Blackened and oxidized silver, so you can clean it without damaging it: you have it all in the kitchen
When you discover blackened and oxidized silver jewelry in your jewelry box, it means that we have not taken care of it so that it is always in the best possible condition. Here we explain how to clean them and everything stays in the kitchen.
In short , taking care of your silver jewelry is not complicated , which will allow you to preserve your bracelets, rings, earrings, etc. like new, so they will always be ready to use at any time, on the other hand, if you don’t, you run the risk of them darkening and taking on a dark tone.
Blackened and oxidized silver: causes
But why does silver blacken and oxidize? Silver does not oxidize like other metals, but rather loses its shine or, as they say, “turns black” over time.
Silver is a noble metal , therefore it does not react like other elements, it cannot oxidize, however, when silver sulfide comes into contact with air, it reacts with the sulfur present in the atmosphere, forming a compound that is deposited about our jewel and that, after a while, it darkens.
It must be taken into account that the fact that silver darkens does not mean that it is of poor quality , nor that it has been damaged. It is something totally normal when it comes to this metal.
Other factors that can darken silver are the products we put on our skin: perfumes, makeup, creams, etc., or sweat itself. Continuous contact with metal means that it can darken over time.
And also factors that influence darkening are the exposure of our jewelry to long periods under the sun, artificial light or the sea. Additionally, abrasive cleaning products can cause silver to tarnish.
In addition to this, the PH (acidity number) of our skin can have particularities that generate a rapid darkening of the silver. For this reason, some pieces may turn black for us and not for our friend.
Methods for cleaning silver jewelry.
Among the many systems for cleaning blackened and oxidized silver, some that are inexpensive but at the same time safe and that can be done with your own hands, involve the use of table salt.
The only thing we need is a basin in which we have poured a little warm water and salt, we can also use baking soda instead of salt.
Our silver items should be soaked for a few minutes and then rinsed with water. Once finished they can be polished with a dry cloth . In short, our jewel will shine again as before.
Spreading lemon juice and baking soda on blackened silver jewelry also removes traces of dark patina, with a warning about the type of jewelry. In fact, care must be taken so that there are no stones or pearls that could be damaged due to the acidity present in the lemon.
Many chains or inlays in jewelry can create difficulties in cleaning operations, in this case we can use toothpaste to brush with an old toothbrush.
In this way we will easily reach each crevice of the object with a slightly abrasive product that does not cause damage.
How to store silver jewelry?
It is essential that to avoid oxidation we store our jewelry in a cool, dry place. And, if possible, make the closure airtight.
You don’t need to spend a lot of money on a jewelry box, but choose one lined with a soft canvas inside.
This way your jewelry will be much more cared for. The objective of preserving jewelry in this way is that the silver does not come into contact with the outside to avoid the aforementioned oxidation.
Likewise, it is essential that when you have many different pieces of jewelry, they are stored in individual bags.
This will prevent them from ending up scratching each other due to friction. In addition to this, we should try to expose the silver as little as possible to external agents such as alkaline materials, perfumes, creams, chlorine, etc.