Silver Jewelry Care Guide – How to Clean and Care for Your Silver Jewelry

There are two kinds of people – those who wear their silver jewelry pieces regularly and those who have a tangled lump of fine silver jewelry sitting somewhere in their dresser. Whichever of these categories you belong to, we can bet cleaning your silver jewelry isn’t at the top of your to-do list.

Let’s just address the elephant in the room – most of us do not take our silver jewelry seriously (like diamonds or jewels) even though we love it and for many of us, our go-to pieces of jewelry are of silver. However, silver is a delicate metal and tends to lose its shine and luster if not properly taken care of. And no one wants to wear those tarnished pieces of silver jewelry because they look hideous.

 

How to Clean Silver Jewelry? 3 Ways to Clean Your Silver Jewelry at Home

Fortunately, cleaning tarnished silver jewelry isn’t that hard. It doesn’t even require expensive, chemical-based commercial silver jewelry cleaning products in most cases. Here we have for you some tried and tested methods to clean your silver jewelry at home using general household products:

1. Baking Soda and Aluminum Foil

The good ol’ baking soda is the most prized possession of DIY cleaning enthusiasts. It’s your natural all-purpose cleaner that actually works.

To clean your delicate pieces of silver jewelry, line a bowl with aluminum foil – make sure the shiny side is upwards – and fill it with boiling hot water. Add your silver jewelry to it. Now add baking soda to the bowl (take 1 tablespoon of soda for each cup of water). The mixture will start to bubble.

Let your silver soak in the mixture for about 30 minutes. After half an hour, take out your jewelry pieces and rinse them well with clean water. Wipe with a soft cloth and get ready to be amazed by your new-looking silver jewelry.

 

2. Beer

This silver jewelry cleaning method comes in handy during times when you notice the tarnished silver ring in your finger just when you’re about to step out of the house and do not have time for lengthy, multi-step DIY silver jewelry cleaning methods. All you have to do is to pour some beer into a bowl and let your silver jewelry sit in it for 5 to 10 minutes, while you give the finishing touches to your makeup or hair.

When you’re ready, please take out your silver from the beer bath and gently rub it with a soft cloth. Wear your cleaned and sparkly silver jewelry to the party with confidence!

 

3. Laundry Detergent

This DIY silver jewelry cleaning method is great for pieces that are dirty and not badly tarnished. It doesn’t work well for tough tarnish stains, but it does effectively remove all the dirt and gunk buildup.

To clean your silver jewelry with laundry detergent, simply add a cup of detergent into a bowl and pour hot water over it. Leave your jewelry in this detergent mixture for about 5 minutes. Remove, rinse, and rub dry with a soft cloth.

 

Silver Jewelry Care – Tried and Tested Care Instructions for Silver Jewelry

Keeping your silver jewelry looking as good and shiny as new isn’t hard; you just need to be a little careful with its use and storage. Now that you have cleaned your delicate silver jewelry, follow these tips to maintain its shine and sparkle (they are also great for preventing your silver jewelry from getting tarnished in the first place).

 

1. Silver Jewelry Usage Guidelines

Here are some basic care tips to help you maintain the shine and sparkle of your silver jewelry for a lifetime:

• Accessorize In The Last - When wearing your silver jewelry, always leave accessorizing for the very last, after you’re done with makeup and have applied lotion, hairspray, and perfume. The key is to prevent your silver jewelry from coming in direct contact with chemicals as much as possible.
• Avoid Contact With Water – Prevent your silver jewelry from coming in contact with water. Take off your ring(s) while doing the dishes and remove all your jewelry before taking a shower or swimming.
• Do Not Wear It To The Beach – No matter how gorgeous your dainty silver necklace looks with that breezy beach dress of yours, leave your silver jewelry at home when heading to the beach. All that exposure to saltwater, direct sunlight, and sand isn’t good.

 

2. How to Store Silver Jewelry? Some Useful Tips to Prevent Tarnishing

Where and how you store your silver jewelry plays a key role in whether it’s going to be tarnished the next time you take it out or not. Remember these tips and suggestions while storing your silver jewelry to keep it looking as good as new:

• Wipe It Off – Make it a habit to clean your silver jewelry with a polishing cloth or any other soft fabric before placing it back in the storage box every time you use it. Moisture, oils, and chemicals cause silver to tarnish and corrode. When you wear it, the jewelry items tend to come in contact with various chemicals from the products you have used, moisture from the atmosphere and your body if you’re sweating, and natural oils from your skin. Therefore, clean your jewelry pieces after every use.
• Store in a Cool, Dark, Dry Place –No matter how much you want to have all your beautiful collection of silver jewelry on display in your room, do not do it. Continuous exposure to heat, light, moisture also accelerates the tarnishing process in silver. To keep your silver jewelry shiny and sparkly, store it in a cool, dark, and dry place, like inside a drawer or a jewelry box.
• Store Each Piece Separately – Do not just dump all your silver pieces into a box or drawer; wrap them separately in soft cloth pieces or pouches before placing them all in the jewelry box. This will prevent the pieces from scratching each other, which ruins their polish.

 

Do Not Let the Delicate Nature of Silver Prevent You from Buying Silver Jewelry

Many people believe in the common misconception that you cannot prevent your silver jewelry from tarnishing no matter what you do, and that’s why they avoid buying silver altogether. Don’t let wrong information prevent you from adorning elegant, classy, and timeless silver jewelry. Just make sure you buy it from a reliable seller and take good care of it; silver jewelry just needs a little more care.