Silver jewelry is highly susceptible to tarnishing. This is how to clean silver to keep tarnish from forming and how to polish your dull silver jewelry to return its luster and shine.

How Tarnish Forms
So why does tarnish form on your silver jewelry in the first place?

Silver jewelry is made of silver and a second alloy metal to improve the pure silver’s durability. Sterling silver, for instance, is 92.5% pure silver and the remaining 7.5% is copper and other metals. The other alloy metals are what react to the moisture in the air and cause your silver jewelry to tarnish.

In turn, your silver jewelry will inevitably tarnish. In fact, it will tarnish faster in humid regions or cities with lots of air pollution.

How to Prevent Silver Jewelry from Tarnishing
While tarnished silver jewelry is unavoidable, there are precautionary measures that can slow the tarnishing process.

1. Wipe down your silver jewelry at every night.
Use a soft cloth to gently clean your silver jewelry after a day of wear. This will remove any residual oils or moisture and keep build-up from forming.

2. Store your silver jewelry in a jewelry box with anti-tarnish strips.
Whether you’re simply taking off your silver necklace for the night or stowing it away for a few weeks, pack it away in a cloth-lined jewelry box. Slip in a few anti-tarnish strips too; these inexpensive strips absorb the air pollutants that cause your jewelry to tarnish. In a pinch, you can also use the silica gel packets that come in shoeboxes or handbags in lieu of anti-tarnish strips.

3. Remove silver jewelry before showering.
The humidity of your steamy shower will accelerate the tarnishing process. So, leave your jewelry outside of the bathroom. Similarly, take off your jewelry before jumping in the pool or basking in a sauna.

How to Clean Tarnished Silver Jewelry
Tarnish can usually be wiped away from silver jewelry with a specially-designed silver polishing cloth. A few words of caution before you begin, though: if your jewelry contains any gemstones, double-check with your jeweler on how to safely clean your unique item. Hard stones like diamonds can endure most cleaning products, but softer stones, like emeralds and turquoise, are easily damaged and should never be dipped in cleaning solution.

1. Rinse your silver jewelry with warm water.
2. Pat your piece dry with a lint-free cloth.
3. Rub your jewelry with a silver-cleaning cloth. Work in up-and-down or side-to-side motions (not in circles) until all of the tarnish is wiped away.
4. If stubborn tarnish persists, use a silver-cleaning fluid; we recommend Connoisseurs Jewelry Cleaner for Sterling Silver Jewelry. Dip your jewelry into the solution, rinse with warm water and pat it dry with a lint-free cloth.

For more tips on how to care for precious metal jewelry, read our post on the topic here.

Restore your gold and silver jewelry to its full luster and glory and wipe away unsightly tarnish with these quick-and-easy how-to’s. But, a few words of caution before you begin any at-home cleaning methods:

Double-check the metal content of your jewelry before you begin. For example, silver-plated items require different care from all-silver jewelry. If you’re uncertain about the metal-type, treat it as a piece of plated jewelry for the gentlest cleaning option.

If your silver- or gold-plating has already chipped (exposing the metal below), you should bring it to a jeweler to be re-plated. Cleaning it could further damage your item.

And note: none of these cleaning methods should be used on jewelry with precious or semi-precious stones; gemstones each require different care and some cleaning agents can severely damage soft stones like pearls and emeralds. Bring your item to a jeweler to learn how to safely clean your fine jewelry or leave it in their expert hands to polish.

How to Deep Clean Silver-Plated Jewelry
Silver-plated jewelry has a thin layer of silver over a non-precious metal base. Because the silver-plating is so thin, you need a very gentle cleaning method:

1. In a large bowl, fully dilute a few drops of mild dish soap in warm water. (Undiluted dish detergent will leave dark spots on the silver.)
2. Submerge your item in the soap water and gently rub it with your fingertips to release the tarnish.
3. Rinse the piece under warm water to remove any soap reside.
4. Dry the jewelry with a soft lint-free cloth.
5. Gently buff the jewelry’s surface with a polishing cloth to bring out its luster and shine.

How to Clean Silver Jewelry
1. Line the bottom of a small bowl with aluminum foil, shiny-side up.
2. Dissolve 1 tablespoon baking soda and 1 tablespoon salt in boiling water, roughly one cup or just enough to cover your piece of jewelry.
3. Submerge your item in the solution, ensuring the jewelry is touching the aluminum foil.
4. Let sit for 2-10 minutes, depending on the level of tarnish.
5. Remove (be careful: the water is still very hot!) and rinse your jewelry under warm water and pat dry with a lint-free cloth.

How to Clean Gold and Gold-Plated Jewelry
Gold is a very soft metal so it is easily scratched—even by a soft-bristle toothbrush. Therefore, we recommend exercising extreme care when cleaning or polishing gold jewelry.

1. Dilute two drops of mild dish soap in warm water.
2. Dip your gold jewelry into the mixture.
3. Remove your piece from the soapy water and rinse it under clean warm water.
4. Gently rub the item with a polishing cloth to restore its shine.

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