Sterling silver is a popular choice for jewellery, from pendents to bracelets, because it lasts for a very long time and it doesn’t rust. However, sterling silver jewellery will eventually tarnish. This is perfectly natural and can be easily managed with the proper cleaning techniques.
In this article, we will be sharing how you can clean your silver jewellery at home with products you’ve got in your cupboards. And we’ll let you in on a jewellery cleaning industry secret.
So, let’s get started.
Products You Will Need
Before you get to cleaning, make sure you have everything you need to get started. In order to give your sterling silver jewellery a thorough clean so the pieces look like new again, you will need the following:
- Baking soda
- A microfibre cloth
- A soft-bristled brush (an old toothbrush works perfectly)
- Lukewarm tap water
You will be able to purchase all of the items above from your local supermarket, for less than £5. However, most people have these products sitting around at home.
How to Clean Silver Jewellery: Step by Step
So, you’ve collected all your tarnished silver jewellery and you’re ready to start cleaning it up. Here are the steps you should follow to make your jewellery shine again:
Create a Paste
Place 2-3 teaspoons of baking soda into a cup, gently add lukewarm water and stir until a paste forms. The paste should be fairly thick – enough to rub directly onto your jewellery without running off.
Apply the Paste to the Jewellery
Now, gently rub the paste onto your jewellery. You can either apply it directly to the areas that are tarnished or you could cover the whole piece for an even shine. It’s often best to apply the paste using your fingers as this ensures a gentle touch and avoids scratches.
Gently Scrub
Once the paste has been applied, use your soft-bristled toothbrush to gently work the paste into the jewellery. Again, you might wish to solely focus on the tarnished areas, or you may wish to scrub the whole piece.
The important thing to remember at this stage is to be gentle. While a soft-bristled brush is excellent for reaching those little nooks and crannies in intricate jewellery pieces, if applied too forcefully, it could scratch or damage your jewellery. So, work slowly and carefully.
Rinse in Lukewarm Water
Once you have thoroughly scrubbed your silver jewellery, it’s time to rinse the paste off using lukewarm water. It’s important the water is lukewarm as this will help to dissolve any stubborn spots of baking soda paste that wish to cling to the silver.
Dry Using a Microfibre Cloth
We recommend microfibre cloths for drying your jewellery as they don’t release any lint and they help to bring out the shine in silver. Once your jewellery is dry, you might wish to work the microfibre cloth over it once more to buff it.
Alternative Jewellery Cleaning Methods
If you don’t have the products above and you want a quick-fix before you leave the house, here are three easy ways to restore shine in your silver jewellery pieces:
Washing up liquid: some people swear by washing up liquid. For more thorough cleaning requirements, it’s not something we would recommend as it is more effective at removing surface dirt and grime. However, if you’re just looking to spruce up your favourite piece before a night out, mix a few drops of washing up liquid with warm water and use your soft-bristled brush to gently scrub at your jewellery. Rinse as above and buff with a microfibre cloth.
Toothpaste: if you go down the toothpaste route, it’s essential that you use a non-gel, non-abrassive toothpaste so as not to damage your jewellery. Squeeze a small amount of toothpaste onto a cloth and rub it onto your jewellery. This should remove any tarnishing and restore your jewellery to its original shine. Rinse and repeat as needed.
Baking Soda and Aluminium Foil: add 2-3 teaspoons of baking soda to a cup, gradually adding lukewarm water to form a paste. Apply the paste to your silver jewellery using aluminum foil. The foil will create a chemical reaction that removes any tarnishing by transferring the tarnish from the jewellery to the foil. It’s very effective and a great way to clean up your favourite pieces.
Cleaning Products You Should Avoid
While it is helpful to use products around the home to clean your jewellery, there are certain products that should be avoided because they can damage silver. These products include:
Acids: acidic products, such as lemon juice and vinegar, should be avoided when cleaning silver jewellery. This is because they can tarnish and eat away at the silver, causing damage.
Abrasive products: you should avoid abrasive products, such as scouring pads, when cleaning silver jewellery. Abrasive products can scratch the surface of the metal, causing damage that is hard to undo.
Sulfur: sulfuric products are particularly bad for cleaning silver jewellery. Sulfur discolours silver, reacting with a gas to form a tarnish on the surface of the silver. As such, it is not an effective method for removing tarnishing from silver.
What Do Professionals Use to Clean Silver Jewellery?
You may find, having tried the methods of cleaning above, that your silver jewellery just isn’t coming up the way you expected. Whether it’s not shiny enough or there are scratches and marks on the surface of the silver that you can’t seem to buff away, you may need to consider a professional cleaning service.
Professionals use all sorts of methods and products to clean silver jewellery. But here’s the industry’s secret; most jewellery cleaners use Ultrasonic Cleaners. Ultrasonic Cleaners use high-frequency, high-intensity sound waves in liquid to remove tarnishing on silver jewellery and shake out any dirt caked into crevices to restore shine.
Keep Your Jewellery Clean
If you want your jewellery to last a long time, regular cleaning is important. We recommend that you clean your jewellery every 3 months or so to keep it shiny and avoid dirt building up in the crevices.
We hope the tips we’ve shared in this article help you maintain your silver jewellery so that your favourite items last for many years to come.
