As mentioned in the last guide, some people are hesitant to buy sterling silver jewellery because of the chance it may tarnish, turning black or brown. This is a real concern, and it can happen, although how fast and if it happens will depend on the lifestyle of the person who is wearing the jewellery and how it is stored.
BUT, if tarnishing does happen, there is a quick, cheap and easy way to remove it and clean your sterling silver right from your home with 3 simple ingredients:
-Baking soda
-Aluminum foil
-Hot water
Here are the instructions:
1) Grab a bowl and put a piece of aluminum foil inside it with the SHINY side facing up (cover the inside/line it). (Important that the shiny side is used)
2) Sprinkle some baking soda on top of the foil
3) Place your sterling silver items in the bowl on top of the baking soda. (You may add more baking soda on top of the jewellery if you wish)
4) Pour hot or boiling water inside the bowl over the jewellery (You will see a reaction starting with bubbles and fizz)
5) You will see the silver immediately starting to get shinier and cleaner; you can stir around the silver pieces with a spoon or fork to make sure all spots are covered. You may add more baking soda as well if you like.
6) Some pieces will instantly have the tarnish removed, but other heavily tarnished items may take longer or need multiple rounds of this process. You can leave the silver items sitting in the solution for 5 minutes and check them.
7) When satisfied, take the items out of the bowl and rinse them with cold water. Then, you can dry them with a micofiber cloth or paper towel.
I have used this method many times and actually just used it today to get some tarnish off the back of a pendant, worked instantly! I hopwe this method works for you and some of your old or tarnished silver jewellery can be brought back to life! Check out this video from a jeweller showing how easy and effective this method is: