We'll show you how to clean silver jewelry with simple DIY methods that remove tarnish and restore shine. Silver is a soft, lustrous metal, so gentle cleaning is key. A mix of warm water and mild dishwashing soap , or even baby shampoo, will usually do the trick for cleaning everyday jewelry. This method also works to clean gold jewelry.
Fine silver jewelry with diamonds or other precious gems can often be cleaned with soap and water as well. However, consider speaking to a jeweler before cleaning valuables or have the piece professionally cleaned to be safe.
The silver pieces in your jewelry box are likely made of sterling silver rather than pure silver. Sterling silver typically contains about 7. Copper is the primary culprit behind tarnish on sterling silver jewelry. To tell if your jewelry is sterling silver versus silver-plated, check the clasp for a marking that says 9. If your necklace or bracelet doesn't have these markings, it's probably silver-plated.
If soap and water don't do the trick, you can try other DIY methods for cleaning silver that utilize common pantry and household staples, including baking soda, lemon juice, olive oil, white vinegar, salt, and toothpaste. Mix two parts baking soda to one part water to make a paste, then gently rub the mixture onto the jewelry. Let the paste dry completely to remove the tarnish. Rinse and dry with a soft cloth or microfiber towel.
You can also follow a similar method using cornstarch. Dip a clean cloth in the solution and gently rub the silver until it shines. If you want, you can also give your silver plated jewelry items a quick polish and wipe-down after each and every time you wear it.
This will help to remove your body oils and any chemicals, products or pollutants that might be on it, which would contribute to tarnishing. Remember to be gentle when you wipe your silver plated jewelry items down, as the layer might be relatively thin and can potentially be scrubbed away with too much force.
If you need something a little strong to clean your silver plated jewelry items, the aluminum foil and baking soda method is really the best way to clean your silver plated jewelry. Friday, November 12, April 24, Customer Support. Prev Next. Share on:. Leave a comment. Just warm water and baking soda works on any jewelry. Salt is not necessary as baking soda it is a salt. Vinegar may attack as silver is in alloy with copper, to make it stronger, and as we know copper easily tarnishes.
Probably your skin darkens because the reaction to copper, your prespiration is very acidic and makes the copper go dark. I would recommend :stay away fro vinegar in this situation. Works wonders as well. I think I learned in high school chem class. Than you! This was amazing I used it to clean my Pandora bracelet and charms and it worded really well!! How would the aluminium foil work in? Can I just make a huge mixture up in the laundry tub and soak them for s day?
I do not recommend the vinegar. The acetic acid vinegar reacts with the sodium bicarbonate baking soda to form carbon dioxide gas which bubbles out , sodium salt and water. Salt and baking soda is all one needs for this chemical reaction to occure. I was wondering what the foil does.
Have just ruined sterling silver earrings by dipping them into commercial silver cleaning product along with other pieces. Used this dipping product with success for a few specific dangling curved silver pendant pieces nearly impossible to clean with silver paste. This time earrings came out corroded, other pieces were fine. Will follow your method from now on. Can you suggest how to remove corrosion? Many thanks, Jeri. I have been using this method for yrs.
Some tarnished because of oxygenation being exposed to the air. He meant well but the stuff his Mom had made the tarinsh worse! So I did some research on the best cheapest no harm to the environment solution to clean my silver and this was the ticket..
I am cleaning some jewelry as we speak! Happy cleaning! I do this all the time. If you want a bigger quantity can you double or triple the ingredients? I read somewhere to toss a few of those moisture absorbing packets that come in medicine bottles etc. I purchased 4 silver goblets and forgot to go to the store.
I then googled and thought you sounded the best. I had awesome results and appreciated your help. I hope this works. Worked wonderful. Now I cannot find tray anywhere. Crossing fingers. Thank you, I just tried this idea on a pair of earrings and it worked really well. Wanted to wear them but did not have any silver cleaner. This destroyed my Pandora! All real charms, all silver but I also had a pandora glass bead in there too. This method works on pure silver jewellery however, I do NOT recommend it for a Pandora charm bracelet or any other similar piece of jewellery with anything other than silver on it.
