Guest Post - Kelly's Advice on Cleaning Silver Jewellery

Here is an interesting guest post on how to look after silver jewellery, always useful if you're a  fan like I am :-) 

Top tips on Looking After Your Silver Jewellery by Henryka

Cleaning your silver

I’m fairly confident in assuming that most of us will have at least one piece of silver in your jewellery box and if it’s of decent quality most certainly will tarnish over time (I know, very sad but true). If your silver jewellery has already started to turn that yukky yellow-brown colour then do not despair, it’s very easy to get your beautiful accessory back to its former glory! You can buy silver dip easily enough in any good supermarket and quite literally it’s a 5 minute job which involves soaking your item in the solution for about 2 minutes (although do read the instructions), rinsing with warm water (definitely not cold) and then drying with a soft, clean cloth… Voila, good as new! Another really effective way to get your silver jewellery back to its lovely self is to fill an aluminium bowl or pan with hot water (I just used a normal bowl and lined it with tin foil- works just the same), add some baking soda and salt, then stir to dissolve. You’ll find that by wonderful magic, a chemical reaction occurs which lifts the tarnish and brings your beautiful silver back to life…very clever stuff indeed! If your item is only lightly tarnished or just a bit dull looking, then I would recommend washing it in some warm water with a small squirt of washing up liquid. You can use a soft bristled toothbrush or a cotton bud if your item has some intricate detail. I try to do this every now and then to give it a bit of a revival and shine. Another useful tip is never to wear rubber gloves, the sulphur (so I hear) in the rubber, will react with the silver and create more tarnish and we most definitely do not want that!

Protecting your silver

As silver is a natural material, it will, over time, react with its environment, especially chemicals, so it’s always a really good idea to remove any jewellery before cleaning, swimming or taking a shower. Things like bleach, alcohol and nail polish remover can make your silver jewellery look very dull and beyond repair. And remember, things like perfume and hairspray are just as harmful, so try to adopt the golden rule of last on/first off, which will also prevent it getting crushed or snagged along the way. I always tend to keep silver away from other jewellery and store in a cool dry place, humid or damp places will quite quickly speed up the tarnish process. A little trick my Mum taught me was to keep the small silicon bags that you usually get with a new bag or something and keep it in the draw of your jewellery box, this will attract any moisture and hold it in. It’s also recommended that you keep it in airtight bags, but to be honest, I’m just not that organised. I think keeping it in a separate draw of my jewellery box works just fine!

So, now you really don’t have any excuses not to wear a once loved piece of sterling silver jewellery.

You are welcome! ;)

This article was written by Kelly of Henryka, , a company specialises in silver and amber jewellery.