How to Clean Tarnished Sterling Silver (Without Wrecking It)
Silver is a beautiful metal and loves to be worn every day — but it's a bit of a diva. It reacts to your skin, perfume, sunscreen, salt water and chlorine, and it'll tarnish over time. The good news: a couple of small habits keep it looking lush with almost no effort.
A little regular wear keeps silver bright.
Keep your silver shiny: the busy person's edition
- Wear it! The friction of regular wear keeps silver bright — your everyday pieces need the least care.
- Put it on last, take it off first. After perfume, sunscreen and hairspray; before showering, swimming or the gym.
- Store it dry and away from other jewellery. A small zip-lock bag with the air squeezed out works wonders. Throw in an anti-tarnish strip or a silica gel sachet if you want to be fancy.
- Avoid: chlorinated pools, bleach, salt water, hot tubs, harsh chemicals and fake-tan.
The easiest cleaning hack ever
If your silver does start looking a bit dull, this kitchen trick brings it right back:
- Line a bowl with aluminium foil.
- Add a heaped spoonful of bicarbonate of soda.
- Pop your silver in.
- Cover with boiling water.
- Rinse, dry, and admire your super-shiny silver.
Foil, bicarb and boiling water — that's the whole kit.
That's it — no gadgets needed. Your kitchen has everything.
One small caveat: this one's for plain silver. If a piece has stones, pearls or a deliberately blackened finish, skip the hack and just stick to the dry-storage habits above.
Anna x
Hammered and textured finishes hide the odd scratch better than a mirror polish, which is one reason my hammered pieces and bangles get worn every day. If you want to know what the metal is in the first place, what 925 means and what recycled silver is cover it. And if a piece has gone past what a cloth can fix, send me a photo.