How to clean silver at home quickly and effectively from dirt, tarnishing and blackening

The content of the article

1 To make blackened silver shine: 5 processing rules
2 How to clean silver in folk ways
3 Other life hacks
4 Reviews: “Boiled a chain with foil and no longer darkens. Mystic…"

If gold is considered a commercial metal, a symbol of power and luxury, silver has a more sophisticated “porter”: it is an exquisite, intelligent material. He is preferred by people of creative professions. For example, American actress Jessica Alba appears at social events in a silver vintage necklace. And the singer Meraia Carey made an engagement ring from this material.

Silver has found application not only in jewelry, but also in everyday life. Noble metal products have become mandatory attributes when serving a festive table. Silver spoons give babies “on the first tooth” and on christening. Figurines, vases, candlesticks, frames decorate the interior.

Usually silver is soft, white and shiny. Yes, there is black metal. But this species is exclusive and rare. The most common is 925 sterling silver. Products from it are practical and affordable. Therefore, when it comes to cleaning silver jewelry at home, most often we are dealing with the 925th breakdown. Keeping shine and keeping these items clean is easy. There are professional and folk remedies for this.

To make blackened silver shine: 5 processing rules

The easiest way to brighten blackened silver yourself at home is to contact a jewelry workshop for help. Polishing and washing, for example, chains and crosses will cost about 350 rubles (data for July 2017). The price of the service increases depending on the size of the product. Modern masters carry out manipulations in professional ultrasonic baths.

If cleaning silver from tarnishing is planned at home, consider the five mandatory rules of procedure.

Do not ignore pre-cleaning. Before using cleaning solutions, wash products from dust and dirt. For this, objects are soaked in soapy water for half an hour.
Do not use powdered cleanser. The composition of powder detergents includes abrasive particles that scratch and darken the surface of the product. Hard brushes should also not be used.
Pick the right gloves. When processing silver, do not use rubber gloves, since the rubber contains sulfur, the reaction with which is one of the causes of silver oxidation. It is better to wear nitrile gloves.
Dry the items dry. The silver cleaning procedure is completed by rinsing the items. And then they should be wiped dry with a soft cloth. Do not leave silver to dry naturally - there will be stains from water.
Do not wear immediately. After cleaning, do not immediately put on the earrings or set the table in silver. Products must lie down for at least a day, so that the surface layer grows stronger after exposure to detergents. Then the items need to be wiped with a flannel or a suede flap. And only after - use as directed.

It is better to entrust the cleaning of expensive products, as well as the processing of highly darkened items, if not to a jeweler, then to special jewelry cosmetics. For these purposes, sprays, creams, solutions, wet and dry cleaning wipes are sold. Such tools can safely clean even silverware with stones. Only when buying, warn the seller which particular inserts you will process: for different types of stones, different compositions are needed.

How to clean silver in folk ways

Silver is a soft and vulnerable metal. Therefore, even seemingly strong objects such as silver spoons must be cleaned carefully, otherwise scratches cannot be avoided. Needless to say, openwork rings or bracelets with stone inserts. How to restore shine to silver at home, so as not to spoil the product? If you believe the reviews and advice of connoisseurs of white metal on the network, then the following folk remedies are sparing and effective.

Use cases for ammonia

What if silver turns black? In search of a remedy, how to clean silver from black at home, you can pay attention to a 10% solution of ammonia. The second name is ammonia.
It is used both in pure form and in combination with other substances.

In pure form. Put the products in a container and fill with ammonia. Leave on for 15 minutes. After the procedure, wash the items in cool water and wipe with a soft cloth.
With shampoo and peroxide. Pour the silverware with a solution of water, ammonia, hydrogen peroxide and hair shampoo. You determine the amount of solution yourself, taking into account the following proportion: a tablespoon of the main component is taken in a glass of water and a teaspoon of two additional ones. Silver is soaked from 20 minutes to an hour, depending on how quickly the desired result is achieved. After the procedure, do not forget to rinse and dry all the products. The shampoo in this recipe can be replaced with a dishwashing detergent.
With tooth powder. Make a slurry of ammonia and tooth powder. Using a cotton swab, apply the mixture to the surface to be cleaned, leave the paste to dry completely. Then rub the silver with a microfiber cloth to shine, rinse and wipe dry. If there is no tooth powder at hand, you can use crushed chalk.

Remember that ammonia has a pungent smell. In high concentration, it is harmful. Therefore, all procedures should be carried out in a well-ventilated area or on the street.

Toothpaste cleaning a silver bracelet

How to use vinegar

To clean silver from dirt, black coating and stains will help ordinary 6-9% vinegar. Place cutlery or jewelry in the container and pour lightly warmed product over them. After obvious lightening, remove them and wipe dry. In case of light pollution, you can bleach silver from blackness by dampening a soft tissue section in vinegar and simply rubbing it with jewelry.

Silverware is easy to clean by adding 50 g of soda to 100 ml of vinegar. Place the product in this composition for one and a half to two hours, then rinse thoroughly, dry and rub the flannel to a shine. The number of components of this solution can be adjusted as necessary: the more products you plan to clean, the more vinegar and soda will be needed.

Silver can be removed from blackening with salt and soda. Mix both substances in equal proportions and add a little water to form a liquid slurry. Let the silver soak in the composition for half an hour.

Ways with lemon and citric acid

Citrus is used when cleaning small decorations. And for tableware and home decoration, citric acid is used.

Juice and wire. Dilute lemon juice with water 1: 1, warm. Place a piece of copper wire in a container with liquid. In this way, for example, they clean coins. The time of the clarifying procedure is at least half an hour.
Powder and wire. Dissolve 100 g of powder in a liter of water, warm the solution. Place a piece of copper wire and white metal products in the liquid. Let the objects soak for 30 minutes.

