Silver jewelry, handcrafted luxury silverware, coins, and bars are great investment options for many. It is many times also bought as a gift on special occasions such as anniversaries, family get-togethers, engagements, etc.
Your jewelry items made of sterling silver carry an emotional attachment to them. Thus you may need to clean and maintain it regularly so that it looks good even after years of use.
Thanks to modern ultrasonic silver cleaners, which can be utilized to preserve the sheen and aesthetic properties of silver jewelry (such as a silver necklace, anklet, bracelet, or chain) in its original vitality for a long, even when they are tarnished.
Why Does Silver Get Tarnished?
Tarnish is a very thin corrosion layer that forms on your silver items over time. The dulling is mainly due to the chemical reaction caused by hydrogen sulfide or sulfur in the atmosphere. It looks dark in color and is unpleasant to the eyes.
In general, pure silver does not get oxidized in the air due to the fact that it’s not reactive to oxygen or water at average room temperature. However, the metals in the alloy (as in the case of your silver item) are prone to oxidizing as they tend to react with oxygen and water present in the air.
This is the reason why most silver items, even when stored in air-tight spaces or containers, show signs of tarnishing, maybe at a much slower pace.
The oxidized or tarnished silver can be restored by polishing using steel wool, a silver polish, or a polishing pad. But you can also use ultrasonic methods to get the shine back which is a much faster and efficient way to clean tarnished silver jewelry and silverware at home.
By using these efficient ultrasonic silver cleaning devices once in a while, your jewelry can be effectively saved from getting tarnished over time (which is a natural process).
7 Ways to Clean Silver Items at Home
Although silver is an amazing and beautiful metal, it becomes prey to dulling tarnish.
Being used regularly with heavy makeup and perfumes, the need arises to maintain it with cleaning steps and tips that give sparkling, clear, and new-condition jewelry to match any of the outfits you desire.
This also means that you need to know the right tips to clean the sensitive silver jewelry at home so that you get back its brightness without any harm or damage made to the metal itself.
So, here are some very useful DIY home remedies for the common cleaning of items that have fewer stains on them.
1- Toothpaste
Toothpaste for silver cleaning is often recommended and used by many as it gives pretty decent results at a very affordable cost. Care that you use only white toothpaste and not gel-based colored ones.
You just need to rub the toothpaste (you use for brushing teeth daily) on the silver item, just like soap. After a few seconds, wipe it off with a paper towel or silver cleaning cloth.
The results you will see will be highly admirable and the fun part is that you will prevent all that odor that may be caused by using the chemical-based silver cleaning solutions.
2- Vinegar
Every woman desires a clean and sparkling silver ornament with a smudge-free look. If you are very much concerned about your silver jewelry and are looking for the best tricks to apply, then luckily, you have vinegar.
White vinegar in your kitchen is a very gentle and chemical-free substance that can be used on jewelry articles to get its sparkling and gleaming look back similar to a professional service.
Mix white vinegar and baking soda in a bowl and lay the silver jewelry in it to settle for an hour. Later clean with the toothbrush and hold it under the valve of the running water.
3- Baking soda
Many are sick of the smelly and tarnished silver ornaments they have in their home. Fortunately, we have a homemade silver cleaner for them.
To clean it, you need to add baking soda to the boiling water and add the ornaments to it to settle at the bottom.
Leave it for half an hour and brush it in a simple way to get rid of dirt and grime. Wipe it clean with a soft cloth to get the sparkling jewelry once again.
If you feel the dirt is too stubborn and heavy to clean, you can try making a paste of (1 part baking soda in 2 parts of water). Use this paste to rub against the item and then wipe it clean.
4- Aluminum foil
Cleaning silver with aluminum foil and salt (or baking soda) is one of our best-recommended techniques to follow. However, you need to be safe and careful while performing the cleaning task as the silver jewelry contains adhesives that might crumble or break up.
Well, tear a piece of aluminum foil larger than the bottom of a dish, crumble it gently, and then un-crumble it.
Set the jewelry pieces on the uncrumbled foil and dust with baking soda. Place a cup of water in a small pot on the burner and boil for 5 minutes on low flame.
Now transfer the hot water into the dish. Dip the jewelry and let it settle in hot water until the dirt, grime, and tarnish are removed.
5- Silver polish solution
Silver is soft, and it gets scratched easily. When dirt and grime settle on the silver costume jewelry, it gives an old and fading look.
To clear it up and make it sparkling once again, you need to purchase a silver polish solution that is specially formulated to remove the developed tarnish on it. You can get it from a jewelry store or from a jewelry department that can suggest to you the way to use it and maintain the delicate piece.
