Wear: You can avoid tarnish by wearing your jewelry often. The oils in your skin will “clean” the silver and keep it looking shiny.
Avoid exposure:
Contact with household chemicals, perspiration, rubber, chlorinated
water, or any substances which contain sulfur (e.g., mayonnaise, eggs,
mustard, onions, latex, wool), will cause corrosion and tarnish — so
it’s a good idea to remove silver jewelry when doing household chores.
Direct sunlight also causes silver to tarnish, so be sure to take off
your silver jewelry before you go swimming and sunbathing.
Lotions,
cosmetics, hair spray and hair products, and perfumes are also
“enemies” of silver and will accelerate tarnishing. There’s a reason
generations of women have been getting dressed with jewelry last, as a
finishing touch!
Storage:
As exposure to air tarnishes it, storing silver in airtight plastic
bags with anti-tarnish strips is a great preventative measure. Just make
sure you don’t store multiple jewelry pieces in the same bag: silver is
a soft metal, so the individual pieces can scratch each other. Link or
chain bracelets should be kept unclasped or unhooked to prevent
scratching as well. If you can’t use plastic bags, try to make sure that
the storage area has low humidity. You can also place a piece of chalk,
a packet of activated charcoal, or a container of silica gel in the
storage area to minimize tarnish.
Polishing:
Simply
polishing your silver works well when the tarnishing is not too severe.
It’s also the best method for cleaning oxidized silver, as you can stay
away from the intentionally tarnished areas.
Silver
is soft and can become scratched easily. You can use a special silver
cloth to polish your items, but a lint-free flannel, microfiber, or
other soft nonabrasive cloth will do as well. Do not use paper towels or
tissues to polish your jewelry as they contain fibers that can scratch
the silver.
When
polishing, use long back-and-forth motions that mirror the grain of the
silver. Do not rub in circles, as this will magnify any tiny scratches.
Also, change to a different section of your cloth frequently to avoid
placing tarnish back on the silver. You can use a Q-tip to get into
small, detailed areas.
Be
careful with silver-plated items, as excessive polishing can remove the
plating (depending on the thickness) and leave pieces worse than when
they started.
Professional care:
If
your pieces are heavily tarnished and you don’t have the time to clean
them, take them to a professional silver cleaner. Very old, fragile, or
valuable pieces should also be cleaned by a professional.
Homemade silver cleaner:
For
cases when the polishing cloth isn’t enough to remove tarnish, you can
make your own economically- and environmentally-friendly silver cleaner
using ingredients from your kitchen.
It
should be noted, however, that silver cleaners are not for all types of
silver jewelry. You should not, for instance, ever immerse jewelry
adorned with pearls or opaque gemstones (e.g. turquoise, opal,
carnelian, onyx), as this could seriously damage these softer stones.
(Give these pieces a very brief rinse if they become too dirty.)
Even
for jewelry with clear gemstones (e.g. blue topaz, amethyst, garnet),
take special care when using a silver cleaner: the chemicals could lodge
under the gemstone settings or loosen any glue. And remember, do not
use silver cleaners on your oxidized jewelry — stick to the polishing
cloth instead.
After
using any cleaner, be sure to thoroughly rinse your silver with running
water or a clean, damp cloth. This is especially important for detailed
or etched items, since polish can stick in small crevices and harden.
After, dry the pieces with a microfiber cloth to prevent white water
spot stains from forming.
Soap
and water: Warm water and a mild, ammonia- and phosphate-free
dishwashing soap should be your first line of defense if the polishing
cloth fails to remove tarnish. Soap and water should also be used to
clean your pieces before using any of the methods listed below.
Baking
soda and water: You might have heard that a non-whitening, non-gel
toothpaste can be a good substitute for commercial silver cleaners, but
nowadays these basic toothpastes are hard to find or distinguish from
the toothpastes that will discolor your silver. Instead, make a paste of
baking soda and water and use a clean cloth to apply a pea-sized amount
to the silver and polish. For etched, stamped or detailed items, thin
the paste with more water and use a clean, soft-bristled toothbrush to
get the cracks and crevices. Run the silver piece or pieces under
running warm water, and dry with a clean cloth.
Olive
oil and lemon juice: Mix 1/2 cup lemon juice with 1 tsp. olive oil in a
bowl large enough to hold the cleaning solution and a small microfiber
cloth. Dip the cloth in the solution and wring it out so that it doesn’t
drip, then polish the silver, rinse, and dry.
White
vinegar and baking soda: Use this gentle cleaner to remove heavy
tarnish that’s preventing you from polishing your silver. Soak the
tarnished piece in a solution of 1/2 cup white vinegar and 2 tbsp.
baking soda (be prepared for the fizzing!) for two to three hours, then
rinse and dry.
Baking
soda, salt, aluminum foil, and boiling water: You can take advantage of
a simple chemical reaction to clean your silver: all you’ll need is
some baking soda, salt, and aluminum foil. Line a glass roasting pan or
the kitchen sink with aluminum foil, dull side facing down. Place the
silver pieces on top of the aluminum foil. Then pour boiling water over
the pieces until they are covered and add 2 tbsp. each of baking soda
and salt. Stir the solution to allow the baking soda to dissolve — you
don’t want any granules scratching the metal.
The
reaction causes the tarnish to transfer to the foil, and in about 5-10
minutes you’ll see the tarnish “magically” disappear from the jewelry.
(Be prepared for the smell of rotten eggs, though, as the sulfide
tarnish comes off the silver.) Using salad tongs or nitrile gloves (not
rubber gloves, which contain sulfur), remove the silver jewelry from the
hot water or drain into a colander. Rinse the jewelry with water, then
dry and buff with a soft cloth. Voila! Your silver should be sparkling
clean and ready to keep you looking fabulous.
Combination:
If your pieces have very stubborn tarnish, you can use these treatments
in succession to get them looking shiny again.
A fresh start for your jewelry:
Well-cared-for
silver jewelry can give you many years of pleasure and enjoyment and
even become family heirlooms. And, of course, silver is valuable. So
don’t wait until tarnish has become so bad that you forget about your
silver treasures or even get rid of them. Give your jewelry a fresh
start today!