Although silver jewelry is not as expensive as gold jewelry, it has its own charm. More feminine and delicate accessories attract a large number of young girls, so a huge number of different rings and earrings are sold annually. However, this precious metal has one unpleasant feature - it quickly dims and even darkens. That is why it is worth learning how to clean a silver ring from black correctly in order to return the jewelry to its original beautiful appearance.
There are many home-made ways to bring silver rings to their appeal that are easy to apply. This article will talk about how to clean a silver ring at home without much effort and time.
The reasons for the appearance of plaque
Silver is not only a beautiful precious metal, products from which can be purchased at a fairly low price, but also very useful. It has special healing properties that help kill harmful bacteria. However, due to the plaque, the rings lose not only their very beauty, but also their benefit, and therefore it is very important to know how to clean the darkened silver ring.
The most famous reasons why silver jewelery may tarnish include:
1. Close contact of silver with sulfur. During their chemical interaction, a new substance called silver sulfide is released. In appearance, it resembles a kind of analogue of black rust. However, silver does not allow sulfide to penetrate inside, and therefore it is quite simple to clean it from blackness.
2. In addition to sulfur, silver can also be damaged by water and cosmetics, which affect the noble metal in the home. Even profuse sweating can pretty much affect the beauty of the product. That is why it is important to know how to clean the blackened silver ring.
Silver, no matter how you care about it, will still become dimmer after a while, just the higher the sample, the longer it will take to wait. However, it is still better to take off any silver rings while bathing and washing the laundry to prevent harmful contact.
Cleaning Methods
If you have a question about how to clean a silver ring at home, then you can use one of the tips below. Most often, simple dirt appears on jewelry, which is quite easy to handle. Now, many jewelry stores sell special substances that are designed specifically for cleaning silver products, as well as polishes for them. Using them is quite easy, the main thing is to withstand the rings in the product for the right amount of time, and then remember to wipe with a napkin.
However, if you do not want to spend extra money, but still are interested in how to clean a silver ring, then you can use improvised means.
Laundry soap
Conventional dirt is fairly easy to clean with a standard, inexpensive soap. In order to clean the silver ring well at home, you should take a piece of laundry soap and a grater. You need to grate a small amount of soap shavings, and then in a water bath heat the soap to a liquid state and dilute with a small amount of warm water. The silver ring should be put in the resulting mixture for 10 minutes. At the end of this time, you should remove the jewelry and brush it with a toothbrush. The movements should be soft so as not to scratch the surface of the metal.
Potatoes
If you are wondering about how to clean the silver ring in other ways, but without using chemicals, then ordinary potatoes can come to the rescue. This vegetable is a folk remedy that helps to combat blackness and darkening of a noble metal. To use the method, you just need to take ordinary raw potatoes, peel it, and then grate it until gruel. The mixture will be like the one used for making potato pancakes. After this, the potato mixture must be diluted with a small amount of warm water, mix everything and immerse a silver ring in it. It must be at least one hour to get the effect, but in this situation, the longer it is there, the more it will be easier to get rid of plaque.
After the ring has been removed from the potato gruel, it should be polished with a soft cloth to the desired shine. If potatoes did not help return the product to its original appearance, then you will have to use more serious methods.
Toothpaste
Toothpaste or powder can be an effective way to solve the problem for those who are wondering how to clean a silver ring. However, they should be used with great care, because the substances contained in the tooth powder are characterized by abrasive properties that can damage the precious metal. Yes, it will be possible to get the jewelry clean of blackness and plaque quite quickly and efficiently, but in the end, you can get some ugly scratches on the product that will only spoil the appearance of the ring. Due to its soft texture, the paste will be much less dangerous in this situation, however, the effect will be less.
To clean silver with toothpaste, a small amount of the substance should be applied to the ring, and then smeared throughout the product. After that, leave it for an hour, and then start direct cleaning. To do this, take a soft cotton napkin, with which you need to start polishing the ring. Once you achieve the desired result, you can rinse the accessory under running water to get rid of the remaining toothpaste, and then wipe it dry again.
