Silver cleaning cloth: How to make tarnished silver jewelry shine again

Tarnishing of silver cannot be avoided when it comes into contact with air (more precisely, the hydrogen sulphide it contains).

Silver cleaning cloth: How to make tarnished silver jewelry shine again

Tarnishing of silver cannot be avoided when it comes into contact with air (more precisely, the hydrogen sulphide it contains). In itself, the black coating is not too bad, but it spoils the shiny look of your jewelry. Since the discoloration cannot be removed with water or commercial cleaning agents, you have to resort to other methods - such as a silver bath, silver polish or a silver cleaning cloth. We'll tell you the difference.

At first glance, a silver polishing cloth looks like an ordinary cotton cloth. But the difference lies in the details: the material actually contains a special active ingredient that can remove dark discolouration, tarnished areas and black deposits. It doesn't matter whether you want to make jewelry or cutlery, trophies or coins, candlesticks or lamps, vases or brooches shine again. As long as these are made of silver (or silver-plated), you can use the cloth anywhere. It's best to be gentle when doing this, as over-polishing and frequent polishing will not only remove discoloration, but also - with each application - a small percentage of the silver (or alloy). For this reason you should use the silver cleaning cloth carefully and gently polish the material with little pressure.

Note: By removing the black deposits, the silver cleaning cloth will discolour over time - but this is not a big deal and should not have any impact on how it works. Important: You should not wash the material, otherwise it will lose its cleaning effect.

In addition to the classic silver cleaning cloth, there are other methods of removing unsightly deposits from your jewelry or other silver objects. The best known include silver polishing and the silver bath:

If you do not want to use chemical cleaning agents, you can also use tried and tested household remedies:

Another important note: Sensitive pieces of jewelery that are set with (semi-)precious stones or other natural materials such as pearls or amber should not be cleaned by hand. Better take the silver to a jeweler.

As previously mentioned, tarnishing of silver over time is unavoidable unless you store your jewelry in an airtight container to avoid exposure to air. Sealable plastic bags are suitable for this. In addition, silver should always be stored dry in order to delay the tarnishing of the jewelery as long as possible. It is best to wrap valuable items in a dry cotton cloth to reduce air contact. And last but not least, it is also recommended to put a small piece of chalk in the container or plastic bag. It's said to keep the air dry and help slow silver tarnish.

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