How to Clean Tarnish From Sterling Silver

The silverware on your next buffet table will shine like new.

Whether it's your favorite sterling silver jewelry or your wedding silverware, it's going to tarnish. That's the black discoloring silver gets when it is exposed to the air. It's really the chemicals in the air that are reacting with the silver, and it's unavoidable. Many things cause silver to tarnish, including wool, rubber, latex, some perfumes, onions, eggs and the natural oils from your hands. Choose from several home remedies to remove the tarnish and bring back the shine to your silver.

Things You'll Need

• Heat-proof glass or plastic dish
• Aluminum foil
• Baking soda
• Table salt
• Clean, soft cloth
• Toothpaste

Instructions

1. Line the bottom of a heat-proof glass or plastic dish with aluminum foil, shiny side up. Add 1 tbsp. baking soda, 1 tbsp. salt and 1 gallon boiling water and stir. Immediately put the silver pieces in the dish, making sure they're completely submerged and touching the foil. When the tarnish is gone, rinse the silver in warm water, dry and buff with a soft cloth. This method isn't recommended for silver jewelry that also has pearls, gems or other metals.

2. For jewelry and other items that can't be dunked in boiling water, straight baking soda is best. Mix a tbsp. of baking soda with just enough water to make a thick paste. Gently rub the paste on the silver, rinse with warm water and polish dry with a soft cloth.

3. Or, use plain white toothpaste to clean tarnish from silver. Coat the silver with a thin layer of toothpaste, add a few drops of water and work it into a foam. For stubborn tarnish in tiny crevices, use an extra-soft toothbrush. Rinse under warm water, dry and buff to shine.

Tips & Warnings

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• Sterling Silver jewelry stays clean if you wear it every day, but keep perfume or aftershave away from it. Here's a trick for daily cleaning. Use a simple jewelry polishing cloth and store your cloth in a plastic zip-lock bag.

• Some sterling silver is plated and the less you clean it the better. These pieces should particularly be put in air tight containers so that they do not need to be cleaned as often. Silver cleaner bought at a store can be harsh on them.

• Do not let your hollow handled silverware soak in water. The combination of heat, water and solution may loosen the solder.

• If washing both silverware and stainless steel flatware in the dishwasher, do not put them in the same basket section or allow one metal to touch the other, or the silver may be permanently damaged.

References

• Good Housekeeping: Clean Silver Flatware: Traditional and Homemade Methods
• Jewelry Secrets: Does Silver Tarnish and Discolor?
• It's Frugal Being Green: Cleaning Silver with Baking Soda and Aluminum Foil