How To Clean Sterling Silver Jewellery At Home

Date Posted:23 September 2020

A step by step guide of how to clean and restore tarnished sterling silver jewellery at home.

First of all, a simple question — Does sterling silver tarnish?

The answer is - Yes, it can. Sterling silver is made of 92.5% silver and 7.5% of other metals that form an alloy. Some of those other metals, primarily copper, can cause sterling silver to tarnish over time when they interact with moisture that is in the air. Tarnish is a product of chemical reaction that is caused by the other metals that are mixed with silver reacting to moisture and sulphur in the air. Sterling Silver will generally tarnish quicker in high humidity climates and places with high levels of air pollution. Things like perfume, hairspray, deodorant and moisturisers can all contribute to further tarnishing of your silver due to the chemicals reacting with the silver.

The good news is you can clean and ‘restore’ your tarnished sterling silver jewellery following this simple home cleaning recipe, which we are going to demonstrate step by step below.

What do I need?

You will need:

Your tarnished sterling silver pieces
A bowl or a container
Table salt
Baking powder
White vinegar
Aluminium foil
1/4 cup measuring spoon
A teaspoon
Boiling water
A clean towel
A piece of silver polishing cloth (optional)

Step 1:

Tear a piece of aluminium foil and lay it inside the bowl. The foil should cover at least half of the bowl, enough to be able to hold water.

Step 2:

Pour a teaspoon of table salt into the aluminium bowl.

Step 3:

Pour a teaspoon of baking powder into the aluminium bowl.

Step 4:

Boil water and pour into the aluminium within the bowl. It is very common to see the mixture bubbling.

Step 5:

Pour 1/4 cup of white vinegar into the aluminium bowl.

Step 6:

Place your tarnished sterling silver pieces inside the bowl. Drop one piece at a time. Do not overlay the pieces. If you are cleaning multiple pieces at a time, it is recommended that you use a bowl or container with bigger and flatter bottom to allow sufficient space for each piece.

Step 7:

Wait for 5 minutes.

Step 8:

Take your sterling silver jewellery out of the bowl and give it a quick rinse under running water. If you rinse in a sink, make sure the plug is in to avoid loosing your jewellery.

Step 9: