Is your sterling jewelry looking shabby? It’s easy to clean at home, using things you probably already have around the house: aluminum foil, baking soda, sea salt, water and white vinegar! You can also use this method on many sterling and gemstone pieces, though some gemstones do NOT like getting wet so be sure to look up the crystal you’re considering cleaning if you’re not sure. Any softer crystals can be damaged by water, like celestite, angelite, mica, opal, malachite, and turquoise. Some crystals like selenite and kayanite can even dissolve in water, so definitely keep those away too!
What You Need
Materials:
• Aluminum foil
• Bowl or other container
• 1 cup hot water
• 2 tablespoons baking soda
• 2 tablespoons sea salt
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• Rag for polishing
Step 1:
Put a piece of aluminum foil in the bowl, shiny side up.
Step 2:
Combine the dry ingredients on top of the foil, and slowly pour in the vinegar. This will cause a slight reaction, so pour carefully. The vinegar is optional, but it does speed up the soaking process.
Step 3:
Add the hot water and then the silver.
Step 4:
Let them all soak. We only did it for a few minutes for this round, but you can leave it all in there for up to an hour if you wish.
Step 5:
Remove the silver and marvel at the magic! You should also buff it with a cloth or paper towel to remove even more tarnish.
Step 6 (optional):
If your silver isn’t yet as shiny as you’d like, just give it another soak in the same mixture, and buff again.
Step 7:
Celebrate!
HOORAY! SO SHINY!
The post HOW TO CLEAN STERLING SILVER JEWELRY AT HOME: THIS EASY METHOD WORKS LIKE MAGIC! appeared first on Mexicali Blues Blog.
