Noble silver is widely used for the production of jewelry, cutlery and interior items. Unfortunately, one unpleasant feature is inherent in the elegant and stylish silver products - over time, their surface turns black and coated with bloom. Knowing how to clean silver from blackness, you can easily restore the original shine to metal at home.
- high humidity;
- frequent contact with cosmetics;
- reaction to human sweat;
- contact with rubber, some products and detergents.
The easiest way to clean silver from the blackness that has appeared is to take the product for processing to the jewelry salon or buy a special cleaning agent for this metal. If you, for certain reasons, do not wish to use this method, you can also clean the products yourself at home using simple improvised means.
Preparatory stage
Cleaning silverware or jewelry made from this metal is quite simple. First you need to thoroughly wash the product in warm soapy water to clean the surface of adhering dirt and grease. If you use a soft bristled toothbrush, it will be much more convenient to clean the grooves and grooves.
Along with soap, you can clean blackened silver with dishwashing detergent or shampoo, and then thoroughly rinse the product in clean water. Such processing will prepare the metal for the upcoming procedures and make the result more visible.
Cleaning with tooth powder
Our grandmothers knew very well how to clean silver from black. To do this, they used ordinary tooth powder at home.
To clean your jewelry with this method, you will also need a thick fleece rag. Wet the matter, dip it in powder and carefully rub the product, trying to clean it from blackness from all sides. Silver is a rather soft metal, so it is necessary to act very carefully during the procedure. If you overdo it, scratches may remain on the surface of the noble metal.
Using ammonia
Silver jewelry with stones look very stylish, but they require special care from their hostesses. At home, cleaning such products from blackness is best done with ammonia. For the procedure, you will need to prepare an aqueous solution of ammonia. Liquids should be taken in proportion of 10 ml of alcohol to half a glass of water.
If your silver is only slightly darkened, you can simply clean it with a cloth or sponge dipped in a liquid ammonia solution.To clean products with a moderate degree of contamination, it is better to put them directly in the solution for 15-30 minutes. Carefully follow the process of dissolving black. After removing the decoration, treat it with a dry, clean cloth.
It will be necessary to clean very dirty products by soaking them in clean liquid ammonia without adding water. In this case, the maximum exposure time of ammonia should not exceed 10 minutes.
Procedure with citric acid
You can clean the darkened metal and return the old shine to it at home using citric acid.
For this method you will need:
- 100 g of citric acid;
- 500 ml of water;
- a piece of copper wire.
Dilute the acid in water and put the container with the solution in a water bath, putting copper wire into it. When the liquid boils, dip your jewelry into it and wait 15 minutes. After the procedure, the silver should be well washed with water and cleaned of the remnants of plaque, polished with a cloth.
The use of soda
At home, you can effectively clean silver by taking simple baking soda. To do this, you can choose either of two methods:
- Dilute soda with water to form a thick slurry. Continue cleaning your jewelry with this mixture until you achieve the desired result.
- Dissolve in 250 ml of water 20 g.soda and put on fire. To clean the jewelry, wait for the liquid to boil, and then lower the piece of foil and product into it. After 15 minutes, silver will look like new.
Universal way
This wonderful recipe will tell you how to clean silver from black, when all other means were powerless. You will need an aluminum saucepan and the following ingredients:
- 10 g of salt;
- 10 ml dishwashing liquid;
- 10 g soda;
- 500 ml of water.
Stir all the ingredients, pour into the saucepan, put the silver there, and put on the fire. This solution and boiling for half an hour are able, without any mechanical effort, to completely clean your products of dirt and plaque.
Recipe for blackened silver
Blackened silver requires very special care. Of course, it should also be periodically cleaned of dust, dirt and debris, but this procedure will have to be carried out very carefully in order not to cause damage to the unique upper layer of the product.
Usually, the blackened metal is carefully cleaned with soapy water with a small amount of soda, putting the product there for 20 minutes.You can clean these decorations with potato starch. Remove the peel from several potatoes, soak them in a bowl and drop your jewelry there. After 3 hours, remove the silver and rinse thoroughly in clean water. If some areas still have dirty spots, try cleaning these places with a regular rubber eraser - the contamination should go away instantly.
Preventive measures
In order for silver products not to darken, they need proper care:
- Do not leave jewelry on your hands during homework or applying cosmetic cream.
- If the products get wet, wipe them dry with a wipe of flannel.
- Store silver in a dry place, after placing it in a casket.
- If you rarely wear your jewelry, wrap it in foil to protect it from oxidation.
Do not forget about these simple recommendations, and the noble metal will bring you joy with its original brilliance for a long time.
Continuing the theme: how to clean silver with stones at home