Baking soda
The most famous way to clean a silver ring yourself at home is a recipe with ordinary baking soda, which can be found in any kitchen. For use, the first step is to make gruel - a small amount of soda should be diluted with clean warm water to obtain a mixture that resembles a paste in consistency. The paste is applied to a cotton pad or soft natural fabric, after which it is used for polishing.
You should be very careful about the cleaning process - all movements must be very soft to prevent scratches. After the procedure, the silver ring is washed with ordinary water, and then wiped to get rid of excess moisture.
Ammonia
If you do not want to use the methods listed above and are interested in how you can clean the silver ring yet, then take ammonia. This method is considered one of the most aggressive, and therefore you should do everything quickly and gently. To get a good result, you should take the ring and dip it in ammonia for a period not exceeding 5 minutes. After that, immediately start washing the product under normal running water until the smell of ammonia completely disappears. Then the ring is wiped with a cloth from excess moisture.
Coca Cola
Another interesting way to get rid of a ring from plaque is the most famous drink in the world - Coca-Cola. To do this, it should be poured into a conventional pan and put on the stove to heat. The ring should lie for five to seven minutes in the stake, while it boils over low heat. After this, the product must be removed and washed in warm water, and then thoroughly dried.
Lipstick
Women can be attracted by the possibility of using bored lipstick as a cleaning agent. If the color is no longer attractive, but just do not want to throw it away, use lipstick to restore the former glory to the silver ring. To do this, apply a small amount of it on a regular cotton swab, and then use it to rub all sides of the ring to obtain a shine on the product. Rinse off the lipstick with a regular soap solution - this method will be most effective.
Cleaning silver rings with stones
It is quite simple to clean ordinary silver rings even at home, however, if the product has stones, then everything gets complicated quite strongly, because you also need to consider how the insert responds to the cleaning agent. However, since expensive stones are almost never inserted into silver jewelry, which have a fairly low price, you need to be guided by the rules for cleaning soft stones.
To clean a silver ring with cubic zirconias is quite simple if you know how the density of stones differs, and what kind of cleaning rules exist. The following methods should be followed:
1. Toothbrush and laundry detergent are recommended for dense stones, such as sapphire and emerald.
2. Opals, moonstones, turquoise and malachite are best cleaned with laundry soap.
3. Under no circumstances should products with pomegranate, ruby or topaz be heated or immersed in hot water.
However, it is best to hand over such decorations for cleaning to the salon or buy a special ultrasonic bath. The same applies to those rings that have an insert of organic origin, such as coral or amber. They are extremely whimsical, and an alkaline environment can completely destroy all the beauty of the accessory.
Storage rules
To prevent the need for a new cleaning, you should follow several rules for the care of rings and other silver jewelry. These include:
1. Be sure to remove the rings during physical training, as there is a lot of perspiration.
2. Do not allow silver to come in contact with cleaning products or boiled eggs.
3. Store silver rings in dry places where they cannot come in contact with water. The ideal place for this would be caskets. If you rarely wear jewelry, then as an additional means of protection, you can wrap them in a regular napkin, and then foil. This must be done for each accessory separately, so as not to allow their contact.
In addition, to reduce the humidity of the environment, it is advisable to put absorbent sachets in the jewelry box. They can easily be found in shoe boxes when buying a new pair. So instead of just throwing them away, take advantage of their useful properties.
Conclusion
Silver, although it belongs to the category of precious metals, is much less durable than gold or platinum. That is why it should be carefully looked after to prevent the appearance of blackness or plaque. Asking a preliminary question about how to clean silver rings or earrings, it should be understood that the cleaning procedure itself must be thorough, but very gentle. Self-cleaning can lead to scratches on the product, which will very much spoil its appearance and drop its value, and therefore, you should not take the first product and immediately apply it, not observing the existing rules.