OK I know I know. That was a *hyperbolic title for the blog. But stick with me here.
Our "magic" recipe is as follows.
1) Boil a couple of cups worth of tap water.
2) Line a cereal bowl (or a larger bowl for say silverware etc.) with Aluminum Foil Shiny side up.
3) Add the silver so it touches the foil.
4) Add 1 tablespoon of Common Baking Soda
5) Add 1/2 teaspoon of table salt.
6) Gently pour the boiling water over the mix and agitate (swirl) gently without scorching your fingers LOL.
7) Strain after say 5 to 10 minutes or so and then dry off the Silver.
That is our recipe we have stuck by for years. We heard of other additives, but we stuck with it UNTIL about a month ago when my sister had a text fest with my wife on trying to clean her chains as follows...
Gina: Hi guys . Have a problem. Cleaning some of my chains today as instructed. I have one 24 inch chain that always tarnishes noticeably in a couple of spots. I cleaned it along with a few others. All came out great EXCEPT the 24 inch chain. The tarnish simply WILL NOT come off. Any suggestions? It's one of my faves! I think it's a snake chain? Thanks❤️
Mary Elizabeth: Try the same except use white vinegar and salt, that should handle it.
Gina: Full strength Vinegar??!!?? or Vinegar and boiled Water
Mary Elizabeth: No, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup to the same recipe.
(hour later) Gina: Not working, how long do I leave it in the solution?
Mary Elizabeth: An hour - But do it again using all new (foil etc.) shiny side up, Boiling Water, baking soda, salt and vinegar.
Gina: Done I will give it another hour and report back...
Gina: (an hour later) IT WORKED!! Thank you!
(End of text fest)
OK, I mean to tell you this chain was BADly tarnished. Beyond rescue.
So the moral of this story is as follows.
To the above recipe add White Vinegar. (CAUTION! If you add white vinegar to baking soda you get a virtual volcano, just add some red food coloring to entertain your kids).
So. Add the white vinegar LAST after the initial bubbling of the baking soda with the boiling water settles down and add it slowly.
Then let it sit for at least an hour. If it does not completely de-tarnish or bring back the shine; scrap the whole thing and start again from scratch and you might, in extreme cases, need to repeat it three or four times. However, any silver should be able to be completely brought back to life as above.
I challenge any of you reading this to try it and comment below (the FB version of this) and let us know how it went.
That is all for now.
Stop by our website for AWESOME DEALS of all sorts of Designer Sterling Silver Jewelry. And I just made it a bit easier to navigate.
Lastly, use Code JEWELRYNUT at checkout for 10% off anything on our site.
www.designersterlingsilver.com/collections
Dean Glosup
Designer Sterling Silver
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* "Hyperbolic."
An example of something that would be described as hyperbolic is a reaction by a person that is completely out-of-proportion to the events occurring.
hyperbolic
- of, having the nature of, or using hyperbole; exaggerated or exaggerating
- of, or having the form of, a hyperbola
- designating or of any of a set of six functions (hyperbolic sine, hyperbolic cosine, etc.) related to the hyperbola in a manner similar to that by which the trigonometric functions are related to the circle
Origin of hyperbolic
Late Latin hyperbolicus from Classical Greek hyperbolikos from hyperbol?: see hyperbola