How to Clean Silver the Right Way

Having silver jewelry, serving ware, plates, and more is beautiful to look at. But after a while, no matter how much we take care of our silver, it starts to get smudged, dirty, and looks old. Cleaning it is not as simple as wiping it down because smudges tend to stick and just move around. No need to fuss with remedies that don’t work because we discuss how to clean silver for every different occasion right here. 

The good news is that silver doesn’t require too much tenderness, love, and care. Once you polish it off the right way the first time, you are good to go for a while before you need to worry about it again. If you over-polish your silver, you can end up wearing it down since the process is abrasive no matter how gentle you are. 

So, let’s talk about how to do it the right way!

How Does Silver Tarnish?

There are several ways that silver can tarnish, including exposure to chemicals. Here are some facts to help you understand how and why tarnish occurs.

• Silver tarnishes more quickly in humid environments than in dry ones because moisture in the air is a key culprit in the formation of tarnish.
• Sulfur is another major culprit in tarnish and it’s in just about everything, including the air we breathe and the clothes we wear.
• Proper storage is essential to prevent tarnish on everything from silver jewelry to your wedding silver.

Other culprits that can cause silver tarnishing:

• Chlorine in pool water or even tap water
• Sterling silver that has copper reacts more to oxygen
• Different acids (this is why silver wrapped in tissue paper blackens)
• Skin can also cause blackening depending on the acidity of it

Many things can tarnish your silver because many products have acid and sulfur in them. Being mindful of where you store your silver is the best way to preserve it.

Quick Tips For Slowing Down Tarnishing

Before we get into how to clean your silver, let’s address some preventative tips that can help slow the process down or keep you from having to clean it regularly. If you are always tarnishing your silver, the silver itself will get more beat up every time you have to clean it. The less you clean it in some cases the better. 

1. Wearing any silver jewelry can keep it from tarnishing faster in some cases. This mostly applies to sterling silver because the oils from your skin can keep it from tarnishing through oxidation. However, pure silver is different, and oils and acid from perfumes can cause it to speed up. If you want to put perfume on or lotion, don’t do it while you already have the jewelry on. Put jewelry on afterward. 
2. Do not swim either in chlorine pool water or seawater as both will affect on the jewelry. Keeping it at home is the best idea. 
3. Keep your silver in an odorless, dry, and protected area to keep it from being exposed to the common culprits that promote tarnishing in the first place. You can use silica to remove moisture from drawers or cabinets. 
4. Stay away from tissue paper, rubber, and other materials that contain acid. Also, do not mix different metals in your jewelry boxes. 

How to Clean Silver 

Ok, so now that we know what causes some of the damage let’s get into what we need to clean silver and how to approach pop silver items. Knowing how to clean silver jewelry at home or how to clean silver plates can save you some money and a trip to the jewelry cleaner. 

Using a Silver Polishing Cloth

If you want to know how to polish silver jewelry, a polishing cloth will help you get the job done with ease. You can find a silver polishing microfiber cloth at a local jewelry store. They are inexpensive and usually pre-infused with a silver polishing compound that helps remove any tarnish. One side will be your treated side of the cloth, and the other will be a buffer. 

To Use:

1. Hold the silver carefully with clean hands and use your compound side of the cloth first. Wipe all around the surface, making sure to rub thoroughly. 
2. Once going over all the surface area, use the buffing side to remove all the compound from the silver. You won’t notice the build-up of the compound on the silver. It’s light but still needs to be wiped up.
3. Apply light pressure while you buff out the smudges to get the silver to a shiny look. 

That’s it! Simple as that. 

Homemade Remedies For Cleaning Silver

Not everyone has a polishing cloth handy but there are some simple DIY home remedies that you can use to clean silver. Using foil, vinegar, and coke are just a few to name when you are trying to figure out how to clean silver jewelry at home. Let’s take a look at each method and how it can be more useful. 

How to Clean Silver with Baking Soda

Arm and Hammer baking soda will tell you right on their website how to polish your silver. Baking soda is a great household product because it does a lot of the heavy lifting for you without having to scrub too hard on the silver. Here’s what they suggest.

Materials:

• Baking Soda
• Water
• Small Bowl 
• Clean soft small sponge or cloth

How To:

1. In your small bowl, pour about half a box of baking soda in and mix with water. You want it to turn into a paste and not be too runny. It also needs to be thoroughly wet.
2. Once the paste is good to go, dip the soft cloth or sponge into your paste and start rubbing it onto the silver material. 
3. Depending on how tarnished the silver is you can leave the paste on for up to 10 minutes. The more tarnished the longer you should leave it on. 
4. Use cool water to rinse the banking soda off the silver. 
5. Dry the silver and buff it with a soft cloth to make it shine. 

