How to clean a silver cross until it shines at home?

Over time, silver jewelry becomes dirty and darkens, and at the same time loses its shine and attractiveness. You can clean a silver cross, earrings or ring at home using improvised means or professional chemicals. In this case, you must follow certain rules and be especially careful if the product is decorated with precious stones.

Why does silver darken?

In a jewelry store window, silver items delight the eye with their beauty and elegance. However, some time after purchase, the noble metal begins to quickly fade and darken. There are several reasons:

• Reaction with hydrogen sulfide. A colorless gas with an unpleasant specific odor, called hydrogen sulfide, is always present in small concentrations in the environment. For humans it is almost imperceptible, but for silver it is dangerous, especially at high humidity and high temperature. By reacting with silver molecules, hydrogen sulfide causes corrosion of the metal and contributes to the formation of a black coating.
• Metal composition. To make jewelry, they do not use pure silver, but its alloy with copper.The higher the percentage of copper, which oxidizes quickly, the more the silver item darkens.
• Contact with the human body. A pectoral cross or ring may darken from frequent wear and exposure to sweat and oil secreted by the skin. The darkening of silver is especially obvious in the case of hormonal imbalance or stress, when sweating sharply increases and the composition of sweat changes.
• Sport. During exercise, body temperature rises, therefore, sweat production also increases, which negatively affects silver items.
• Pool. To disinfect water, special chemicals consisting of chlorine and a 15% solution of hydrochloric acid are added to swimming pools. After spending even a short time in such an environment, silver begins to darken.
• Sea water. When going on vacation to the sea, it is better to leave silver jewelry at home. Sea water and air in the coastal zone contain sodium chloride, hydrogen sulfide and other chemical elements that cause metal corrosion.

Any acid, cosmetics, perfume, shower gel, shampoo, even in the smallest quantities, lingering on your favorite ring or bracelet will lead to the appearance of dark spots.

Traditional cleaning methods

There are several simple ways to rid a silver item of blackness at home.

Acetic acid solution

Although any acid can damage the silver surface, 7% vinegar essence is often used to clean jewelry. To prepare the cleaning solution, 1 tsp. 70% vinegar is diluted with 10 tsp. water. A cotton pad or a piece of soft sponge is moistened with the resulting mixture and wiped over the cross, earrings or other item.

Soda and foil

An interesting way to clean silver using baking soda and a piece of aluminum foil is as follows:

1. Two teaspoons of soda are poured into a saucepan, diluted with 0.5 liters of water and put on fire.
2. Place a small piece of foil at the bottom of the container.
3. When the mixture boils, lower the silver items and remove the saucepan from the stove.
4. After a quarter of an hour, the rings are removed from the solution and wiped with a dry cloth.

This option is not suitable for silver with artistic blackening.

Peroxide and alcohol

To clean the pectoral cross from blackness, you can use a product prepared from 1 tbsp. l. hydrogen peroxide and 1 tbsp. l. alcohol These two components are mixed in one bowl and the item is dipped into the resulting mixture. After half an hour, the decoration is taken out and wiped with a dry cotton napkin.

Lemon acid

To prepare the cleaning product you will need 1 tsp. citric acid and 0.5 liters of water. The ingredients are thoroughly mixed and the mixture is brought to a boil, after which silver jewelry is placed in a saucepan and boiled for half an hour. Then the products are wiped with a dry, lint-free cloth and left to dry.

Egg yolk

This cleaning method was used in ancient times, when agents such as soda, peroxide and ammonia were unknown. The yolk is extracted from a raw chicken egg and stirred thoroughly. The cross is coated with the resulting mixture and left to dry for 30 minutes, after which the crust is washed off with warm water.

Soap and ammonia

The cleaning product is prepared from 1 tbsp. l. ammonia and 1 liter of soapy water, for the preparation of which you need to use soap without additives and fragrances, preferably laundry soap.Dip the silver jewelry into the resulting mixture and after 15–20 minutes, rinse it with cool water. The cross or earrings will shine like new.

Professional silver care products

Today, in addition to the old time-tested cleaning methods, there are many professional preparations made for these purposes - solutions, creams, gels, wipes. You can buy these products in jewelry and hardware stores or order online.

Here are a few brands that are especially popular among customers:

• Talisman;
• Chine coins;
• Unicum;
• Silberpflege Centralin.

Proper care of silver will give your jewelry freshness, shine and allow you to maintain its original appearance for a long time. Products made from this noble metal are easy to care for if you choose an effective product and follow the recommendations of specialists.