This method sadly completely destroyed the remaining silver tone on my costume silver earrings. Nice idea, bad move on my part. I have tall candlesticks I want to do with this method — does the whole candlestick have to touch the aluminum foil, or only part of it? Thanks again. Occording to comments submitted, some have no success and others are amazed at how fabulous it works.
I think I have accidently discovered why it works for some and not for others.. I had five batches of silver to clean, but only enough foil to do four. It worked okay, but I tried the toothpaste method right after, and that went so much better. My jewelry is shinier than ever! Hi, Am I able to use this with jewellery that also contain stainless steel such as watches and necklaces with steel parts? Melissa, Why do I keep getting the same email over and over telling me about the silver cleaning trick.
I got it and I know how to do it now. Stop with the emails unless you send something new and interesting. You do have wonderful ideas let me hear some new ones.
The Tension rods is a great idea. Thank you Marian Scheerer. I have just posted a before and after picture and posted it on Facebook, instagram and twitter. I really only post and promote products and ideas that are worth posting! I am glad I stumbled across your website and I will be an avid follower! Not only have you cleaned your silver in record time but you have actually removed a fine layer of it in the process. Toothpaste and a toothbrush can leave fine scratches on sterling.
Use a silver paste, a soft cloth and elbow grease — cleaning your silver this way and using it regularly is what creates a lovely patina over time. I dont want to ruin the diamonds. I love all your cleaning tips, as cleaning is NOT my fave thing to spend my time doing! Just tried this on a 20 year-old bracelet gifted to me by an aunt. It is hard to polish as it has many jagged edges.
I discovered a silver cleaning miracle my son had turn his necklace black in a hot tub and nothing including your tip worked so I was looking for an old toothbrush under the sink and found a magic eraser and thought hmmm what do I have to lose I wish I took pictures because now his necklace looks brand new again.
Quite the most convenient,and opportune common househeld items method I have managed to find yet! I am going to do this.
But I also have pearls and sterling silver together. Do you think this will ruin the pearls? I just did this on some old silver rings, a bracelet, and a couple of pendants. I really worked! I have a silver tiffanys picture frame.
Would this solution work for it? If so how would I apply it? Can the mixture be saved in a container and reused? It worked great for me! Thanks for the tip! Is this process what you would recommend? It is nice the way it is, but would like a different look. You are my object of adoration tonight. Just before she died, my stephmom taught me half of your recepe, which worked better than the shopshelf insults they offer us as the only available remedies.
Will report back in about 3 hours, but there might be some electron-exchange between the tinfoil, the salts and water combination, somewhat like a stovetop-battery almost identical ingredients minus water and using dry heat.
Wonder what the original looked and felt like? Lost in history…. TY for the tip. Absolutely incredible! I did a ss necklace and pendant that was almost black. I cannot believe the results! Fantastic…thank you!! This really works!! This cleaned them up like new. I will use this method on a regular basis. If you buy in the next.. I am so glad that you posted this!
I have everything I need, I just forgot if it was cold water or hot! Just found 2 baby spoons last night that are keepsakes but a few black spots on each… Have tried toothpaste, jewelry cleaner without ammonia, silver cleaner and nothing seems to get the spots off. I do not want to ruin these, so not trying baking soda solution because of warnings. What should I do??? Worked for me!! R evived a necklace, several rings, earrrings, and antique silver set! It seems to work best in the first minutes.
Thanks so much!! Dear Melissa Thanks for being willing to share your many ideas on cleaning most anything. I am going on 70 living on an island called Phuket in Thailand. I recently gave up a 21 year secong hand store where I was totally sucsesvle simple because Ilov bying oh peoples dirty unkept whatver and applied a bit of love and cleaning. By the way I am a Virgo born in the month of September better known as clean freaks.
I want to know everthing about you and your love or gift. I would love to offer this service here. Help me. I was shocked, so I decided to just get one cleaned.
Then I found this article and immediately tried it! It was so amazing! Thank you for sharing this super helpful way to clean silver jewelry.
