How to Clean Tarnished Silver

Tarnish gives your silver a dull or ugly, discolored appearance. Unfortunately, silver will tarnish even if it is sitting untouched in your china cabinet.

Tarnish develops through a natural process, but rest assured that your tarnished silver isn’t ruined. You can easily remove tarnish through your choice of methods. How do you clean tarnished silver?

Why Silver Tarnishes and How to Prevent It

Many gases are in the air around us, including hydrogen sulfide. This gas contains sulfur, which causes silver to tarnish. This means that silver only needs to be exposed to air to get that dull, discolored look.

Sulfur is also found in printed materials, lotions, hair care products, perfumes, rubber items and exhaust. Tarnish is more problematic when silver is exposed to heat and moisture.

Easy Home Methods to Clean Tarnished Silver

While you might assume that your tarnished silver is ruined, cleaning off the tarnish is easier than you might think. Each of these methods is effective and easy.

Method 1: Using Baking Soda and Aluminum Foil

If you need to clean several pieces of silver quickly, the baking soda and aluminum foil method works well. Line a large bowl with aluminum foil. In a pot, boil a cup of water for every teaspoon of baking soda.

Put your silver in the bowl, and pour the water and baking soda over it. Each piece of silver needs to touch the aluminum foil to create the chemical reaction. Let the silver sit in the bowl undisturbed for up to 10 minutes. As you remove each piece of silver, dry it with a clean microfiber cloth. Then, buff it with a special cloth designed to use on silver.

Method 2: Dish Soap and Water Soak

Silver can be damaged if you use an abrasive cleaning product and excessive pressure. You can avoid the possibility of damaging your tarnished silver by washing it with warm, soapy water. Get a microfiber cloth damp with the soapy water, and rub your silver with it. Then, rinse the silver using cool water. Dry the silver with a second cloth. After it is dry, buff the silver.

Method 3: Silver Polishing Cloth or Cream

An alternative to these easy methods is to use a silver polisher. Ideal, the product that you choose will include a cleaning agent, a polish and a protective agent.

Before using the product on your antique silver, silver jewelry or other items, read the product’s label carefully. The instructions may vary slightly from product to product, so follow the instructions and pay attention to the warnings.

Natural Alternatives for Tarnish Removal

You can also remove tarnish using several products that you likely already have in your kitchen. Before heading to the store to pick up special supplies, consider trying one of these natural alternatives to clean silver.

Using Lemon Juice and Baking Soda

Mix four tablespoons of baking soda with equal amounts of hot water and lemon juice. Soak the silver in the solution for a few minutes. If the silver is heavily tarnished, let it sit in the solution for a few extra minutes. Rub it with a microfiber cloth, and rinse it with cool water. You can then dry the silver with a soft cloth and polish it.

Vinegar

Vinegar is an effective cleaning agent that can easily remove tarnish on silver. Combine two tablespoons of baking soda with ½ cup vinegar and ½ cup warm water in a bowl. Soak the silver in the solution for two or three hours. Then, rinse the silver using cool water. Dry it with a soft cloth, and buff it.

Tips to Prevent Silver From Tarnishing

While silver is relatively easy to clean when you know how to do it, you understandably want to prevent your silver from tarnishing in the first place. There are a few steps that you can take to prevent silver from tarnish:

• Store silver in a special anti-tarnish bag.
• Apply hair conditioner to the silver when it is being stored.
• Wrap each piece of silver individually in unbleached cotton muslin or acid-free tissue. Then, wrap the individual pieces of covered silver in separate plastic bags.
  Store silver in a cool, dry place.

Silver is just one of many items in your home that require special care. While you want to care for your belongings, you also don’t want to introduce harsh chemicals into your home to clean them. Our expert cleaners at TidyHere know how to deliver a clean, healthy living space. Contact us today to learn about green cleaning services for your home.