Wash your silver under warm water using a cellulose sponge (which isn't abrasive) and a mild dish soap (one that has a neutral pH and is free of phosphates), like citrus-free Dawn Dishwashing Liquid. Rinse the silver with water, and dry it thoroughly with a clean cotton towel. Never let it drip-dry.
Quickly restore your jewelry or tableware with vinegar, water and baking soda. This cleaning agent is a great option for many things, including your tarnished silver. Mix 1/2 cup of white vinegar with 2 tablespoons of baking soda in a bowl of lukewarm water. Let the silver soak for two to three hours.
You can easily clean silver with aluminum foil, baking soda and hot water. This method uses electrolytic action instead of chemical-polish abrasion and removes the tarnish from oxidized silver without removing any of the underlying metal. This is great for heavily tarnished silver.
White Vinegar & Baking Soda
If you're wondering how to clean a sterling silver ring, this combination is an excellent gentle cleaner that removes heavy tarnish. Soak your tarnished jewelry in a ½ cup of white vinegar with 2 tablespoons of baking soda.
Rub a thin layer of a low-abrasive, low-ammonia liquid or paste polish, like 3M's Tarni-Shield Silver Polish, onto the piece with a dry cloth, cotton balls, or the sponge that comes with the product. Avoid paper towels, which can be abrasive. Instead of a circular motion, rub the item with small, up and down strokes.
Polishing Silver
The most common is using a soft towel and a silver polish cream like Hagerty's or Miror.
It is a common myth that toothpaste is a good way to clean your jewellery. This is actually false. Toothpaste can damage your diamonds, gemstones, gold and silver. Toothpaste is abrasive and has a hardness of around 3/4 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness.
Cleaning silver with vinegar is safe for your silver, you, and the environment, and it's great for bringing back the sparkle. Vinegar is a natural cleaner, disinfectant, and deodorizer that is tough on tarnish. Here's how to polish silver and get back that sparkling shine with vinegar and baking soda.
Although using baking soda and aluminum foil can quickly remove tarnish from silverware, some dealers caution against using it on antique silver, as it can be too abrasive and ruin the finish (especially if you're unsure of the provenance and it's possible that the pieces are not actually sterling silver).
Simply pour the coke into a bowl and submerge your silver into it. The acid in the coke will quickly remove the tarnish. Keep an eye on it – just a few minutes should be enough. Rinse with warm water and dry carefully with a soft cloth.
Apple Cider vinegar is even great to use for polishing silver, bronze and copper. For sanitizing and reusing jars, so that they don't end up in a landfill, disinfect with a 1 to 1 ratio of vinegar and warm soapy water and scrub well.
Cleaning silver with lemon and bath salt
If it's just jewellery you are cleaning, squeeze lemon into a bowl and add 4 tablespoons of bath salt. Add hot water and place your jewellery in the mixture. Leave it in there for about 5 minutes, then take them out and rub off the tarnishing with a cloth.
If you need clean silver now, pour lemon juice over the tarnished pieces. Polish with a soft, clean cotton cloth. The acid begins cleaning as soon as it hits the silver's surface. Rubbing it around only strengthens its cleaning power.
Silver becomes black because of hydrogen sulfide (sulfur), a substance that occurs in the air. When silver comes into contact with it, a chemical reaction takes place and a black layer is formed. Silver oxidizes faster in places with a lot of light and high humidity.
In a small bowl, stir a couple drops of mild dish soap into warm water to create suds. Let your silver jewelry sit in the solution for about five minutes. Use a soft toothbrush to gentle scrub away tarnish from any crevices in the jewelry. Rinse each piece in a bowl of clean, warm water.
A paste of baking soda and water is all you need to clean larger silver items and remove the dull tarnish. You'll need to rub the paste over the items, but the baking soda does most of the work for you without heavy scrubbing – and no toxic ingredients.
A mild dish soap: The pros recommend using citrus-free and phosphate-free dish soaps like Dawn Dishwashing Liquid. Cotton balls, pads, or swabs: These are best for applying hand sanitizer or polish to your silver to remove tarnish.
Another great way to clean your sterling silver jewelry is with Windex. Yes… Windex. You can either spray the Windex directly on the item to be cleaned or on a soft-bristled toothbrush or soft cloth.
You can clean tarnished silver (even heavily tarnished pieces) with a simple homemade solution, and you likely already have all the ingredients that you need. Cleaning silver with a combination of aluminum foil, baking soda, and salt typically does the trick for both small and large silver pieces.
Brasso is not suitable for cleaning silver – it is far too abrasive and will damage the metal. There is a less abrasive silver polish called Silvo that would be more suitable for cleaning tarnish, but cleaning and polishing collectible pieces are not recommended.