I will definitely be using this technique in the future! Thanks Melissa, Yours if the first one I looked at and I am not looking any more! All I wear is silver and have been missing one of my favorite necklaces because it became so tarnished. Thank you so much!!! Can you clean real diamonds with this?
I have a silver charm with a real tanzanite gem in it. Can I clean it this way without messing up the gem? Is this OK to use on turquoise? How does this work on silver coins — both new issue and old? Will it work just as well, or will it damage the coin? Thanks so much — Leo — Oh, last comment — do you have any recommendations on cleaning copper or gold coins without damaging them? You just need to soak them in the CLR and all the tarnish will come off.
Melissa, your formula in incorrect. Something is not correct. This just saved me a ton of money!!! Thanks so so much!!!! Everyone try this it works miracles!! I have found some large pieces off silverware dateing back s tea pots serving trays salt and pepper shakers candle sticks holders and so on these were inside the roof off the house we brought after been in the house 10 years we had some work done inside the roof some are to big to fit in a bucket any idears what I can do ty.
Good job. Another way of cleaning silver is toothpaste. Damp a cotton ball with warm water then add toothpaste on it. Rub on the silver piece then wash the piece of silver in cold water.
Will shine as a brand new silver piece. I have always stored my large serving pieces covered with Saran Wrap or cling wrap—keep them air tight when stored and you can bring them out to use when needed and they will stay beautiful like the day you put them away. A trick my Mom taught me.
Good luck! You are a lifesaver! In Brighton UK — silver for sale everywhere but no one sells silver polish. Just tried it — it works!
Thank you so much for the detailed instructions and the awesome video! I just polished my tarnished silverware, which I use as my everyday ware and it turned out stunning! Your video makes this dead simple. And I thought I was going to be polishing this stuff the old fashioned way with harsh smelly solutions that would take me at least an hour and all the mess. OMG you just simplified my life! Absolutey amazing! I bought a few pieces of James Avery sterling silver on Ebay and they were in desperate need of cleaning.
Now I can wear them and enjoy the shine because they look brand new. Thank you so very much for posting this. I love the cleaning solution. Thank you so much for this! I saw a difference only 1 min after putting it in the mixture. Now my bracelet is good as new! I do this with my silverware for holidays about a week or 2 before Thanksgiving and it lasts till Christmas.
OMG I just tried this on a vintage sterling ring and earrings that were very tarnished and voila…good as new! Does this last? It all comes out that beautiful, but starts tarnishing again within a couple of days. What works best for me is baking soda — mix it with water to make a paste, rub it and rinse. Thanks s much for the awesome tips. I was wondering if this will ruin freshwater pearls or not. Not sure. Can I use this method to clean them as well or will it damage the interior of the items?
I have a gold over silver necklace that tarnished- Will I be able to use the same thing to clean it or will I damage the coating. Thank you sooo very much!!!
Love you, for sharing your valuable tip without costing any, when so many are for bucks! I have a picture frame that I need to clean but it has wood on the back.
Hi Do you know if this can used on Silver plated jewellery?? Is this method of cleaning sterling silver then a possible cause of corrosion? Thank you for this! I tried it today on some SS pieces, one of them a brushed SS necklace with a brown-reddish tarnish and it came right off without doing the polishing! Thank you for sharing. Really works well!!! But if your silver has oxidization between cracks for definition like pandora.
Check it […]. Worked a treat. I wore my Tiffany ring and necklace in the pool and the chlorine tarnished it beyond recognition. I will tell everyone.
This is amazing. I got together all my silver and gold necklaces from years past. Some looked like they were beyond help. Dipped each necklace in the dip for 10 seconds, and each came out like brand new! Washed the gold ones in warm soapy water, but some would not come clean. Dipped in the Hagerty Dip, and it even made them new again. Plan to mix up the silver and baking soda concoction soon.
When I tried it in the past, silver still needed a silver polishing paste to remove the tarnish completely. The concoction I used may have not had all the ingredients in this blog, though.
This works soooo well. I was on my second store-bought appliance purported to remove tarnish…. The addition of the vinegar seemed to be the catalyst which resulted in bubbling of the boiling water-salt-baking soda mixture on the jewelry. It worked great!!!!! I used a casserole dish. I began with antique silver spoons from my spoon racks and just continued to add more new ingredients to it as I went along so I could add things to it that were bigger and deeper as I went along.
