I was chatting to my friend Ali yesterday about jewellery (naturally!) who asked about a cleaning product for her silver jewellery. Since moving to Sydney, her jewellery was looking really dull and tarnished–probably due to the lovely sea air! So, I thought I’d share my favourite tip with you on how to do this at home, without using commercial cleaners that often have all sorts of nasty chemicals in them that can irritate your skin.
You will need:
- a glass bowl
- aluminium foil to fit in the base of the bowl
- hot water
- bicarb
- salt
- an old toothbrush
- a soft cloth
Pop the al foil in the bottom of your container and pour in hot water (not boiling, especially if your jewellery contains gems other than diamonds). Add a tablespoon or two of bicarb & salt and put your jewellery in the mixture. I left mine for fifteen minutes or so, and gave each piece a good brushing with the toothbrush to loosen any of the grit and tarnish. Once your pieces are looking a little brighter, remove them from the solution and give them a good wipe with your cloth. Ta da, clean jewellery!
*Please note: don’t use this on pearl jewellery. For pearl jewellery cleaning tips, please refer to my previous post about pearl care Pearls of Wisdom
Brush the pieces with an old toothbrush to help remove tarnish
The ones on the left have been cleaned. Big difference!
What a difference! Especially on the mesh ring, which was very tarnished.
The Smith Online 