How do you get silver shiny again?

When it comes to cleaning silver, there are many different ways that you can bring the old shine back. Which method for your silver the right one depends on whether it is matt or glossy, has ornaments and decor or is combined with other materials. If you are in doubt about jewelry, ask your jeweler beforehand and test each product on a small, inconspicuous area first.

Purification of silver with special agents

There are a lot of products on the market that can make your silver shiny again. However, they are usually not cheap.

• If you have a lot of jewelry, especially chains and rings, you can buy an ultrasonic cleaning device. It's not cheap and mostly stands around uselessly, but it lasts a long time. And you can also use it to make watches, glasses, etc. clean.
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• Alternatively, there are also special cleaning cloths with which the silver can be polished. However, this can be quite exhausting when it comes to grandma's 68-piece silverware.
• Special silver cleaners (e.g. B. Silver bath) make your silver shine again. However, good remedies are often expensive and sometimes adverse reactions can occur.


How do I clean silver?

Whether jewelry, coins or the inherited cutlery, the fine silver sometimes needs ...

Alternative detergents for silver

If you want to do without artificial and expensive special products, you can get your silver shiny again in other ways.

• The old toothpaste trick works, but the abrasives can scratch the jewelry if rubbed too hard. Be careful here.
• Ash actually makes your silver shine again. Take a cotton cloth and use it to apply the ashes. Rub the silver with ashes until it shines again.
• You can put silver with lots of small, inaccessible spots in a solution of hot water, curd soap and ammonia. Tooth cleaner tablets are also suitable.
• You can clean brushed silver with a toothbrush and a little baking soda. The baking soda is applied with circular movements.
• With each method, the silver must then be rinsed off with lukewarm water and dried well.

Getting silver shiny with food

• An overnight beer bath works wonders. Soak the cutlery, jewelry or your silver coins in beer overnight. The next morning, wash it off with lukewarm water and dry completely wipe it off with a cloth.
• The shower works just as well with hot potato water. Pour the potatoes' cooking water over your silver. You can also rub your silver directly with the inside of a raw potato half. Then rinse and dry it.
• Even with sour milk, your silver will be clean and shiny again. Soak it in sour milk for half an hour, turning it every now and then. Very useful if you still want to use sour milk. Particularly suitable for fine chains.
• Baking powder is also suitable for fine jewelry. Put a packet in a bowl of water and soak the silver overnight. Rinse well and dry again, of course.

Silver shine with aluminum foil, salt and water

• A very common trick is cleaning with the help of aluminum foil, salt and water. Line a bowl with aluminum foil and pour warm water into it. There is also a small cup of table salt and your silver. When the dark layer has peeled off the silver, you can rinse it off with water and dry it.
• Aluminum foil is a base metal that emits electrons more easily than noble metals such as silver. The salt transports the electrons from the foil to the noble silver, where they can dissolve the sulfur particles that have accumulated. What remains is pure silver and the aluminum foil oxidized with sulfur particles.
• Only leave the silver in the solution for a short time (a few minutes), otherwise deposits can again form. It is better to repeat the process again with a fresh solution. Caution: This also makes darkly plastered decorative ornaments lighter.

So that the silver doesn't tarnish so quickly

• In general: Always wash your silver cutlery by hand. Rinsing in the machine speeds up the oxidation process and the silver starts running faster.
• The silver should always be dried well after cleaning. Even when it comes to storage, you should humidity avoid.
• Some substances such as B. Felt or leather separate hydrogen sulphide, which is why you prefer to wrap your silver in cotton or linen cloths. You can also store cutlery wrapped in aluminum foil. This slows down the oxidation process.
• An old trick from grandma's time is to put a piece of school chalk with the silver. As a result, it actually stays shiny longer.

But don't be under any illusions: sooner or later you will have to clean your silver again, the price for a touch of luxury.