Silver.Ag: Four Simple Solutions To Cleaning Silver Chains
Silver chains are popular; they can be worn with anything and come in a variety of designs. But the drawback with silver is that it does tarnish and nothing can stop that whether it is pure or mixed silver. When it is exposed to the air and atmosphere, a chemical reaction occurs and oxidizes. That reaction is called silver sulfate, and that is what make those black marks on the silver. The best thing for silver is to wear it every day, but that isn’t always possible when you have more than a few pieces, so here are four ways people choose to clean their silver chains.
A soft polishing cloth is usually the first thing that people try. These are specially made for silver and some brands have silver polishing agents and tarnish inhibitors in them. This removes the tarnish and the dull areas from the silver with gentle buffing.
Sometimes a cloth isn’t enough though so a commercial product can come in handy. Silver cleaning polish is a liquid that cleans silver, all you need to do is dip the silver in and let it soak in the solution for a certain amount of time. This is a powerful solvent that removes tarnish, especially in the cracks and crevices.
Home cleaning remedies have been around for centuries so it is no wonder that people turn to everyday household products to clean their silver. The toothpaste method is well known for cleaning silver, although jewelers are not found of it because they are afraid the cleaning may scratch the silver. Basically, you take white toothpaste, not the gel type because that won’t work, and rub it into the chain. Then you take a soft bristled toothbrush and gently clean the chain. When you are satisfied with the work you just rinse with lukewarm water and dry. You can pull out that soft cloth and buff it up afterwards.
You could also try the aluminum foil and baking soda technique, this one rarely requires any scrubbing unless the black marks are really bad. You simply line a pie pan with aluminum foil, pour boiling water till it is halfway full, and add two tablespoons each of salt and baking soda. Stir that up really good till it is dissolved and then lay the chain in the solution. The chain needs to lay flat and touch the aluminum or it won’t work.
Once the silver is in the pan, just let it soak for five to ten minutes, gently clean any stubborn spots. Afterwards you just rinse clean, dry, and buff. With this method, the aluminum, salt, and baking soda react to cause a magnet that pulls the tarnish from silver.
Nothing you do can stop the tarnish from eventually appearing, unless you wear it constantly, but that can be hard. Keeping your hands clean when handling it does help prolong tarnish from appearing. Next time you notice a favorite necklace is badly tarnished, don’t throw it away, try one of these four methods above to clean your silver chain to make them look new again.
Mr. Pauer is expert in silver jewelry, working nearly two decades in silver jewelry business. The manufacturing company (Silver.Ag), he works for, physically stock about 114.000 pcs of jewlery to be able to dispatch satisfied customers orders within 24 hours. The company has over 500.000 satisfied customers worldwide.
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