7 ingenious ways to clean silver items
Does your silver jewelry or cutlery look tarnished, blackened, oxidized? Time and wear blacken silver jewelry, as well as cutlery and other objects made of this material. Fortunately, there is a way to make them shine again, just a few tricks and ingredients are enough: first of all we advise you to have a soft cloth , preferably chamois, and an equally soft toothbrush ; these will facilitate the cleaning of interstices or any stones. There are many specific products on the market for cleaning and polishing silver, but, as often happens, these products can be expensive and harmful to the environment . For this reason it is always better to rely onnatural products found in the home . Here are our favorite methods:
1. The lemon
In addition to being an excellent remedy against bad odors and the ideal ally for cleaning the oven , lemon can be used to clean your silver jewelry, or cutlery. Take the lemon juice and pour it directly on the objects to be cleaned, and then rub it with a cotton cloth. For the interstices, soak a toothbrush in lemon juice and gently rub into the hard-to-reach corners: gradually you will see a green color appear, this is the oxidized part that is disappearing. When you are satisfied with the result, rinse under running water and dry with a clean dry cloth .
2. White vinegar
This perfect natural remedy for cleaning windows can also be used for cleaning jewelry and other silver items. This method requires slightly longer times: you can add two teaspoons of vinegar in a container with hot water, immerse the objects you need to clean in it and leave it to act for at least half an hour. Alternatively, you can pour the vinegar directly on a cloth and use it to polish the silver. As always, the toothbrush can be useful for crevices and corners.
3. The beer
Beer, like cola, can be very effective for cleaning silver items that are oxidized. Fill a bowl (or rather, a mug!) With beer and again, leave your silverware to rest overnight. The next morning, rinse everything well, if you don't want to have cutlery that leaves a taste of beer in your mouth. Tiziana also uses beer to give some tone to wooden furniture or to give plants to drink ... here are all the other tips for cleaning with beer !
4. The toothpaste
The toothpaste can be used, as well as for cleaning the teeth, even for some small household measures, including the cleaning of silverware and jewelry . You have to sprinkle the toothpaste all over the affected surface, to do this you can use a cloth or a toothbrush or even your finger to make sure that it completely covers the silver object. Rub gently and you will see the black / green caused by oxidation slowly disappear .
5. Cigarette ash or wood
Strange as it may sound, ash can really be the solution to your oxidized silverware problem. Before starting with the operation, sift the ash to remove small fragments of wood or other material, depending on the origin of the ash. Add some water to obtain a rather soft mixture and use it to rub the affected objects. Alternatively, a cotton swab is also good, to which in addition to the solution with the ash you can add a little lemon juice. At the end, rinse and dry carefully.
6. Playing the little chemist: salt
For the most persistent stains , salt comes in handy once again , and this time we will use a real chemical reaction to clean the silver! First you have to take a container and cover it with aluminum foil. Put water to boil and then sprinkle the inside of the container with coarse salt (a teaspoon for each liter of water), place the objects you want to clean and then fill the container with boiling water: dissolving the salt will trigger the so-called electrolysis phenomenon . The oxide (the black you see on the cutlery) is eliminated thanks to the reaction of the aluminum with the saline solution.
7. Sodium bicarbonate
Obviously, among all these remedies, our dear baking soda could not be missing ! You can use it as in the previous method instead of salt, or create a fairly consistent dough to use for scrubbing your cutlery and your jewelry , using a soft cloth or a toothbrush. 'hours and at the end rinse thoroughly.
And you? How do you clean your jewelry and silver items? If we've forgotten any foolproof remedies, share them with us in the comments below!
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