How to Use Toothpaste to Clean Silver

Using toothpaste to clean silver is as easy as brushing your teeth. The mildly abrasive quality of toothpaste will not harm your silver, as toothpaste is meant to clean your teeth without harming their enamel, but it will remove the tarnish and restore the shine. It is a generally a quick process, though it may require a bit more time and effort than usual if the silver is severely tarnished.

Things You'll Need

• Toothpaste
• Old toothbrush
• Old hand towel or similar piece of cloth
• Running water

Instructions

1. Assemble your supplies. You’ll need the silver you want to clean, a tube of toothpaste, an old toothbrush, an old hand towel or similar type of cloth and running water.

2. Plug the sink if you are working over a sink and cleaning small items. Apply toothpaste to the toothbrush. Begin brushing the silver with firm, quick strokes. Take care, if cleaning jewelry, around gemstones. The toothpaste won’t hurt them, but if you brush too hard or carelessly, you can knock them out.

3. Turn on the water and rinse the silver to check your progress. Brush under the running water until the tarnish is gone or you have run out of toothpaste. If you’ve run out of toothpaste and there is still tarnish, add more toothpaste to the brush and continue gently scrubbing the silver. Continue the process until no more tarnish remains and your silver gleams.

4. Rinse silver well under running water to remove all toothpaste residue.

5. Carefully dry with old hand towel or similar soft cloth, making sure that no moisture remains, and your task is complete.

Tips & Warnings

• For larger pieces of silver, you can use a nailbrush instead of an old toothbrush.