How to Clean Silver Ball Earrings

Keep your silver earrings bright with this cleaning trick

If your silver ball earrings look darkened and need cleaning, don't spend money on expensive cleaning machines or harsh chemicals. Remove the tarnish from your silver ball earrings at home, using common kitchen supplies. Silver can look dirty and blackened due to tarnish, which is a result of the silver interacting with sulfur compounds in the air.

Things You'll Need

• Silver ball earrings
• A pan
• Aluminum foil for the bottom of the pan
• 4 cups water
• Pot to boil water in
• Stove
• Baking mitts
• ¼ cup baking soda

Instructions

1. Line the pan with aluminum foil.

2. Set the earrings down on the foil, making sure that the maximum surface area of the earrings touches the foil.

3. Fill the pot with the water and allow to heat until boiling. Remove from heat and place over the sink or other workspace where mess will not be a problem.

4. Add the baking soda, which will froth. Pour the water and baking soda mixture over the earrings in the pan. Make sure the earrings are covered with liquid.

5. Carefully check the earrings. If the tarnish is not completely removed, drain the water. Turn the earrings so the opposite side is touching the aluminum foil and prepare and pour another baking soda and boiling water mixture.

Tips & Warnings

• For best results, make sure the foil touches the parts of the earring you want to clean. The chemical reaction that cleans the silver relies on aluminum to work; crinkle the foil to better fit the earring if necessary.

• Use potholders or oven mitts when handling pots filled with boiling water and also when removing silver from the solution, as the metal will be hot.

• Use this method for silver or silver-plated jewelry only. Stones and other adornments may be damaged by immersion in water.

References

• University of Wisconsin-Madison: Remove Tarnish From Silver