How to Clean Silver Jewelry

Silver is a versatile metal with a soft luster that makes for beautiful jewelry. Unfortunately, silver is also pretty fragile compared to many more commonly-used metals, and it can quickly develop tarnish, stains, or scratches. It can also be a bit intimidating to try to clean silver pieces because they are so delicate. However, you don't have to be a professional or use expensive tools to clean your silver yourself.

1. Making a Salt Bath

• If you're cleaning a lot of jewelry at once, you can use more water. For just one piece of jewelry, use less water.
• If your jewelry has gemstones, make sure they won't be affected by being submerged in a saltwater solution. This solution is gentle on most stones, but if you're cleaning very fine jewelry with expensive gemstones, you're better off taking it to a professional just in case. You can also contact your jeweler for advice.

2. Add salt and aluminum foil. 

Stir one tablespoon of salt it into the hot water with a spoon until it completely dissolves. Take a sheet of aluminum foil and tear off a few strips, then put them in the bowl. The combination of salt and aluminum will react with the tarnish on the silver's surface and create a bright, shiny surface in place of the tarnish.

• Tarnish happens when the surface of silver combines with sulfur and turns into silver sulfide, which is black. When silver sulfide reacts with aluminum in a salt solution, the chemical reaction between the substances turns the silver sulfide back to silver. The reaction happens faster when the solution is warm.^[2]
• If you don't have table salt on hand, you can use baking soda instead. It has the right properties to facilitate the same chemical reaction.

3. Submerge your jewelry in the solution. 

Allow it to sit for 5 minutes. Stir it around a bit to see whether the tarnish is going away. When you see that the silver's shine has been restored, remove the silver from the solution.^[3]

• If you're working with deeply tarnished silver, you might need to repeat the process two or more times. Make sure the solution is completely heated, since the reaction is much slower if the solution is cool.

4. Rinse the jewelry. 

Run it under cool running water to rinse off the salt, then gently dry it using a soft cloth or microfiber towel. The jewelry should be good as new. If you still see signs of tarnish, repeat the process until it looks clean.

Consider using common household products for less rare or less valuable pieces. They will usually work to remove tough tarnish, but may cause damage such as pock marks or scratches. Try them at your own risk.

• Try toothpaste. Select a plain white toothpaste without the special whitening options. Take a soft, dampened cloth or a damp sponge and put some toothpaste on it. Gently rub over the silver jewelry in straight, back-and-forth motions. Be very gentle, and if you notice scratching at any point, stop and rinse the toothpaste off. As the cloth or sponge becomes dark with tarnish, add more toothpaste to a clean part of the dampened cloth/sponge and continue gently polishing. Rinse thoroughly with warm water and dry with a soft towel.
• Baking soda may remove stubborn tarnish, but don't use it unless you don't mind the risk of damaging the silver. Make a paste of baking soda and warm water, gently rub it into the surface of the jewelry, and rinse when the tarnish is removed.

Clean it often. Clean your silver jewelry often, and clean it promptly after use. Silver jewelry that is frequently used rarely has tarnish problems. When tarnish is not yet present, or when it's just beginning to develop, simply wash your silver jewelry in warm (not hot) water with a gentle, phosphate-free detergent.

• Prompt cleaning is especially important when the silver jewelry has been exposed to certain foods containing sulfur, or those which are acidic or salty. In particular, common foods such as table salt, eggs, some fruits, onions, mayonnaise, and vinegar are harmful to silver.
• In any case, wash your silver jewelry right away or at least rinse it well with warm water, and don't leave silver sitting in dishwater that may contain traces of these foods.
   

Wash it separately. It's a good idea to wash silver separately from your other silver pieces, like bowls or silverware, because metal sinks and utensils can scratch silver jewelry.

• You should also avoid using rubber gloves when washing silver, as rubber corrodes silver jewelry.
• Stainless steel can also damage the finish if it comes into contact with your silver jewelry, so avoid putting it in the sink; use a bowl to wash it in instead.

Dry it with a polishing cloth. Use a special polishing cloth or simply a soft, lint-free cloth to gently rub the silver clean after washing. Make sure it gets completely dry.

• Silver can be so soft that even using a scratchy, rough towel could be enough to make indentations in its surface. Make sure to use a soft cloth.
• As you dry the jewelry, gently buff the shine back with a soft cotton cloth.

Store your silver jewelry correctly. Beyond prompt and frequent cleaning, the best way to preserve your silver is to store it correctly. Make sure each piece is completely dry before storing it. You can buy special bags for storing silver jewelry that prevent them from getting tarnished. If you don't have the bags, use this technique:

• Wrap each piece of silverware in acid-free tissue paper or anti-tarnish paper. You can also wrap pieces in flannel.
• Store the silver in a compartment separate from the rest of your jewelry. Never store silver jewelry where it can contact rubber, stainless steel, or paint.