You can make all your tarnished silver jewelry look like new in 10 minutes using materials you already have laying around the house.
This technique works on all your sterling and fine silver jewelry. Also, it’s safe for delicate stones and pearls. Unlike the acid based cleaning solutions!
And unlike acid based cleaners, you don’t have to buff and polish the finish back onto your pieces. It is such a mild process that it eliminates any handwork.
Here is all you need.
Baking Soda
Aluminum Foil
Glass Casserole Dish
To get started line a glass dish with aluminum foil and place your jewelry on top. You can fit quite a bit in but don’t overlap pieces and make sure each piece is touching the foil.
Sprinkle the baking soda so that it covers the jewelry. It doesn’t have to be really heavy, think of it like putting a dusting of sugar on your cereal 
Note: Don’t put any kind of steel in with your jewelry to be cleaned. The reason is complicated, but if you don’t want any complications just don’t do it.
Boil enough water to cover everything, either in the microwave* or on the stovetop, then pour this over the jewelry and baking soda. Let soak for 10 minutes.
(*Martha Stewart moment… A side benefit to heating water in the microwave is that while your jewelry is soaking you can take a clean cloth and wipe out the microwave of any residue or splatters and have a sparkly oven too. The steam created from boiling water there loosens everything up and makes cleaning a dream.)
Once the time is up, rinse under WARM water and put on a towel to dry. You don’t want to shock your jewelry with cold water because this has the potential to cause delicate stones and glass to crack or break!
The tarnish is transferred from your jewelry to the foil effortlessly. For pieces with excessive tarnish it may take 2 dips to make them completely shiny.
This method is so easy and inexpensive that you will want to do everything you own and then look for more. You will never think of using anything else to clean your silver jewelry again.
By the way… this is how I keep all my jewelry at www.sevenyaks.etsy.com clean.
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5 comments
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December 22, 2009 at 7:50 PM
Margie
is this good for silver plated costume jewelery?
December 22, 2009 at 8:46 PM
7yaks
I have used it successfully on silver plated pieces. I would test something that might not break your heart if it didn’t go well before you commit to pieces with more emotional value.
February 11, 2013 at 4:10 PM
Kimberly Richards Burns
Oops! I used a jewelry cleaner that I thought was safe on my Pandora bracelet! I about passed out when it came out brass! I’m so glad I found your blog on this, it came out great! Thank you so much!!!
February 18, 2013 at 12:28 PM
Allison (@allisonsan)
Thanks for posting such great instructions – I had 2 necklaces I got from Kohl’s that were silver color and had tarnished black. This worked so well and they look like new!
May 10, 2013 at 1:08 AM
simple methods | little minx
[…] didn’t require harsh chemicals or a specialised product. As is so often the answer, I found this amazing method using tinfoil, baking soda, and boiling water. 10 minutes later and my rings are a […]