Just apply the polish to your sterling silver jewelry and rub it in simple motions with a soft cloth to get back its original look at home without damaging it.
6- Polishing cloth and cleaning kit
Make sure that when you are using a silver cleaning/polishing cloth, you use different parts of the cloth for cleaning. This will avoid the spreading of tarnish on your piece.
Also, ensure that you maintain long up-and-down strokes. Do not use circular motions as it can make the tarnish worse getting your pieces damaged.
You can consider this option when you want to quickly clean your items, like cleaning your silver jewelry items when going to a party.
7- Ultrasonic silver cleaning machine
Although various methods can be utilized for cleaning tarnished silver, using ultrasonic technology is one of the best and most recommended.
Devices such as Magnasonic, GemOro Sparkle Spa Pro, Trioshine, and many others are fully advanced and utilize the best technology for cleaning the jewelry without providing it any harm.
As these professional silver cleaning machines are completely safe to use at home and in shops, they are considered as best for cleaning sterling silver jewelry.
I usually use my ultrasonic silver cleaning kit after polishing the silver with a simple microfiber cloth or special jewelry cloth to get long-lasting dashing results.
Do remember that, there are people who advise using products such as beer, vodka, coca-cola, and ketchup for silver cleaning. But I highly recommend that you do not use such products as these can cause more harm than good. In a pinch, if you want to use you can go with your regular window cleaner or a laundry detergent.
How Well Does Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaner Work On Silver?
Although ultrasonic cleaner works to clean silver jewelry, it DOES NOT WORK to remove the tarnish completely.
In general, these machines can work pretty well to remove the dirt, oil, and perfume deposited on your silver jewelry due to daily wear and tear. However, since tarnish is a chemical reaction or a process that silver or copper jewelry undergoes due to environmental effects, it cannot be cleaned completely.
To get better finishing and shine, you can instead polish them away.
How Does the Cleaning Device Work?
Ultrasonic silver cleaning is executed in a specially designed metallic tank with a detachable basket.
When switched ON, the Magnasonic ultrasonic cleaner for silver generates ultrasonic waves up to 42000 Hz per second. These waves stir a special silver cleaning solution that is poured into the tank.
The intense vibrations and microscopic bubbles produced in the liquid hit the surface of the object to bring about spotless cleaning of the silver pieces placed strategically in the basket.
For this, the silver jewelry is to be left in the basket for a few minutes depending on the dimensions and the instructions that accompany the unit.
How Often to Clean Silver Items in an Ultrasonic Machine?
Expensive silver jewelry items and coins (like silver dollars) are bound to get tarnished, in the absence of proper maintenance and regular cleaning. Therefore, cleaning of jewelry and other silver items, at least twice a year, is obligatory to ward off any blemish on the shining surface.
The unique property of these silver jewelry cleaning machines is, that it removes stains and grime from places that are inaccessible to normal cleaning methods.
Some of these ultrasonic silver cleaning units also come equipped with a discrete tank for immersing the silver items into a tarnish scrubbing solution prior to subjecting the pieces to ultrasonic cleaning.
However, care has to be taken that you use the recommended silver cleaning liquid in the cleaner as any deviation from the prescribed ultrasonic silver cleaning solution may cause permanent damage to the unit and may also harm your silver articles.
Silver ornaments carrying gemstones should be avoided in the unit, especially if the diamonds or gems have innate flaws in them. In all cases, the operating instructions should be steadfastly adhered to for safe cleaning.
Few Additional Tips for Preventing the Tarnish on Silver Items
If you are wondering if there is any way to prevent the silver from getting tarnished or how you can go about it, let’s check some of them here.
These prevention tips will help in avoiding the chemical reaction taking place that actually causes corrosion or tarnish.
- Clean your silver jewelry piece regularly; this will help to avoid getting discoloration.
- Use a bit of conditioner to gently rub on the material. Make sure you blend it using a soft cotton cloth. This will polish and add a protective layer to the silver.
- Consider placing a piece of chalk in a box (or a drawer) where you store your silver jewelry. This absorbs the moisture in the air and helps prevent the silver from getting tarnished.
- Take your silver jewelry off when doing household chores (like cooking, gardening, etc.), exercising, or swimming. This will avoid getting in contact with chemicals like chlorine that can corrode the silver fast.
Remember, prevention is always easier than aftercare! It’s much more affordable to your pocket too. So take a step ahead to protect your silver in the first place, and you will not need to clean them more often.