A multi-purpose cleaner

Last year, my dear friend Karen bought me a beautiful, hand-made silver chain and pendant from a well-known jewellery designer in the UK.   I wore it day in and day out and then decided to clean it using the branded “silver cleaner for jewellery” product that I had bought at The Bay.

The chain melted into small pieces!

When Karen returned the pieces (sigh!) to the maker, she was told that the silver should only be cleaned with a soft cloth.  I checked the container and it definitely said it was safe for silver … strange!  Oh well, they replaced the chain with a reminder to clean it with just a soft silver cleaning cloth – no chemicals.

If you know me, you will know that I try in every way possible to minimize my interaction with anything synthetic, so I threw out the cleaner and resolved to use a soft cloth from thereon.  Trouble is, it didn’t work as well as I would have liked.  And then …

I was at an artisan’s market in Mexico and after buying a lovely silver and pearl ring, I asked Adam (yes, he is Mexican!) how I should clean silver jewellery and here is his advice (it applies to all silver.)

For plain silver items: (no stones, pearls etc.)

Dip the item(s) in water and rub Baking Soda into all the gaps and corners, making like a softly abrasive paste.  Keep rubbing, making sure you cover all surfaces, and rinse well under cold water.  Then, simply rub the piece with a soft cotton cloth and BINGO!  He used my silver earrings for his demonstration and they shone like new!

Instead of buying expensive and toxic chemicals to clean your silver, why not buy inexpensive Baking Soda in bulk?