To process products made of black silver, a soap solution with a pinch of soda is used.For gilded silver, vinegar and ammonia cleaning options are suitable. But jewelry and objects inlaid with stones should not be processed in too hot water or acids. Such items are best washed in a solution of laundry soap.

Other life hacks

There are several more options than cleaning silver at home to make it shiny. For example, products are rubbed with wet soda or toothpaste. In the second case, it is important that the hygiene product does not contain colored inclusions and does not have a whitening effect. Also, black plaque is discarded by boiling. Do this in two ways.

With foil. Silverware is placed in a pan. Pour in water or broth in which the potatoes were cooked in their skins. A piece of foil is also placed in the container. So the products are boiled for three minutes and left to soak for another half hour.
With salt. The method is convenient if you need to clean large items. They are placed in a metal basin and filled with saline (a teaspoon of salt is a glass of water). Silver is boiled for 15 minutes.

What folk craftsmen do not come up with to clean silver from black coating. But do not try everything in a row, since there are many ways with a very dubious effect. For example, they suggest boiling silver in a decoction of garlic husks or in Coca-Cola. They also rub the silver with egg yolk, lipstick and even ... ketchup.

If you like white metal products and you have a set of jewelry and items made of it, then cleaning silver at home is a systematic procedure for you. It is necessary to carry out it at least once a month. In this case, you can purchase an ultrasonic device for bleaching jewelry. Bathtubs are sold in different sizes. For jewelry it is not necessary to take a professional device. A small battery powered device is enough. By the way, he processes not only silver things, but also gold, jewelry. The functionality is elementary: water or a special solution is poured into the bath, and within 10-13 minutes the product is processed by ultrasonic waves.

Reviews: “Boiled a chain with foil and no longer darkens. Mystic…"

I’ll tell you about my finding of this method. Oh, I don’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t read about him on the Internet. And it all started with the fact that my husband gave me a chain of silver. There was not enough money for gold. But I'm not in a complaint. A gift horse ... - right, no need to look anywhere. Satisfied, I was not a gift for long. Due to the fact that my chain began to quickly darken. Literally before our eyes! And what I just did not try! I cleaned it with tooth powder and bathed it in ammonia, and took it off before bedtime. It’s getting dark anyway. Mother-in-law, my mother, warns: “Like, I gave a son-in-law a base product!” My mother-in-law says that I am sick. That I have a sick liver and pancreas. Because of this, the chain is getting so dark so cool. Allegedly, this is a well-known fact. A friend suggested that I was “jinxed”. Therefore, such miracles happen. In general, my head is spinning from these tips and assumptions. I climbed onto the Internet to see what people think about this, and accidentally stumbled upon this method of silver purification. You need food foil (I took it from the chocolate bar) to the bottom of the pan, a couple of spoons of soda, water and a chain. Put the foil to the bottom, lower the chain. Top with soda and fill with water. Bring to a boil. Turn off. We get the chain and rinse with water. Wipe it. And that’s all. Six months have passed since I cleaned the chain like that. During this time, she did not darken at all. That’s such mysticism. Maybe someone does not know this method of cleaning, I will be glad if it comes in handy.

Lilu22, http://otzovik.com/review_93039.html

How to clean silver at home? We clean silver with vinegar, ammonia, soda, right? Forget about it. Why does the cross darken at all? If you have blackened silver - this is most likely due to the presence of sulfur in cosmetics. In creams or shampoo. It oxidizes silverware; it darkens over time.

I bought a solution for cleaning silver products "Aladdin" for 200 rubles. Sold in many jewelry stores. It is a clear liquid with a slight smell of vinegar. The jar has a convenient basket and brush.There is simply no need to use a brush, jewelry brightens before your eyes, if you lower them in a jar. Then just rinse them with water, wipe with a dry cloth. There is no unpleasant smell on them. But the original purity and brilliance returns.

A volume of 200 ml is enough for a very long time. The tool does not need to be poured out of the can, but only dip products into it. I cleaned all the products with cubic zirconias. The stones increased brilliance. For organic stones, pearls, for example, there is a special kind of solution, but for gold there is one. I put a solid five, for the price / performance ratio.

Altruist, http://irecommend.ru/content/kak-chistit-serebro-v-domashnikh-usloviyakh-ochen-prosto-mnogo-foto-do-i-posle

A couple of bubbles of hydrogen peroxide, a couple of spoons of ammonia, a drop of detergent such as feri, but only without additives, all to an iron mug and to a slow fire. As the reaction goes and stops hissing, you take out your products. Cleanses from grease and all sorts of muck. Even inside the chains everything will clear.

Krugs2, http://forum.relicvia.ru/topic/66759-kak-pochistit-serebro-v-domashnikh-usloviiakh/

There are special napkins for cleaning silver and gold, sold in jewelry stores
in the same jewelry, cleaning gels are sold, A small jar, not expensive, you lower it for a few seconds, take it out, rinse it, wipe it dry and everything is as good as new)) you do not need to rub anything. Only there are restrictions on stones, not all stones can be lowered there.

RUSLANA_CHIN, https://www.u-mama.ru/forum/family/housewife/405431/index.html

My grandmother wore only silver, and it was constantly and very quickly getting dark on her. I cleaned it with both peroxide and soda, and toothpaste. Well, very often. Glistened a couple of days, then again lost sight. I have the same reaction to this metal, so I only wear gold, no silver and jewelry.

Mashka, http://uborka-doma.net/index.php/topic/91-pravilnaia-chistka-serebra-v-domashnikh-usloviiakh/