by Isabelle Esteves

Created on: June 20, 2010   Last Updated: June 21, 2010

Sterling silver is a precious metal. It has a beauty that is unmistakable. It has cleaning challenges that are quite different than the care of other types of precious metals. You may think that you don't have any sterling silver that needs cleaning. Chances are you are wrong. You may not own a sterling silver tray but sterling silver jewelry is very much in style and the process of removing tarnish is the same for jewelry as it is for larger pieces.

It is very evident know  you need to clean your sterling. Tarnish is a black dull residue that greatly affects the looks and beauty of your sterling silver.

What is tarnish?

Tarnish is a dull oxidation that takes away the beauty of your silver. It will look gray or black either all over or in spots. You will want to throw away your silver but don't do it. There are several ways to remove the ugly tarnish and restore your sterling silver to shining beauty.

Silver polish

Polish for sterling silver is for sale in your local grocery store. This is applied with a rag and allowed to dry on the surface. You then buff it off of the item with another clean cloth. If there is an intricate design you can take the silver polish on a tooth brush and rub it right into the design. This requires a little elbow grease and you can get any residue off by washing and drying the items.

Silver polishing cloth

There are specially treated silver polishing clothes that you can buy for use a couple of dollars, most of them cost about $4. You just wipe the sterling silver items with the cloth which is made of cotton flannel and you will be amazed at how black it will become. You can use this cloth until it is totally black. This works especially well on items that do not have an intricate design.

Natural choice

There are other options to clean some of your sterling silver. This methods works particularly well for flatware and trays. Purchase a disposable aluminum pan, boil some water and cover the items in your pan. Mix 1/2 cup of baking soda in some boiling water and pour into the pan. It works like magic, your tarnish will be lifted off of the silver by the interaction between the aluminum, the baking soda and the silver oxide (tarnish). Be sure that all the pieces are touching the aluminum or nothing will happen.

Avoid the tarnish

After you have cleaned your sterling silver you want to try to retard the tarnish from coming back. There are anti-tarnish strips that you can place in your cabinet and there are jewelry boxes that are treated to make sure that if it is going to tarnish, at least it may take a while. Store your pieces in individual zip-lock bags or Tupperware containers. Humidity can accelerate tarnish so you want to keep your pieces as dry as possible. You can not stop tarnish completely but the beauty of silver is worth the extra work.

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