How to clean silver jewellery
When it comes to different types of jewellery, silver jewellery tends to need some of the most care and cleaning of all the metals. This is because silver jewellery tarnishes over time, especially when it is stored away. And this is nothing to do with how you care for it particularly – even the best-kept silver will tarnish over time. However, even if your jewellery isn’t tarnished, it can still have a build-up of grime from daily wear that’s best to remove. Here are our tips for keeping your silver jewellery clean and sparkling.
Cleaning silver jewellery with soapy water
Cleaning silver jewellery is easy to do yourself at home with ingredients you may already have in the house. Simply gather the following items:
- A bowl of lukewarm water with a few drops of mild detergent mixed in
- A bowl of lukewarm water (plain)
- A soft toothbrush (such as those for children)
- A clean, lint-free cloth
Then follow these steps to clean your silver jewellery:
- Leave your silver jewellery to soak in the bowl with the detergent for ten minutes, then, transfer to the plain water bowl, and leave for a further ten minutes
- When your silver jewellery has soaked, give it a brush over with a soft toothbrush
- Then, simply dry with a lint-free cloth, or leave to air dry before storing or wearing
Removing tarnish from sterling silver jewellery
If your jewellery is sterling silver, as opposed to solid or plated silver, you can remove tarnish marks at home easily using water and baking soda.
- Combine a little water and baking soda in a dish, just enough to form a paste
- Then, use a clean cloth to buff this paste across your silver jewellery in circular movements, focusing on the tarnished areas
- Let the mixture dry on your jewellery, then remove it with a wet cloth. If you feel it needs further cleaning to remove the paste, you can follow the above tips utilising mild detergent and lukewarm water
Tip: tarnish builds up on silver jewellery when it is stored away from too long. It might seem counter-intuitive, but it’s actually better for your silver jewellery to wear it regularly. The easiest cleaning tip we can give you is to wear your silver jewellery as much as possible!
Cleaning silver jewellery with a silver cleaning wipe
There are special products designed to remove tarnish from your silver jewellery easily. An easy way to keep silver jewellery clean is by utilising jewellery wipes, such as these Connoisseurs Jewellery Wipes. These wipes are dry, and are infused with chemicals that not only remove tarnish, but stop tarnish from building up on the jewellery, too. Simply give your jewellery a wipe-over, and you will see the tarnish turning the wipe black, as it is removed from your piece. You can re-use these wipes many times – even when the wipes themselves have turned black – we simply recommend moving to a new wipe once you notice they are not shining your jewellery as much anymore.
Looking for more jewellery care information?
Take a look at our guide to cleaning gold, or our diamond cleaning and our pearl cleaning guides. You can also learn some jewellery hacks and tips and tricks, to keep your jewellery in great condition.
