To bring the shine back to tarnished silver jewelry, pour hot water into a mug, add three tablespoons of salt (to make an electrolyte), put in some aluminum tin foil and the tarnished silver jewelry. The tarnish (silver sulfide) will then be liberated and be given off as a gas (rotten eggs smell). Rinse with water to reveal super shiny jewelery.
Source: A jeweler friend.
By Monique from Somerset, UK
I have a silver necklace with opals in silver settings. Is it saft to use the salt, soda, and water with the aluminum foil. Will it damage the opals?
Yes, Opals are porous and can easily crack; they require oil like Olive Oil gently wiped over to keep it's luster and protection. Never wear opal jewelry in dishwater or other harsh detergents and frequently wipe over with soft oiled cloth.
I have some custom made opal jewelry. The artist who made them told me to clean my opal jewelry with baking POWDER (NOT baking soda). Just pour a teaspon of BP into a small bowl, and pinch a dap onto the jewlry the rub around.
I have had a beautiful silver rope necklace for about ten years that has gotten terribly tarnished. I can't remove the tarnish with a chamois cloth because of the intricate rope detail. I've tried Tarn-X and the baking soda/aluminum foil solution to no avail. Does anyone know of an effective way to clean silver jewelry? Every jeweler has told me that they don't do silver.
Clean the tarnish off silver objects
Materials: (tarnished silver, a pan or dish large enough to completely immerse the silver, aluminum foil to cover the bottom of the pan, boiling water, baking soda)
Line the bottom of the pan with aluminum foil or use a disposable aluminum pan.
Place silver object on top of the aluminum, making sure the silver touches the aluminum.
Pour boiling water into the pan until the object is completely covered.
Add about baking soda. (about 1/4 cup per liter or 1 cup per gallon of water).
What will happen?
As you add the baking soda, the mixture may froth a bit and may spill over. The tarnish will begin to disappear quickly. For badly tarnished silver, you may need to repeat the experiment a 2nd time to remove all traces of tarnish.
Another thing you can do is buy "coin cleaner" (some coin stores sell it). I don't remember the chemical in it, but it is a blue liquid, very watery. You soak the silver in it for a few seconds, agitate the solution while it's soaking, wash it off, and the tarnish is gone.
I do outdoor craft shows and love working with beads. I purchased small gift boxes with clear lids about 2 x 3 inches. They look good with one pair of silver plated dangle earrings in each box. They tarnish very quickly and it takes 3 times longer to clean a pair than to make a new pair.
What neutralizes silver oxide (the tarnish on my silver)? I am tired of trying to clean in all the tiny, tiny nooks between the beads. Help please. Thanks.
By Carol from Waynesboro, GA
I sell silver jewelry. I use a silver polishing cloth & sometimes silver polish.
I also make jewelry. I usually store sterling silver in a zip-bag with a 3M anti-tarnish strip. When I present jewelry in a box, I place the small zip bag with an anti-tarnish strip underneath the "cotton." I make sure I tell the recipient about storing the jewelry long-term in the bag with the strip. The strips don't last forever, and when they feel like it needs to be replaced, they can place a plain piece of chalk in the bag.
I've gotten my anti-tarnish strips at artbeads.com, but I see that they're out at the moment. Riogrande.com sells them in larger quantities, but you need to set up an account to use them (might be worthwhile if you have a sales tax license). Right now they have 1000 1-inch strips for about $40. There are also anti-tarnish zip-bags, and anti-tarnish tissue paper.
How do I clean silver earrings?
By Scott
Soak in half ammonia and half water. Then scrub with old toothbrush and dish soap.
No problem, just dip them into silver cleaner. It is very simple. To keep my silver from tarnishing, I wrap them in Saran wrap.
Silver jewelry that has become tarnished can be cleaned by soaking it for a few minutes in a mixture of 1/2 cup white vinegar and 2 tablespoons of baking soda, and then rubbing it with a soft cloth.
I used Nair while wearing my brand new sterling silver engagement ring. It tarnished my ring and believe me, I was freaking out. I read tips on here and tried using cigarette ashes.
I once heard that monosodium glutamate (MSG) can be used to clean and shine any pure stainless metal, like gold and silver.
I forgot my silver jewelry in a jar of Connoisseurs Cleaner and it came out all discolored. I found the composition online.
It is thiourea, sulfuric acid, and alcohol ethoxylates. Is there any hope to salvage it?
If the bracelet was plated in silver it may have removed this. Try rubbing the chain together to see if that brightens them up. If it does then you may not have lost the finish. I like the tbsp. baking soda in an aluminum foil pan with boiling water added. Set jewellery in there and leave it until the water is cool. Or use a glass dish and a hand sized piece of foil.
I love the tarnished patina that the cleaner has made these!! I know it's probably not super helpful, but let me know if you would ever consider selling this set to an adoring home! : )
Did you get any help for this? I did the same with a necklace - left too long in "Jeweler's" liquid cleaner. I left it in too long along with decent costume earrings & now my real silver necklace is black and other colors! Help!
I work at a silver and native American jewelry store. We use Windex (I've never tried an off brand of glass cleaner), and an old soft toothbrush to get into hard to reach areas. Windex is the ticket!
After using household bleach for cleaning I realized my favorite silver ring had been tarnished and I was freaking out! I had the impulse to rub it with salt as it is an alkaline and submerge my ring in salted boiling water. It worked in about 25-30 mins!
