Clean silver naturally: this is grandma’s trick that works
Over time, and if not treated carefully, silver jewelry and silverware can tarnish and darken. This happens due to air: silver tends to darken due to sulfur which causes it to oxidize.
We can notice this with an experiment. Let’s put some silver earrings on the nightstand, we will see how they tend to darken before the rest of the jewelry stored in the drawer.
Another cause of silver tarnishing is contact with acids. The oxidation of silver depends on the pH, and in the case of jewelry, in contact with a person’s skin and with acidic perspiration, the oxidation phenomenon will be faster.
Cleans silver naturally
Fear not, because there are several ways to maintain the shine of your favorite jewelry or make it look like new even after it has become blackened.
Sure, we find several products on the market, but why don’t we try natural and equally effective remedies? These are the ingredients that we can use to clean silver.
- Baking soda
- Vinegar
- Beer
- Toothpaste
How to clean silver with vinegar
Vinegar is an excellent remedy for cleaning silver thanks to its antioxidant and degreasing properties that allow you to remove the oxidized patina. Here we show you how to create the simple and effective solution with this product:
- Boil some water in a saucepan and pour it into a large container in which to add two teaspoons of white vinegar.
- We immerse the cutlery and leave it for 30 minutes.
- Then rinse and dry everything well.
You’ll see what results!
Clean silver with baking soda
Let’s move on to baking soda . Excellent remedy for cleaning the home but also for cleaning blackened silver. How do we do it?
- As with vinegar, heat some water in a large pot.
- We add 50 grams of baking soda per liter of water, and let it boil.
- Let’s wait for it to cool before submerging the cutlery in the mixture.
- We wait for the black oxidation to disappear.
- Finally, rinse and dry carefully.
How to clean silver with beer
The third natural method to clean cutlery is beer. We immerse the affected silver objects in a container full of beer and let it sit overnight. The black on the surface will melt little by little as the hours go by, and the next morning it will be enough to rinse everything and dry it well.
Clean silver with toothpaste
Another very effective product is toothpaste. Simply sprinkle the silver with a little toothpaste and rub with a thin cloth. This method makes signs of oxidation disappear easily. Then simply rinse thoroughly with warm water.
For greater precision, we can also use a toothbrush to gently rub the toothpaste on the surface of the object.
There are also other products that we can use to clean and restore the shine to our favorite silver jewelry: glue, lemon,
Clean silver with lemon
To remove oxidation from silver we can use lemon, which is also very useful for cleaning the home, thanks to its acid.
To polish silver, simply pour the affected items in lemon juice combined with two teaspoons of baking soda and rub with a cotton cloth. When the cutlery is free of stains, it can be rinsed and dried.
Clean silver jewelry with natural methods
The methods just mentioned can also be applied to clean silver jewelry. Lemon juice, or coarse salt and aluminum, give excellent results.
If you want to use lemon juice, simply squeeze some onto your jewelry and rub it with a soft cloth. Don’t worry if green appears on your jewelry: it means the oxidation is being removed. After cleaning your jewelry thoroughly, rinse it and dry it carefully.
Coarse salt and aluminum are also very useful in removing oxidation. Simply fill an aluminum container with hot water and add a couple of tablespoons of salt . After mixing well you can immerse the jewelry and wait 5 minutes.
Once again everything must be rinsed and dried.