Silver is one of the oldest metals on earth. From time immemorial it was used for the manufacture of dishes, cutlery, household utensils and jewelry. Sparkling metal looks elegant and expensive. Silver noblely emphasizes the play of the facets of precious metals and the depth of their color. But this one has one significant drawback. In conditions of high humidity, under the influence of chemicals and just from contact with the human body, silver darkens, turning after a while into "black metal". To clean silver products at home, soda is used. We will tell you more about how this happens in our article.
Recommendations for the purification of silver at home
The following recommendations will be useful to anyone who is starting to clean silverware for the first time:
- To clean the sparkling metal, ordinary baking soda (sodium bicarbonate, food supplement E500) is used, which is widely used in the preparation of dough products.
- Silver jewelry with precious stones can only be cleaned with soda manually. It is strictly forbidden to use boiling water or vinegar. If this condition is not met, the stones may peel off the decoration or they will lose their original appearance, burst, become cloudy, etc.
- To clean table silver and some other products, you can use soft toothbrushes and sponges.
- It is not recommended to clean silver objects with metal brushes, after which scratches remain on the surface of the product.
Soda Silver Purification
A solution of ordinary baking soda with water is suitable for cleaning silver products that are slightly cloudy and lose their original shine. In addition, you need a toothbrush and a container for the preparation of the solution. How to clean silver soda at home?
A tablespoon of soda should be diluted with water to a paste. Apply a small amount of the prepared mass to the toothbrush and clean the product. After completing the procedure, wash the item to be cleaned under running water and then wipe it dry with a cotton cloth. In this way, it is good to clean table silver and jewelry with precious stones. The main thing is not to use any metal brushes and sponges so that there are no traces on the surface of the product.
How to clean silver with salt and soda?
This method of purification of silver products is also called "grandmother". At the same time, it is one of the most effective ways to return products to their original form. But, despite the popularity of the method, not everyone knows how to clean silver with soda and salt. To do this, take both ingredients in equal proportions and add a little water to bring the dry mass to a state of gruel. Then apply the product to the product and leave it in this form for 10 minutes. After the specified time, rub the item with your hands or a toothbrush.
This method has certain advantages and disadvantages. It can only be used on products whose surface is not smooth, but embossed. This is due to the fact that salt is the strongest abrasive and leaves serious scratches on the surface. But with the help of such slurry you can get to hard-to-reach areas and remove all stagnant dirt.
Silver Toothpaste
Another simple and affordable way to cleanse silver from black with toothpaste and soda. But it should be immediately noted that if the surface of the product is corrugated, with thread or strong torsion (chain), then it is hardly possible to clean it completely to a shine. This is due to the fact that toothpaste does not penetrate very hard to reach places with contamination. How to clean silver with soda and toothpaste?
To do this, mix the paste with soda, in approximately the same ratio, apply the mass on a napkin and rub the product in a circular motion. Then it will need to be washed with water and wiped dry.
To clean silver at home with soda and ammonia?
If as a result of testing all the previous methods it was not possible to remove dirt from hard-to-reach areas, then it is worth using another method. It is based on how to clean silver with soda and ammonia quickly and efficiently.
In this case, after cleaning with soda, it is recommended to put the product in a solution of ammonia with water. When preparing it, a proportion of 1:10 is used. This means that 50 ml of water must be taken with 5 ml of ammonia. The product is placed in a solution for 45-60 minutes, and then washed with clean water and wiped dry.
Another interesting way
How to clean silver from black soda and foil? This method is the most effective and efficient at 100%, but you should use it as little as possible. Thanks to the step-by-step instructions, you can learn how to clean silver soda at home to a shine:
- Pour two glasses of water into a small pot.
- Add soda (2 tbsp. Tablespoons).
- Put the dishes on the fire and let the solution boil.
- Dip a silver product wrapped in foil in a soda solution and hold it in boiling water for 15 minutes.
- After the specified time, remove the product from the solution, rinse and wipe.
If the pollution of an item made of silver was insignificant, then you can not boil it in a solution, but only pour it over it. In this case, the container into which the product is placed must be covered with foil.