear, there is no velvet bag or soft cloth for each item;
- exposure to products and chemical components during laundry, washing dishes, working in the workshop, in the garden;
- contact of silver products with hand cream, body milk;
- using abrasive agents to remove contaminants from silver;
- improper care of jewelry with a corrugated surface and stones;
- contact of a noble metal with pastes and solutions containing sulfur ions.
Cleaning blackened silver at home
Blackened silver is rarely found in jewelry stores, but it is plentiful at flea markets and in grandma's chests. A touch of antiquity will give the product nobility, but a touch of dirt and dust - not so much. You can clean black silver with soda and salt and a cleaning agent, a regular school eraser, or ammonia with crushed chalk. There is no guarantee that the product will regain its original shine, but it will look much fresher and cleaner.
Tooth powder or toothpaste
This is also effective if the item has been exposed to high levels of oxidation.
Make a mixture of toothpaste, baking soda and ammonia. Coat the silver items evenly using the paste. Do everything carefully so as not to scratch the item. It is better to rub with a soft brush and without applying any effort.
Do not use this method when cleaning items with patterns, as the paste may get stuck between them and thereby ruin the silver.
Jeweler's tips for cleaning silver
You can properly clean tarnished silver at home without difficulty if the jewelry is not inlaid with stones or other inserts. An incorrectly selected cleaning agent can destroy the structure of the stone and damage the fastenings. You can rub the silver so that it shines like new with a velvet cloth or special napkins, usually sold in jewelry workshops. There, the master will help restore the appearance of silver jewelry, if this cannot be done on your own. With the help of special equipment and clean products, this will take no more than an hour. Polishing silver items is not difficult, but it will be pointless if you do not take care of the jewelry in the future.
What can I do to prevent the metal from darkening in the future?
To prevent the jewelry from darkening in the future, the following procedures must be carried out to help preserve its appearance:
- Monthly house cleaning. You should clean all your silver jewelry yourself at least once a month. Even if there is practically no dark residue visible on the coating, it is still better to clean it. If you don't do preventative cleaning for a long time, the surface will become covered with dirt, dark spots and grease.
- Appeal to professionals. There are specialists who professionally clean jewelry. Their services are used if you cannot restore the silver coating yourself. Jewelers will be able to breathe new life even into those items that have not been cleaned for years.
How to care for silver
Silver is loved for its nobility at an affordable price. Products made from this metal can serve their owner for many years, but caring for silver jewelry requires care and patience. Silver is most often subject to deformation due to its softness; it becomes covered with scratches, can bend and turn black. To prevent silver from tarnishing, it should be cleaned regularly. You can do this on your own and with improvised means that are present in every person’s household, or you can take it to a master. The latter option costs money, but you will receive the jewelry back intact, like new.
Preventing contamination and caring for products
To prevent silver items from tarnishing and turning black for many years, it is necessary to properly care for them. Even the most expensive and pure alloy will eventually lose its original luster and beauty if not handled properly.
Silver has two main “enemies”: moisture and sulfur. Both substances easily cause the item to fade (or even turn black). Dealing with moisture is not so difficult: just wipe cutlery dry after washing dishes and remove jewelry before taking a bath or shower. But what to do with sulfur? There are not many sources for it:
- sweat;
- medicines (ointments, creams);
- household chemicals.
It’s quite simple to protect silver items from them:
- remove jewelry before going to the gym, jogging or swimming pool;
- wash cutlery immediately after eating (so that sweat from your fingers does not have time to affect the surface of the silver);
- remove jewelry before cleaning;
- Do not allow medications to come into contact with silver.
These simple rules will allow you to maintain the radiant shine of your products for a long time.
