How to Clean Sterling Silver Jewelry With Baking Soda

Sterling silver reacts with moisture to create a layer of tarnish or oxidation on its surface. Baking soda activated by boiling water in the presence of aluminum, will dislodge the tarnish by making it bind with the aluminum, leaving the sterling silver clean and shiny again. This is the simple, organic way to clean and polish your sterling silver jewelry.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Baking soda
• Aluminum foil or pan
• Glass or plastic dish
• Boiling water
• Plastic or wood utensil
• Absorbent towel
• Soft cloth

1. Boil just enough water to submerge all of the sterling silver pieces.
2. Use aluminum to remove tarnish from sterling silver. Line a glass or plastic dish with a slightly crumpled piece of aluminum foil. If you have a small aluminum pan that you won't be needing for food preparation again, you can use that instead.
3. Lay your jewelry on the aluminum, making sure the silver touches the aluminum.
4. Sprinkle baking soda on the jewelry. Sprinkle a thin layer of baking soda over the jewelry.
5. Pour boiling water on the baking soda. Pour enough boiling water to immerse the jewelry. Bubbling should occur, giving off a rotten-egg odor (the sulfuric gases released by the cleaning action).
6. With a wood or plastic utensil, gently move the pieces around to ensure that all of the silver surfaces come in contact with the aluminum. You will notice that the silver has become bright again.
7. Rinse the jewelry under tap water. To ensure that you don't lose small pieces like earrings and pendants, put a sieve over the drain to catch whatever may slip off your fingers.
8. Clean and shiny sterling silver jewelry Gently wipe the pieces with an absorbent towel and polish with a soft cloth.

Tips & Warnings

• If you see yourself cleaning sterling silver on a regular basis, you may want to keep and recycle the aluminum pans used for takeout or frozen cakes and pies.
• To minimize tarnishing, store sterling silver in a moisture-free environment. Use zip lock bags, anti tarnish strips (available at jewelry stores) or moisture absorbent products (available in some pharmacies).
• You will also find moisture absorbent packets in some merchandise like shoes, medication, and accessories that are sensitive to moisture. You can reuse these packets by putting some in your jewelry box to minimize tarnish on your sterling silver pieces.
• You can use this technique to clean small pieces of sterling silver flatware and dining accessories.
• The baking soda method of cleaning is recommended only for jewelry that is all sterling silver and those that incorporate plastic, glass or crystal beads. Some gemstones are affected by the baking soda reaction, for example, turquoise.