How to clean silver: 6 homemade tricks
Silver is a simple material to clean; however, it is believed that you need special professional products to achieve this. It is not like this.
Objects made of this material, such as coins, decorative objects and jewelry, often stain or darken over time giving a rusty look . But you have to know that silver does not oxidize, it only has a reaction to hydrogen sulfide that causes it to look dull and stained.
Let's see what you need to know to be clear about how to clean the silver .
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6 homemade solutions to clean silver
So that your pieces of silver are shiny and shiny you do not need to buy any special product, it will suffice with some elements that you are sure to find in your pantry.
Just remember to protect your hands with gloves and do it in a well-ventilated room, and use any of these products.
1. Lemon
If the spots are recent, this trick with lemon can be enough to clean the silver .
To make it, you only need half a lemon and spread it with salt. With that lemon half, rub the silver polishing it, and then let it act a few minutes and rinse. After this ends rubbing with a soft cloth.
This trick can be used to clean the silver frequently, this way you will not allow it to stain and you will be protecting your valuable objects and preventing them from looking old and opaque.
2. Bicarbonate with vinegar
The combination of these products manages to undo the opaque layer that appears on the silver objects. For this cleaning option, you need a tablespoon of baking soda and ¼ cup of white vinegar. You have to add the bicarbonate to the vinegar and when it has dissolved , submerge the objects.
If the items you want to clean are very large, you can pour a little of the solution and rub with a clean cloth. Then, to dry, rub with a dry cloth and polish a little.
This trick is very efficient to leave the silver clean and protect it from opacity. Surely it will be one of your favorite tricks, because it manages to clean metals in the best way.
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3. Toothpaste
Toothpaste not only cleans our teeth. To the surprise of many, one of its alternative uses is that polishes some metallic objects , among them the silver.
How to clean the silver with toothpaste? First wash the objects thoroughly with hot water and neutral soap. Then apply toothpaste on the silver you are going to clean and rub hard for a few minutes with either a cloth or a soft bristle toothbrush.
Finally, just rinse again and dry very well. When you see the results, you'll be surprised how well it works the toothpaste to clean and polish the silver.
4. Aluminum foil
Do you want to see your silver as newly purchased? Aluminum foil is a very effective trick to clean objects made of silver.
You need a container big enough so that the objects you are going to clean fit in it. Wrap it in aluminum foil, fill the container with hot water and add salt . Make sure the water covers the objects and leave them there for about 10 minutes. After removing them, dry them and polish with a soft cloth to make them shine.
As already mentioned, it is important that it be done in a ventilated room and that you wear gloves because it could release gases that could bother you.
Aluminum foil in combination with salt will help you clean the silver and make it shine again.
5. Water with salt
Another simple but very effective solution for polishing silver jewelry or other decorative objects, is to combine water with salt. You have to add a spoonful of salt in a cup with boiling water and let the silver objects soak all night.
The next day he takes out the silver and polishes it very well with a dry cloth by rubbing it. The water with which it was cleaned should not be used again, if you are going to clean more objects, it is better to prepare a new combination of water with salt for each silver item you wish to clean.
6. banana peel
Of all the properties and benefits that the banana has, this may be the most surprising. A curious fact about this fruit is that the inner part of the shell has assets that help you remove dirt from metal objects .
So just take the peel of a banana and rub the silver object to remove the stains and get shine. If you think it is necessary, change the banana peel until you get the desired result.
This trick to clean the silver is very simple and can be useful for a frequent cleaning and thus prevent their opacity and stains.
Bibliographic references:
- Emsley, John (2011). Nature's building blocks: an A-Z guide to the elements.Oxford University Press. pp. 492-498.
