Silver jewellery adds elegance to whatever you’re wearing and is easy to pair with any outfit. However, you might have noticed your silver jewellery looking dull or turning black. Don’t worry, it’s easily fixed. Ben Jarrett from Est1897 reveals why you need to clean jewellery and how to clean silver jewellery at home.
Why do you need to clean jewellery?
We all think about cleaning our jewellery for aesthetic reasons, but it’s time to think about cleanliness.
A new study by Est1897 has analysed the bacteria and filth that manifests on jewellery pieces, and the results aren’t pretty.
The experiment swabbed a ring, watch and earring after being worn regularly and found that 21,000 growths of bacteria gather on your jewellery every week.
Silver jewellery doesn’t pick up more germs than gold jewellery, but its shine starts to fade more quickly.
Sometimes silver jewellery turns black, and this is called tarnishing.
When silver is exposed to oxygen and sulphur it reacts and causes a dull film to settle on the surface of the mental.
You can’t avoid tarnishing when it comes to silver jewellery, but you can restore it when it inevitably happens.
Cleaning your jewellery regularly is one way to restore its sparkle.
How to clean silver jewellery at home
The experts at Est1897 recommend cleaning your silver jewellery with soapy water and a toothbrush.
Step one
To start, you’re going to need to create a cleaning solution.
Mix a few drops of fairy washing up liquid with warm water.
You will want to mix it into a dish or Tupperware pot of some kind which is big enough to fit a toothbrush in.
To start, soak the jewellery in the solution for 30 minutes.
Step two
Take your toothbrush and swill it around in the solution, ensuring that the bristles are wet.
Then, gently scrub around the piece of jewellery using the brush, making sure to get into all of the engravings and corners.
Once you are happy that you’ve scrubbed each area of the piece, you will need to rinse with clean, cool water.
Try to make sure that you rinse off all of the suds so that no soapy residue is left over.
Step three
Once thoroughly rinsed, use a dry soft cloth which is preferably lint-free to polish your jewellery piece.
For extra dirty pieces, create a fresh cleaning solution and use a new cloth dipped in the solution to damp polish each surface.
You should repeat this process regularly for best results.
Step four
To finish, boil your kettle.
Using a pair of long-stemmed tweezers hold your jewellery carefully and at a safe distance from the spout as it comes to the boil to give your piece a steam finish.
