Silver is a great metal to work with. I've used silver often in some of the metal projects posted on this site. It’s soft and easy to shape and form. It’s also a lot less expensive than gold. However, the one complaint I hear most about sterling silver is that it tarnishes. Yes, it does. It never quite looks the same as the first day you buy it or finish polishing it on the rouge wheel.
Those with well equipped studios or workshops have a polishing wheel handy or an ultrasonic cleaning solution always going. But, we all can’t have that luxury. Some of us have to work in kitchens or garages and do the best we can. Eventually, we have to clean up and put equipment away so dinner can be made or the car brought inside. (Okay, well, maybe we don’t do that as often as we should.)
However, I have the answer to the problem of cleaning sterling silver. Below are a few recipes you can try in your own kitchen to clean your silver jewelry. Both work very well. I’ve tried them. Of course, always work safely.
- Make sure the kids or family pet is kept away from such poisons as ammonia.
- Make sure the kids or family pet is away from the stove top.
- DO NOT put anything but sterling silver items (no plated materials) into the cleaning solution.
- DO NOT put any porous stones (turquoise), shells (mother of pearl), or pearls (cultured, freshwater) into the solution.
- Use your common sense. When in doubt, don’t do it.
- Ingredients:
- ¼ cup baking soda
- ¼ cup salt
- ¼ cup liquid dish soap
- ½ gallon of water
- Equipment:
- Large pot
- Aluminum foil
- Plastic spoon
- Stove top
- colander or strainer
- towel
Super Cleaner
In an eight ounce container (pickle jars work well), combine one inch of cleaning detergent (Top Job or Mr. Clean), one inch of dish washing liquid, and one inch of ammonia. Fill the rest of the container with water. Shake well. Use your microwave to heat up solution slightly or put in an old pot (you don’t use for food) and simmer on stove top. Place jewelry (silver or gold) into solution and let sit for about ten minutes. Remove from solution and rinse with water. That’s it.
Both these cleaner work well. For silver, I prefer the first recipe since it uses ingredients most people have around the house, and it’s not as toxic as the second recipe so it’s safer if you have children or animals around your house. The Super Cleaner can also be used for cleaning your jewelry projects in between buffing compounds so your polishing wheels don’t get contaminated or caked up.
All graphics created by Tammy Powley.