Would that work with my diamond while gold ring? Or should i use the other way to clean it with toothpaste? My Tiffany neckless is so tarnished. I want to try this but I am afraid to. If you are going to advise people you need to make sure that the words you use are accurate. By the way where do you buy your tinfoil these days…………hah???
I cannot give this my good silver cleaner seal of approval….. I did that too for a silver medallion I own. For larger, less delicate pieces, I find that gently rubbing with my fingers works well. Also you can brush your jewerly with toothpaste and a toothbrush or with mexican hot sauce valentina called valentina. They looked nice n shiny for this year!! What do u think? Would a lid from a tin can work?
It seems that Melissa Maker has put in a lot of hard work and research to accomplish what she has done, and her attitude is one of helpfulness and encouragement, not one of negativity and entitlement.
Great video, but music was a little too loud. Maybe add a bullet list at the end to prevent having to go back and forth. I have read a lot about using just salt and aluminum foil, or baking soda and aluminum foil, and sometimes even mixing the 2, but to mix the 2 with boiling water and vinegar, seems like it could damage the silver or be to abrasive.
So before I start, are my concerns valid? Well done!! I just tried your method on a silver plated tray I received for my 21st birthday nearly 30 years ago and it worked like magic. I had to soak the tray twice and use a bit of elbow grease with the polishing, but hey you should have seen the colour of it before it went in. Thank you so much for sharing your secret x. Can I use red wine vinegar rather than white wine vinegar as that is what I have in the cupboard?
Good question!! They stay nice n shiny after a cleaning if u wrap them in acid free tissue paper!! This type of cleaning is a bad idea. It opens the pores of the metal and alloys tarnish to develop more quickly. Never use with pearls nor with jewelry that has antiquing such as Pandora charms.
It removes the antiquing and ruins the look. Top that missy. I never understand those who are jealous over other peoples success. You are responsible for your own happiness! Must remember this for next time! Thank you melissa. I have lots of Tiffani silvers and since they started charging for polishing, I sort of stop getting them cleaned. I think you should call things what they really are. Foil is no longer made of Tin. What you buy at a grocery store is Aluminum foil. My saddle has some tarnished pieces on it, almost as if a clear coating is peeling off of it… would this work to restore the shine?
Just tried this and want to say thank you! I was in a panic when I saw my ring that I wear daily all of a sudden was tarnishing! My silver ring and silver diamond hoops look as good as new! Thanks for the tip!! Using chemicals on silver, silverplate or any other fine jewelry or any with this type of finish, it will eventually wear the silver away and can leave it pitty.
I lotion based silver cleaner is always the best. If I had heirlooms I certainly would not use anything that had any kind of chemicals in it. This really works! Deffinatley will continue to use this home remedy! It was amazing; i can once again wear some of my favorite pieces that were languishing in darkness! I tried this and it worked!! I have a 30 year old silver baby cup that was given to me when my daughter was born. I wanted to give it to her on her upcoming 30th birthday filled with flowers, but it was unsightly!
Slowly add enough hot water to cover the top of the silver items. Cover the bowl and leave it to soak for about five minutes. Use a pair of tongs to turn the jewelry piece over to ensure all sides of the jewelry have touched the foil. Then leave the item in the mixture for an additional five minutes. Remove, rinse, and dry. Polished silver items retain a protective coating that keeps them shiny and safer longer. While over polishing some plated items can have the opposite effect, buffing your flatware with mild silver polish will preserve the plating.
After cleaning your silverware, dry and add a small amount of polish with a polishing cloth. Buff the area until the polish has completely blended into the silverware for a streak-free shine.
Do not leave any excess moisture on the surface when you polish silver, as this can cause water spots. The best way to preserve your plated silverware and flatware is to not only avoid using acidic cleaners like lemon juice and vinegar but also to limit the number of acidic foods on your plate. This includes using these plates and utensils for dishes that contain tomato sauce. Another way to prevent scratching and corrosion on your flatware is to store it properly.
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