In today’s world of fashion, sterling silver jewellery occupies top among them because of its luster, brilliance, and versatility. It’s the main reason why silver is one of the most popular materials for jewelry. One of the most common complaints and most annoying thing in silver jewelry is that it turns to Tarnish with time. When oxygen or sulfur come in contact with silver, they chemically bond to its surface and causing the silver to appear dirty or discolored called tarnish. How to clean silver? removing tarnish is as simple as doing the daily routine. Here a few tips and tricks for care and cleaning. With this best guide, start wearing your fabulous silver again with all its shine!
How to Care Silver Jewellery
Why Sterling Silver Tarnishes? How to clean Silver.
Sterling silver is an white metal, normally compose of 92.5% silver and other metals called sterling silver. Sterling silver is a popular in jewellery making because of its cost and strength with positive vibrations, used for daily wear and easy to care silver jewellery makes interests to lots of young generations.
Every piece of silver jewelry develops a black coating on its surface after some time. This tarnish is a result of a chemical reaction that occurs when silver comes into contact with air and various substances.
Silver tarnish is a form of corrosion, but unlike rust, it does not destroy the underlying metal. With a few easy-to-follow tips, it can be removed relatively easily, caring your sterling silver jewelry.
Oxidized Jewellery Care
Oxidized Jewellery is a term, where silver smiths make some part of the jewelry to darken by the help of some oxidizing chemical. Basically, oxidized jewellery is nothing but giving a black color to the silver to make them stand out. With heavy cleaning and polishing through chemicals the oxidization will be removed.
How Can You Prevent Silver from Tarnishing?
There is no way to protect your silver jewellery from tarnish because silver reacts with so many materials found in everyday life. Knowing what’s harmful to your sterling silver jewellery is the best way to combat tarnish.
For ex, tarnishing can be accelerated by contact with water, when you are bathing (because it contains chlorine), a number of foods (e.g., salad dressings), your perfume and hair spray, and even wool clothing.
For your daily wearing, follow this list of tips:
- Wear it often: Believe it or not, your skin’s natural oils will help keep silver jewelry shiny. One of the easiest ways to prevent tarnish is to simply wear your silver often as opposed to letting it sit in a jewellery box unworn.
- Avoid Exposure: Avoid direct contact with chemicals, chlorinated water, or any substances which promotes corrosion and tarnish. It’s a good idea to remove sterling silver completely before cleaning.
- Keep out of direct sunlight: Before you hit the beach or pool or jogging, be sure to remove your silver jewellery. Sunlight can cause silver to tarnish as well.
- Put your jewellery on last: For generations, women have been putting their jewelry on last and that’s for good reason! Lotions, hair spray, cosmetics, hair products, and perfumes.
- Storage: Storing silver or sterling silver jewellery in airtight plastic bags. 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. You can place a chalk piece, or a packet of charcoal, or a pack of silica gel in the storage area thus minimize tarnish.
How to clean silver ornaments at home
There are countless methods of cleaning silver ornaments from Commercial silver cleaning to home cleaning methods for your silver jewelry. Commercial silver cleaners can also harm your silver by removing the anti-tarnish coating and chemical is harmful to humans. But it might give a temporary beautiful shine, the pieces will tarnish much more quickly. So here’s the silver cleaning methods that our jewelers suggest you can make your own economically and environmentally friendly silver cleaner using ingredients from your kitchen
Silver Cleaning Methods in home
- Soap and water: This is highly recommended method because of the easy to clean with soap and water. This is everyone’s choice of cleaning silver jewellery before trying anything else. If this process not removing tarnish follow the below steps.
- Baking soda and water: If you come across suggestions to use toothpaste, we highly recommend you ignore that tip and use soda and water with a cloth or brush instead because that will discolor your silver. When toothpaste were simple non-whitening, non-gel based pastes, they could be used on your jewellery.
- 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 then polish the silver, rinse, and dry.
- White vinegar and baking soda: This gentle cleaning method is great for removing heavy tarnish. Soak your sterling silver in a ½ cup of white vinegar and 2 tbsp of baking soda for two to three hours. Rinse jewellery and dry.
- Finish with a polish: After you’ve given your jewellery a good cleaning, you can finish the process by using a polishing cloth that’s specifically for sterling silver.
You can repeat this process as often as needed. Remember, the key to keeping your sterling silver clean is to keep up with regular cleanings to remove tarnish as it builds.
How to clean Silver? Polishing Method
Silver is soft metal and can be scratched easily. So need to care a lot, there is silver cloth available to polish your items, also microfiber, flannel or other nonabrasive cloth can be used to clean silver. Polishing silver jewellery is enough when there is little tarnish. It’s also the best method for cleaning.
Quick Tips:
Don’t Over polish
Don’t use tissue papers/towels.
Storing Your Silver Jewellery
- Place it in air-tight container: any container can be used for storing your silver with lid closed. Zip-lock bag can be used.
- Keep in a cool, dark place: as mentioned avoid direct sunlight, moisture, heat which cause tarnish. Always keep your silver in a cool, dark place. Major step towards caring silver jewellery.
- Store pieces individually: If placing all jewels together there is possiblity of jewellery scratching or tangling each other.
- Use anti-tarnish strips: Placing anti-tarnish strips with jewellery helps preventing tarnish.
- Do not store in paper/cardboard/cotton-filled boxes: if these boxes contains trace of sulfur means will cause tarnish.
Anti Tarnish Products
The following easy ways to prevent sterling silver jewellery from tarnish.
- chalk: It will absorb the moisture in the jewellery and help in prevent tarnishing.
- silica packs: How you ever wondered why there is a silica packs placed at the products like clothes or shoes? because they’re great absorbents of moisture! which prevents from smell and tarnish
Conclusion:
Cleaning is good not only for the appearance of your jewellary but also for keeping it in good condition. Well cared silver jewellery can give you many years of pleasure and enjoyment and even become family heirlooms. And, of course, silver is valuable. how to clean silver ornaments? it’s also the same process mentioned above. We suggest an annual cleaning by professionals for all jewellary. Remember that it’s easier to prevent tarnish than it is to remove it after it occurs.