How to Clean Silver with Foil

The aluminum foil recipe works wonders when it comes to polishing your tarnished silver. Here you can avoid using chemical cleaners and instead rely on the reaction of materials when combined. This method can work if you want to know how to polish a silver ring or how to polish a silver necklace. 

Materials:

• Aluminum foil
• Water
• Baking Soda

How To:

1. Combine one liter of hot water, one tablespoon of baking soda, and lastly, one piece of aluminum foil, and bring to a boil. 
2. After, drop your silver in the pot carefully and leave for 10 seconds. You can leave it a little longer if it is very tarnished. 
3. Use kitchen tongs to bring it out and voila, it should look like new. Wipe down with a cloth. 

How to Clean Silver Chain with Vinegar

Vinegar is another excellent way to clean your silver. Here you will also want to use baking soda to help amp up the cleaning process. It’s recommended that if you are working with antique silver items avoid this recipe. It’s most recommended for sterling silver jewelry and cutlery. 

Materials:

• White Distilled Vinegar
• Baking Soda
• Bowl

How To:

1. Place all your silver items in a bowl and cover them all with white distilled vinegar. 
2. Add 4 tablespoons of baking soda into the bowl for every cup of white distilled vinegar you use. 
3. Let the silverware and jewelry soak for up to an hour. When finished, drain and use a soft cloth to wipe away the mixture and buff out the silver. 

How to Clean Silver with Coke

If you have a bottle of Coca-Cola hanging around the house and you aren’t keen on finishing it, there are some other great uses for it. Coke can help you clean all your silver and get rid of the purple tint that makes it look so dirty. 

Materials:

• Coke
• Small Bowl

How To:

Coke is one of the easiest materials to work with. You simply need to fill a small bowl up with Coke and let your silver items soak in there for a few minutes. You don’t need to leave it in there too long because Coke is acidic. When silver gets overpolished with chemicals or acid, it can remove the tarnish but also remove the shine. This leaves it looking flat and dull. 

Using Toothpaste to Clean Silver

Everyone has some toothpaste in their house and it can be a great way to clean your silver. All you need to do for this remedy is squeeze a tiny bit of non-abrasive and non-gel toothpaste onto a soft cloth and rub it around the silver.  Leave it on for about five minutes and simply rinse it off with cold water when done. Buff it out with a handkerchief or cloth! It’s important to know that you should never use a toothbrush to clean your silver. This is too abrasive and can cause you to scrub away the shining coating. 

Bring on the Shine

Your silver shouldn’t sit collecting dust and getting tarnished. It’s beautiful regardless of whether it is antique silver or jewelry. It should be shown off! But there is nothing less appealing than seeing it turn funky colors. That leaves us to Googling things like, “how to clean silver when it turns black?” But luckily, we listed several tips above that you can use. Some are better for certain types of silver than others. 

It’s also important to remember that if you spend some time with preventative care for your silver, you may not need to do as much work later on trying to clean it. These things can be simple, like wearing or using it, avoiding perfumes or sticky residues, and keeping it in dry spaces away from the humidity. 

With these things in mind, your silver is far less likely to be tarnished and much more likely to shine as it should! 

FAQ

Does storing silver with chalk help to prevent tarnish?

Yes, particularly if you live in a humid client. Chalk absorbs moisture from the air, and that can play an important role in preventing tarnish. Simply place a piece of plain white chalk in the box where you store your silver to reap the benefits of this simple hack.

When should I use a professional silver cleaning product?

If you’ve tried the simple home methods in this article and they haven’t worked, you may want to buy a professional product. The same is true if you have a piece of silver jewelry or flatware with an intricate design. It can sometimes be difficult to remove all tarnish on these items, so it may be worthwhile to spend some money to get them truly clean.

What’s the best way to clean silver plated items?

Silver plating and antique silver both require a gentle cleaning method since scrubbing and some cleaning products may damage them. You can start by testing whichever cleaning method you choose on a hidden area of the item. For extremely valuable or antique items, consulting with an expert or jeweler may be your best bet.

Citations

1 Locker, M. (2024, September 16). Store Your Silver With A Piece of Chalk To Prevent Tarnish. Retrieved August 3, 2024, from https://www.southernliving.com/home/organization/how-to-prevent-silver-from-tarnishing

2 How Stuff Works (2025, January 30). How To Clean Silver Using Only Common Household Items. Retrieved August 3, 2024, from https://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/household-hints-tips/cleaning-organizing/how-to-clean-sterling-silver.htm

3 Bennett, J. (2025, January 13). How To Clean Silver and Prevent Tarnish Using Pantry Ingredients. Retrieved August 3, 2024, from https://www.bhg.com/homekeeping/house-cleaning/tips/how-to-clean-silver/