How To Keep Silver Jewellery Fresh And Clean

For some people (including us here at Joya Jewellery) silver jewellery is the perfect accessory to really finish off almost any outfit. Sadly however, it is one of those items that can be loved a bit too much.

Prolonged exposure to just about anything can cause your favourite casual companion to go a bit grey (tarnish), but luckily for you there are some ways to bring back that shine!

What is tarnish?

Tarnish is rust that forms on silver jewellery. The silver in silver jewellery will react with moisture in the air and other naturally occurring elements, this reaction will create tarnish on the surface of silver jewellery. Don’t worry however, it’s only a thin layer and wont damage the jewellery underneath.

Cleaning Silver Jewellery

So, what can you do about tarnish on silver jewellery?

Thankfully there are a number of ways to remove tarnish from your prized pieces, it’s important to note many commercially available solutions might actually ruin your jewellery.

Some solutions you can buy are very acidic and will remove the tarnish along with the silver which can seriously reduce the life of your piece.

Here are three steps to clean tarnish off silver jewellery:

Tip 1: Soap and Water

This is our favourite method here at Joya Jewellery! It’s easy on the jewellery and all you need is a toothbrush and soap. Begin by filling a glass with soapy water, and start gently brushing. Within a few minutes the black and yellow discolouring will wash right off. Then give your jewellery a rinse and dry it out under a hair dryer. That’s it, all done!

Tip 2: Vinegar, baking soda and water

For stubborn areas this method works great! Just mix 1 tablespoon of baking soda with ¼ cup of vinegar and gently brush using the same method as no.1. We have heard of people using toothpaste instead but this can be dangerous. Most toothpastes have lots of ingredients that may do more harm than good, so let’s keep the toothpaste and your jewellery separate!

Tip 3: Lemon and salt bath

Everyone loves a good bath so why would your jewellery be any different? For this you’re going to need to mix equal parts lemon juice and hot water. Add one tablespoon of salt let it soak for five minutes. Once it’s done give it a gentle brush with a toothbrush or a cloth and voila.

Here are some bonus tips to keep your silver jewellery shiny!

Wear it often!

It sounds silly but by wearing your jewellery the natural oils in your skin can help keep your jewellery shiny. Just make sure to put your jewellery on last, some makeups and perfumes may actually cause tarnish, so be careful!

Keep it in the box it came in

At Joya Jewellery, the boxes we send our pieces to you in, are not only super stylish but also include tarnish resistant foam to help your piece look shinier for longer.

Keep it dry

There is nothing that accelerates tarnishing faster than moisture. When taking your jewellery off we recommend giving it a quick wash before drying it out with a hair dryer to get rid of any moisture.

Our final say

Silver jewellery is a great look and we really hope that you don’t need to clean tarnish off your jewellery all that often but just in case it shows up, these methods for cleaning and storing your jewellery might be just what you need.

And if you haven’t got any silver jewellery we can help out! You can browse our silver pieces and remember; by wearing Joya Jewellery, you stand with us against human traffickers. Your purchase will help us bring another child home

If you’re not sure what we’re talking about, that’s fine! Just check out the about us page!