Gone are the days of scrubbing, scouring and screaming obscenities at your cherished silver pieces. There is a very simple, household way of cleaning your silver jewelry or antiques, without damaging them or burning your wallet.
Silver jewelry is famous for loosing it’s luster and shine after excessive wear. Tarnishing is just a part of wearing silver jewelry, even high grade sterling silver. The obvious solution we often times come up with, is that of the store bought “miracle polishes”.  These products do work, but are pricey at times and can also damage your fine silver pieces.

Polishing your silver with a solution or polish from the supermarket, actually scrubs some silver off the surface. It can be especially detrimental for silver-plated pieces, where the layer of silver may not be very thick.

Finally there is a home remedy that is not only affordable, but easy as well! Start by using a mixture of baking soda, salt, hot water and an aluminum plate. A pot or pan lined with aluminum foil can also be used.

How to use this method

1. Take an aluminum pan or foil lined pot.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of baking soda.
3. Pour hot water into pan or foil lined pan. Be sure to not boil the water.
4. Stir rapidly to dissolve the substances.
5. Dip your silver items into the mixture and gently swirl around until the desired shine. Some times a soft cloth to wipe down will create an even greater polish.

This is a quick and simple process that leaves your jewelry absolutely stunning.  Some jewelry will not have the desired effect though.  Polishing oxidized pieces of silver will remove the “antiqued finish” and in some cases, silver jewelry that has bee painted with jewelers paint will fade. It is recommended to use this method on only solid silver pieces that do not contain precious stones or diamonds. Clean your rings, chains, necklaces, but not gemstones.