Surely every family has silverware, whether it’s dishes or jewelry. As practice shows, at some point people are faced with a problem associated with the darkening of such things. The question is how to clean silver at home from black.
Before describing the technique of independent quick and effective silver cleaning, let’s talk about why this precious material darkens. An interesting fact is that in some cases, silver products retain their original appearance for many years, while others darken almost before our eyes.
Why does silver blacken on the body?
According to astrologers, the darkening of silver jewelry indicates a deterioration in health, damage or the evil eye. I will try to explain this with the help of chemistry and medicine.
Chemical reasons
- Silver is an oxidizable metal. Upon contact with sulfur, it is coated with an oxide film of a dark shade, which subsequently turns black. This is the result of a normal chemical reaction. In the human body, silver is an oxidizing agent of sweat, which includes amino acids containing sulfur.
- Pure silver due to its high softness is not used in the manufacture of jewelry. Therefore, silver jewelry contains copper or zinc, making the product stronger.
- The oxidation rate directly depends on the amount of silver in the jewelry. The smaller, the faster it becomes covered with a dark film. Silver 925 is considered the best option. It is strong enough, darkens less often and is not so oxidized.
- Some jewelers coat silver jewelry with a rhodium-plated coating that provides a bright shine and prevents oxidation. After the wear of this layer, the decoration begins to darken. This is why some objects darken after a few years.
- If the product has darkened extremely quickly, it is most likely that it has little rhodium or is completely absent there. Such jewelry is made by unscrupulous craftsmen who sell products to tourists.
Medical reasons
- Silverware darkening on a person is evidence of natural perspiration.
- If the jewelry darkened much faster, this is the first sign of increased sweating, which can act as a messenger of a high load on the body or a symptom of some disease.
- When the darkening of jewelry is accompanied by the occurrence of painful sensations, you will have to contact the nearest clinic and undergo a comprehensive examination.
Now you know the chemical and medical reasons for darkening silver. The time has come to talk about the intricacies of cleaning. Of course, the best jeweler with the necessary knowledge and experience will be able to cope with this task. However, silver can be cleaned independently at home. You will need to purchase a silver jewelry care product in a jewelry store or use improvised and folk remedies.
How to clean silver from black - folk remedies
When caring for silver products, do not use products that contain aggressive abrasives. This is especially true for the care of things made of silver with gilding. Do not even try to clean the dirt with sharp objects to avoid serious damage.
I’ll tell you how to clean the silver product from blackness and restore the previous look with the help of ten improvised tools that are present in every kitchen or bathroom.
- Lemon acid. Pour half a liter of water into a glass jar, add 100 grams of citric acid and put in a water bath. In the resulting liquid, lower the silver thing. After 30 minutes, remove the silver from the water and rinse. This is a simple but highly effective way.
- Soda. Mix a small amount of soda with water to make a liquid, porridge-like composition. Clean the silver product gently with a tool. I recommend cleaning with a small cloth or a piece of bandage, and with a toothbrush you can get to hard to reach places.
- Coca Cola. Pour a little drink into a small container and lower the product into it. Put the dishes on the stove and boil for two minutes. The presented method allows you to effectively remove a dark film from the surface of silver.
- Salt. Pour a glass of water in a convenient container, add a spoonful of salt, mix and place a silver object in the solution for several hours. To speed up the process, the silver product can be boiled a little in saline. After such a water procedure, rinse the thing thoroughly.
- Vinegar. Canteen and mold cope well with Apple vinegar. Gently wipe the metal with a cloth dampened with pre-warmed vinegar. After the product rinse with clean water.
- Lipstick. This cleansing technique comes down to lipstick polishing. It is better to polish a jewelry or other silver product with a toothbrush. After cleaning, rinse the thing with warm water.
- Toothpaste. Apply a little paste to the brush and start polishing the item. This is a time-consuming and lengthy process, but the result will be impressive.
- Detergent, salt and water. Pour a liter of water into a small bowl and add one spoonful of detergent, salt and soda. Pour the resulting solution into an aluminum container, place a silver product there and put the dishes on the stove. In a third of an hour, the product will become like new.
- Eraser. In each house there is such a stationery thing, with which you can easily and quickly polish a silver ring. True, eliminating plaque from the wicker chain will not work.
- Cooked Egg Fluid. In slightly cooled water, in which eggs were boiledplace the silver item. In this liquid, an item made of silver will clean well. A little later to get and wipe dry.
You can remove the black film from the surface of a silver object by mechanical cleaning. True, it is better not to use this technique for expensive products, so as not to damage the surface. For dishes and cutlery, this technology is indispensable.
In conclusion, I add a few words about the prevention of darkening of silver. First of all, a thing made of this metal should be washed periodically using a soap solution or a mixture consisting of ethyl alcohol and ammonia.
It is better to store silver jewelry in a special case. After use, silverware is recommended to be thoroughly wiped and completely dried.
