How To Remove Tarnish from Sterling Silver Jewelry

Sterling silver jewelry is very pretty when it is clean. Unfortunately sterling silver does tarnish over time. There are many products on the market that claim to remove tarnish but they can be expensive and sometimes not work properly. Here is a tip to remove tarnish from your sterling silver jewelry that works and is very inexpensive.

Things You'll Need:

• Tarnished sterling silver jewelry
• Soft cloth
• Toothbrush
• White paste toothpaste

Instructions

1. 

   Squeeze a dime sized amount of toothpaste on your index finger. Using your index finger and thumb rub the toothpaste on your jewelry. Rub thoroughly, using more toothpaste as needed. You want to completely coat your tarnished jewelry. Make sure to really rub the tarnished areas of your jewelry. It is important to use a white paste like Colgate. Gel toothpastes do not work as good

2. 

   Rinse your jewelry under warm running water while rubbing the jewelry. Most of the toothpaste will come off, but some will still be left in the grooves or textures. That is perfectly ok

3. 

   Moisten your toothbrush and add some more toothpaste on the brush. Brush your jewelry thoroughly. Rinse all the toothpaste off of your brush and jewelry. If any toothpaste is remaining in any grooves or textures just brush it off with your wet toothbrush

4. 

   Using a soft cloth dry your jewelry completely. It is very important to dry your jewelry thoroughly. If any tarnish still remains simply rub it off with the dry soft cloth.

Alternative:

1. Mix 2 tbsp. water with 1/4 cup baking soda to create a paste. Dampen a clean sponge with cool water and dip the sponge into the paste.

2. Rub the tarnished silver with the sponge. Continuing applying more paste and rubbing the silver until you have removed the tarnish.

3. Rinse the paste residue off the silver and buff dry with a lint-free towel.