Has your silver jewelry started to look dull after a long-standing period? Glossy silver has always been the number one source of favorite jewelry and fine tableware, but when it loses its luster, you can quickly wash it from the display case into the hidden depths of the cabinet.
Losing its luster destroys the look and value of silverware, so you will no doubt want to have some way of making your silverware look brand new. But cleaning the silver with traditional abrasive polishes and harsh chemicals may restore some luster, but you may also be able to remove some silver. Of course, if you want a professional silverware cleaning company to do the job for you, the high cost will be your problem.
So, how to clean silver with aluminum foil? Fortunately, there is an easy way to clean silverware that relies entirely on household ingredients and some savvy science. You don’t need to pay more to get your silver back to 100% luster, and most importantly this method won’t cost you any silver.
If you need help restoring tarnished silver to its amazing luster, we’ll show you that cleaning your silver with aluminum foil is the safest, easiest, and most effective solution.
Tools for cleaning silver with aluminum foil
- A glass or plastic container large enough to hold your silver coins
- aluminum foil
- baking soda
- boiling water
The method of cleaning silver with aluminum foil
1.Line the container with aluminum foil
Line a non-metallic container (such as a glass bakeware or plastic tub) with aluminum foil. It doesn’t matter if you put the shiny side up or down.
Your silver items need to be placed in a container, in direct contact with the aluminum foil. You can also crumple the foil and gently wrap the silver flakes to allow more surface area to reach the silver flakes.
If you are cleaning more than one piece of silver, make sure they are not touching each other.
2. Add baking soda
Bring the water to a boil (the water should be high enough to cover your silverware). Fill a container with boiling water, then add baking soda, about 2 tablespoons per liter of boiling water. Next, place the silver-wrapped aluminum foil in the water.
3.Heat the foil and wait
You’ll see some bubbling and hissing right away, and then you’ll gradually see the rust from the silver removed, revealing the shiny sheen underneath. After a few minutes, remove the silverware (be careful—it will be hot) and dry it with a soft cloth to remove any lingering rust. You may need to repeat this process a few times if your work is severely tarnished.
4.Rinse and polish
Sometimes leftover baking soda can leave a white residue on silverware. Silver jewelry can be easily removed with a quick rinse and dried with a clean, soft cloth to restore its like-new shine.
3 Reasons for Silver Discoloration
There are three main reasons for the discoloration of silver:
1. Under the natural environment
Due to the air quality, there will be acidic gases in the environment in many places. Among them, the most common one is hydrogen sulfide. It is not easy for people to detect this gas. It is colorless and non-toxic, but it will produce silver sulfide when it encounters silver. The main ingredient of silver scale is it, so it will change color.
2. In a sweaty environment
When wearing silver necklaces, silver rings, and silver bracelets, there will be sweat in the place where you wear it, and sweat is usually acidic and there will be trace elements of sulfur in it, which will produce silver sulfide with silver, and the above-mentioned silver scale may appear. This is also one of the reasons for the discoloration of silver, although this situation varies from person to person.
3.under special circumstances
Likes to spray perfume, wear silver jewelry to take a bath, do not like to wash the body in the bath, etc. These may also cause the discoloration of silver, because the residues such as perfume and shower gel will also react with silver. In addition, smoking and makeup are also possible, but the probability is low.
Is silver discoloration related to physical condition?
There is a little bit of a relationship, but the correlation is small because the color change of silver is indeed related to the strong secretion of sweat, but it does not mean that the person’s body is getting worse, because more sweating can only mean that everyone has different physiques, not like sweating. Just because the body is poor, it does not mean that there is a problem in the body.
Why can aluminum foil “clean silver”?
Silver will turn black because it is oxidized in the air, forming a layer of black silver oxide on the surface. aluminum foil can react with silver oxide to form silver, so blackened silver products are boiled in water with aluminum foil, and they will naturally return to light.
How to keep silver jewelry from discoloring？
1. First of all, it is a good idea to maintain silver jewelry regularly. Regular maintenance of silver jewelry can keep the silver jewelry brand new, and it will not change color even after a long time.
2. It is also necessary to keep the silver jewelry from discoloring. Pay attention to yourself. You must not go to places that cause the silver jewelry to accelerate discoloration, such as hot springs and places with high sulfur content.
3. In addition to the above situation, you can also choose electroplating. Silver jewelry after electroplating has better anti-oxidation ability and can also avoid the discoloration of silver jewelry!
