Silver jewelry is beautiful and offers great durability. However, with any exposure to humidity, silver will tarnish. This tarnish will quickly build, leaving you with a dark black coating in place of your shiny silver. Fortunately, there are several methods to quickly restore your silver to its original beauty.
Salt and Foil Method
You Will Need:
- Aluminum foil
- Water
- Salt
- Soft cloth
- Small jar or bowl (depending on size of jewelry)
The Cleaning Process:
- Fill the jar or bowl about half full with hot water.
- Add 1 tablespoon of salt to the jar or a couple of tablespoons of salt to the bowl and mix to dissolve.
- Add a few strips of aluminum foil to the jar or cover the bottom of the bowl with a sheet of aluminum foil.
- Now simply drop your silver jewelry in the water.
- You can shake it around in the jar or swish it around in the bowl. The aluminum with the salt acts as a magnet, pulling the tarnish off of the silver.
- Allow the jewelry to set in the saltwater/aluminum foil mixture for a few minutes.
- Remove and rinse under running water.
- Repeat as needed until the tarnish is removed.
- Dry with a soft towel.
Silver Cleaners (Pastes or Dips)
Silver cleaners come in two forms, either a paste or a dip, and can contain harsh chemicals. They should be used only as a last resort. Be very careful with any gemstones as the solutions may strip them of their protective coatings. Read all warnings and follow the manufacturer’s directions carefully.
You Will Need:
- Soft cloth
- Small bowl
- Silver cleaner
- Water
- Soft bristled toothbrush
- Rubber gloves
The Cleaning Process:
- Begin by wiping off as much of the tarnish with the soft cloth as possible.
- Place a small amount of silver dip solution in the bowl.
- Wear rubber gloves to protect your hands and quickly dip the jewelry into the silver dip. Do not allow the silver to soak in the polish as the chemicals are too harsh for extended exposure.
- When using a paste, apply the paste using a soft cloth or soft bristled toothbrush, rubbing in a straight line motion. Remove it with a clean soft cloth. Do not rub in circles as the abrasives in the paste will scratch the surface of the piece.
- Rinse thoroughly under cool running water. Be sure to remove all of the solution or it will dry and leave a white residue that will be much more difficult to remove.
- Dry and buff with a soft cloth to restore the shine.
- Your silver should look good as new!
Additional Tips and Advice
- Store silver jewelry away from other metal jewelry to avoid scratches.
- Storing silver jewelry in a plastic zipped bag will keep the air out and possibly slow tarnishing.
- Silver is a soft metal so handle with care to avoid scratching and bending.
- Avoid using silver dips for pieces with gemstones, especially Turquoise or Lapis as they are porous and will absorb the cleaner. This will lead to quickly deteriorating the stone.
- Plain white toothpaste can be used in place of silver paste for cleaning.
- Cleaning your silver jewelry after each use with a soft cloth will keep it shinier longer.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Cleaning Sterling Silver
The tip on cleaning silver with aluminum foil, salt and hot water does work. It’s quick and easy. It looks like the day I bought it.
Thank you…
Wow! It worked!
Who needs expensive cleaners when you can use cheap things you have right in your own kitchen?!
silver cleaning
Does the salt and aluminum harm stones, i.e. black onyx? Thanks
cleaning
Does anyone have an answer for jackie? I’m wondering the same thing about salt and aluminum, only with amber.
toothpast
Use an old toothbrush and gently rub toothpast into your silver,leave for ten mins and then wash off,job done
Salt and foil magic
The salt and foil method works – I used it on a silver pendant with 2 large pieces of turquoise and it is beautiful. No harm to the turquoise. You can smell the chemical reaction – like sulfur – at least that’s what I thought. It’s pretty cool. Thank you.
it works
the salt and foil really works!!! how great is that
Thanks
Thanks I cleaned my silver earrings w. the salt water/aluminum foil method and it worked wonders. Thanks
jakie&jesica
Dont try the foil and salt with any kind of stone i did with 3 different kind of stones and it tarnishes and fades ruins damages the stone, it works wonders on the silver but becarful with stones, my stones look faded and wornout and looks worse than it did b4 i did it just becarful one of my stones fell out after i did that the salt cause it after i did some research on it, just becarfull
Works, but not for the reason above
Oh boy … I just have to point out that there is nothing magnetic in silver, aluminum, or salt. The methods works very well for cleaning silver, but it most certainly does not create a magnet. It works by creating an electrolytic cell: the silver and the aluminum serve as the cathode and anode, and the salt ferries electrons back and forth.
As far as stones, I have only tried this with jewelry that contained cubic zirconia, and the stones are fine.
Thankyou!!
I inhereited 2 beautiful Norwegian brooches and a necklace and earrings. All silver and all black. Due to the intircacie of all of them I was afraid of ruining them and didn’t know how to clean them. Now I do! I am wearing them to my neices wedding today!!