Tired of your jewellery tarnishing? Here’s what I do……

I’ve just read an article on how to keep  shiny silver jewellery shiny and tarnish free. And it’s green, no , not the tarnish, that’s black, but it does involve recycling and it’s free !

We all know  those little silica gel packs that come in boxes of stuff you’ve bought  (The ones that say “don’t eat”.)

Well,I’ve just read that  these little freebies are an excellent way of preventing tarnish appearing on  silver. Apparently, I just pop them into a bag or box with my jewellery and it will stay shining and clean. They work by removing moisture from the atmosphere- without which, tarnish cannot form. There’s a novel way of recycling! (although the article didn’t say so)  I think that they may be toxic though ( hence do not eat!), so I must take care to keep them out of the reach of  children  and pets etc I’ll try it and let you know if it seems to work.

If it does work, it’ll really help  as  jewellery will aways be in tip top condition and ready to wear. It’ll save me time and expense cleaning my jewellery with chemical de-tarnishers.

On the odd occasion when I do have some tarnished jewellery to clean, I usually resort to the old fashioned kitchen foil and bicarbonate of soda method. Not heard of this one? it’s easy, I put a piece of kitchen foil into some hot water in a bowl in the kitchen sink and sprinkle in some bicarbonate of soda from my store cupboard. I then put the tarnished silver into the bowl and leave it for a few minutes. The black tarnish miraculously leaves the silver and ends up on the kitchen foil, leaving my jewellery shining and bright. It’s pure chemistry, can’t remember what the process is called – is it electrolysis? or is that hair removal? or is it both? can’t remember these days! I wouldn’t use this method if the jewellery is stone set or particularly valuable as some gemstones or pearls are porous and may be damaged by the chemical reaction. If in doubt about any jewellery related cleaning, I’d always advise customers to seek the advice of a reputable jeweller who may also offer a cleaning service. Anyway,that’s what I do  when I  need a quick fix for tarnish. What’s your tip?  (nb -This is purely to let you know what I do, if you decide to try either these methods  and I’m not advocating that you necessarily do, it’s entirely at your own risk!!!)