Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Fast & Eco-friendly Tarnish Removal

Customers often ask me, "What's the best way to polish silver?"

I recommend this easy, irritant-free, eco-friendlier way to keep SILVER happy and bright, (that's actually FASTER than polishing cloths, dips, or other chemical methods).

BEFORE YOU START: Make sure your jewelry has no glue, paper, or other elements that would be damaged by water. Safe for gemstones, but not pearls and opals.

STEP 1:
Line a bathroom SINK (or large bowl) with ALUMINUM FOIL.
Sprinkle with BAKING SODA.
Fill sink with STEAMING HOT WATER.

STEP 2:
DROP pieces of jewelry one at a time into the sink.
Make sure ALL SIDES touch the foil.
Let soak 10-20 SECONDS.

Step 3:
REMOVE with chopsticks or tongs.
DRY with paper towel or hair dryer.
Tarnish that doesn't dissolve in the water should come off with a little RUB.

CODA:
Tarnish in HARD-TO-REACH places?
Try gently scrubbing with TOOTHPASTE and a TOOTHBRUSH.
RINSE and DRY with towel.

Voila!
Refreshed silver,
without that weird aftertaste.

7 comments:

  1. Christina11:16 AM

    this is so awesome! I can't wait to get home and try it on a few pieces that have been sitting in tarnish for ages. I can't handle fumey chemicals for polishing so this is great!

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  2. nonlineargirl12:15 PM

    Great - I do the toothpaste part, but then feel a bit mintier than I'd like around the earlobes... Trying baking soda and tin foil sounds better.

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  3. Amanda K Lockrow12:30 PM

    Thanks for sharing this, what a great fix!

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  4. mamafrog11:30 PM

    You can use the cheap, plain, white toothpaste the same way. I just rub it in with my fingers on my rings. My mom has used it to polish her church's silver service.

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  5. polynetta3:22 AM

    Thanx for sharing. This is so great and simple method.:)

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  6. Anonymous11:51 PM

    I hate the smell of Tarnex! thanks for providing this great alternative with things I already have on hand.

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  7. Anonymous5:44 AM

    thanks for the tip. When i found out, that my two pairs of beautiful earrings had gone all brown, i was so sad. I didn't want to dip them in ammoniac, cos I didn't know what stones there were.
    And abut the toothpaste, you can change it for a pice of tin foile tipped in the soda water and scrub with that, works great!

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