Cleaning Sterling Silver
In terms of chemistry, we can define sterling silver as an alloy made of 92.5% silver and 7.5% of copper and other metals. It is widely used for making jewelry, utensils and many other household decorative items. It has a brilliant shine that makes it attractive option for making jewelry. The drawback of sterling silver is that it gets tarnished very easily when it is exposed to air. It happens because the copper present in it reacts with the oxygen in air. As a result, the surface of the silver gets corroded and it turns black. Rubber too has a corrosive effect on silver. Besides, table salt, vinegar, eggs and acidic components of fruits and vegetables are the other elements which when comes in contact with silver causes discoloration. Cleaning the silver is the only way to fight off all these problems and restore natural shine of this precious metal.
Sterling Silver Cleaning Products
There are several brands of commercial products available in the form of creams, pastes and liquid solutions for removing tarnish from sterling silver. However, you should be extra careful while buying any of these products. This is because many of them contain strong chemicals that can cause harm to the metal. Some of them have abrasive substances in them which can dissolve out significant amount of silver. As far as tarnished silver cleaning is concerned, a mild silver cleaning solution from a reputable brand is the safest options available with you. Read the label before buying just to check out if it has any harmful chemicals in them or not. Dip the item in this solution for 15-20 minutes and it will clean up the silver. As these cleaner do not have any abrasive chemicals in them, it will not leave behind any residue on the surface of the silver. Hence, you do not have to polish it after cleaning. You can store the used liquid for many years and use it for cleaning silver again and again.
Most people avoid using commercial products for sterling silver cleaning and want to know how to clean this metal at home. This is because cleaning products are expensive and they fear that the chemicals may cause harm to their favorite silver item. Moreover, many of the products do not show satisfactory results.
Cleaning Jewelry
You can prepare a silver jewelry cleaner by mixing up one teaspoon of mild dishwashing detergent that has boric acid in it into a cup of warm water. Alternately, you can use baby shampoo. Dip the jewelry in this soapy solution for few minutes if the stain is mild. Otherwise, you have to soak it overnight. Thus the residues trapped in the curves of intricate designs of the jewelry will be loosened up by the boric acid and you can simply scrub it out easily with the help of a soft bristled toothbrush. Wash it off with clean water and let it air dry. After that, polish the jewelry piece with a piece of soft cotton cloth.
Ketchup is used as a sterling silver cleaner for cleaning jewelry. Take a small amount of ketchup in a bowl and place your jewelry in it. Leave it untouched overnight. Next morning, take it out from ketchup, wash it off with warm water and buff up with clean cotton cloth. You can also apply white toothpaste on the jewelry and rub it gently with a soft brush. Finally, wash it off the warm water and dye with clean cloth.
Cleaning Silverware
For regular cleaning of silverware, use mild dishwashing soap that does not have any lemon or chloride content. Hand wash the silverware by scrubbing with soft washcloth. Wash off with warm water and make it dry with a clean cloth. Do not keep the utensil in water for more than 30 minutes. You can put sterling silverware in dishwasher only if it has the feature of an automatic rinse dispenser. Otherwise, ugly dark spots of water droplets will form on its surface.
To get rid of severe tarnish, you have to take the help of homemade silver cleaner that consists of baking soda and table salt. Take a baking pan and cover up its bottom with an aluminum foil. Pour some water into the pan to form a layer of 2 inches. Put one teaspoon each of baking soda and table salt into this water and heat the water to bring a boil. Soak the utensil into this solution for half an hour and then rinse off with plain water. Finally, dry up with soft cloth.
Do not wear rubber gloves while cleaning sterling silver as rubber may corrode the silver. While cleaning or polishing silver, do not move your hands in circular motions as it may form scratches on its surface. If you are using dishwasher for cleaning silverware, do not put them in dishwasher along with stainless steel utensils in order to prevent any unwanted spots on them.
