Silver jewellery and silver cutlery tend to lose their shine over time and even to get black. This is tarnish – a result of chemical reaction between silver and sulphur in the air. Most silver jewellery and accessories today are plated with very thin layer of rhodium to protect the metal and make it brighter and shinier. However, this thin protective coat wears off making it easy for silver items to blacken.
Actually, silver items react not only with sulphur in the air. Perfumes, cosmetics, hair spray, hand cream, oils from skin and even some foods – can get the metal to tarnish and lose its lustre and shine. Luckily there are some simple and inexpensive ways to remove tarnish, polish and clean silver.
Check also: 8 DIY green recipes to clean your home with soapnuts
Here are 11 recipes for easy DIY silver cleaning at home:
1 Aluminium Foil + Laundry detergent
This cleaning trick is appropriate for slightly tarnished silverware or silver jewellery. Line a bowl with aluminium foil and fill with hot water. Add a tablespoon of liquid laundry detergent and stir well. Drop your silver items inside and let them soak for a minute. Take the silver out with kitchen tongs, rinse with lukewarm water and lay on a paper towel to let the items dry.
2 Aluminium Foil + Baking Soda
This is one of the best recipes in our silver cleaning arsenal. The aluminium-soda bath is very useful when you need to clean more than one thing or bigger items – such as silver cutlery, candlesticks, or tableware. Cover the bottom of a large baking pan with aluminium foil, with the shiny side up. Use ceramic, or glass bakeware never metal one, to avoid unwanted chemical reactions. Fill with water and add baking soda. You need 1,5 tablespoons of soda for every gallon of water. Bring to boil and put the tarnished silver inside for 15 seconds. Take out the silver using kitchen tongs. Leave the silverware on paper towel to cool down. All tarnish is gone. For built up, stubborn tarnish you may have to repeat the procedure. Never use this recipe for jewellery with encrusted gemstones.
3 Cornflour + Water
If your silver has lost its shine this recipe will help you restore it. Prepare a thick paste of water cornflour and apply it onto the silver item. Let the mixture dry completely and rub it off with a towel to polish the surface and restore the shine of your jewellery and silverware. If you are out of cornflour you can substitute it with cream of tartar.
4 Ketchup Clean-up
It may sound weird, but ketchup works great if you need to remove tarnish from silver. This method is good handy if you have only 1-2 silver items to clean. Squeeze a few drops of ketchup on a paper towel and gently rub the tarnished silverware or jewellery. If there is old, tarnish built up apply ketchup directly onto these areas and leave it for 15 minutes. After that rub with microfibre cloth and rinse with water. Some items like fancy candlesticks or silverware have more details. Use a soft toothbrush to reach between crevices and clean the tarnish.
5 Hand Sanitiser
Hand sanitising products are a quick solution if you need to polish your silver ring on the go. Squeeze small amount of hand sanitiser on soft paper handkerchief and gently rub your jewel. The mat and slight tarnish are gone and your silver is clean and shiny again! Don’t try this recipe on jewellery with encrusted mineral stones, because some of the ingredients of the hand sanitiser could damage the stone.
Need a professional cleaner?
We are happy to offer you some of the most competitive prices in the industry.
Any question, please give us a Call on 0207 101 4326 to talk through your London cleaning
needs or fill in our contact form.
Need a professional cleaner?
We are happy to offer you some of the most competitive prices in the industry.
Any question, please give us a Call on 0207 101 4326 to talk through your London cleaning
needs or fill in our contact form.
6 Toothpaste
This is a classic, easy DIY silver cleaning recipe. Use non-gel and non-abrasive toothpaste. Squeeze a small amount of it on a soft cloth or paper handkerchief. Rub onto the jewellery or silverware with circular motions to polish it and clean off the tarnish. Leave it for 5 minutes and then rinse off the toothpaste with water. After this procedure the silver is clean and shiny as new.
7 Lemon-lime Soda
If your silver jewellery got mat and tarnished soak it in a plastic bowl filled with lemon-lime soda. Leave it for one hour. After the time is up take out the silver, rinse thoroughly with clean water and dry with paper towel or soft cloth. This method work only for slightly tarnished silver items.
8 Window Cleaning Detergent
Window cleaner works great not only on glass surfaces it actually removes dirt and restore shine of sterling silver pretty nice. Spray a little on a cloth and start scrubbing your jewels or silverware. Use a soft toothbrush to gently scrub around small details and ornaments. Never use this recipe on antique silver like cutlery, candlesticks, jewellery or silver accessories – antiques can be very fragile. If you need to clean antique silver better invest in a specialised product.
Need to clean your windows? Check our professional window cleaning guide.
9 Ammonia + Water
This is an easy way to brighten silver cutlery, jewellery and accessories. Prepare solution 1 part clear ammonia and 2 parts of warm water. Soak your silver items in the liquid for 10 minutes. After the time is up take them out of the solution, wipe with soft cloth and buff with dry cotton cloth to polish the surface. It’s not recommended to use ammonia on antique silverware or silver jewellery.
10 White Distilled Vinegar + Baking Soda
This recipe isn’t appropriate for antique silver items. Still it’s a great way to restore the lustre and shine of your sterling silver jewellery and cutlery. Put the silver items in a bowl of appropriate size and cover them with white distilled vinegar. Add baking soda into the bowl – the approximate proportions are 4 tablespoons of baking soda for every cup of vinegar. Leave the silver in the mixture for 1 hour. Rinse with clean water and dry well with soft cotton cloth.
Check which are the 8 things you should never ever clean with vinegar!
11 Baking Soda + Water
If you have to deal with stubborn built-up tarnish on your silver jewellery prepare a thick paste from baking soda and lukewarm water. Apply it onto the tarnished spots with a damp cloth. Leave it for 2-3 minutes then gently rub with soft cloth. Don’t rub too hard to avoid scratching the surface. If there are small details or crevices use soft toothbrush to reach and clean them. Rinse your jewellery with cold water and dry with soft cloth. Buff with circular motions to polish the silver.
Actually, you can use toothpaste to clean your scorched iron too. Check other great DIY tricks to clean your iron.
Bonus Tip: Silverware and silver jewellery will stay shiny longer if you keep a small piece of chalk in their box. Chalk is very absorbent and will keep the moisture away from your silver. You can replace chalk with small silica gel packs.
Try these recipes to clean your jewellery and polish your silverware for the Holidays. And don’t forget – if you need a hand with cleaning your home before or after the holiday season you can always rely on our special December discount. Don’t hesitate and book your cleaner now.
