How to clean silver jewelry: wash, polish, dip or aluminium and washing soda, and how to stop tarnish

Before you clean silver jewelry

• Solid or plated? Look for hallmarks. On silver-plated pieces, the CCI warns that any tarnish removal can be very damaging, because the silver layer is thin.
• Stones, pearls, glue or hollow parts? A piece that mixes silver with other materials, or has sealed hollow sections, should not be soaked: liquid gets trapped inside and dips attack organic materials.
• Gilding or decoration? Polishes damage gilding, and dips used carelessly over-clean chased, engraved or embossed work.

Step 1: remove grime

Wash or swab the piece with a mild detergent and water, keeping any non-metal parts dry. Rinse, then dry with a soft cloth or warm air. The CCI uses distilled water to avoid leaving deposits.

Three ways to remove tarnish

Using a silver polish or cloth

1. 01

   Start with the cloth

   Silver polishing cloths are the gentlest abrasive option, best for buffing light tarnish.

2. 02

   Choose a silver polish

   Not a general metal polish: those are more abrasive and remove more silver.

3. 03

   Use fresh polish

   Old, dried-out polish clumps into coarser particles and scratches more. Keep the lid closed.

4. 04

   Remove residues

   If the piece can get wet, wash off the polish with mild detergent and water and dry it. Polish left in crevices can turn green, because the ammonia in many polishes dissolves copper from the alloy.

Using a silver dip safely

Manufacturers often suggest submerging the piece, but the CCI warns this easily over-cleans. The safer way is to apply the dip locally with a cotton swab, then rinse with water to remove every trace. Keep exposure short to avoid pitting. A yellowish film left afterwards can be buffed off with a silver polishing cloth. Never dip pieces with sealed hollow parts: the liquid seeps in and cannot be washed out.

The aluminium and washing soda method

When silver touches aluminium and both sit in a warm solution of washing soda (sodium carbonate), the tarnish slowly turns back into silver. Afterwards, rinse the piece well to remove all the solution. The surface may look dull and matte; a silver polishing cloth brings back the shine. This method suits only solid silver with no stones, glue or hollow parts, and silver cleaned this way may tarnish again sooner than polished silver. Washing soda is not the same as baking soda: follow the product label for safe handling.

How to stop silver jewelry tarnishing

• Keep pieces clean and dust-free.
• Store each piece in a sealed polyethylene bag, wrapped in acid-free, unbuffered tissue paper.
• Add an anti-tarnish cloth: those embedded with silver particles are the most effective.
• Small sachets of silica gel and activated charcoal in the bag give extra protection.
• Handle polished pieces with clean hands or cotton gloves: skin oils and salts leave marks.

Sources

Conservation guidance, checked on 2 November 2026 (02/11/2026).

• Canadian Conservation Institute · Silver: care and tarnish removal (CCI Notes 9/7) ↗Silver sulphide tarnish; each removal takes away silver; gloves; hallmarks, plated pieces, composite and hollow objects, gilding; washing with detergent and drying; polishing cloths, silver polishes versus general metal polishes, old polish, residues and ammonia; local dips with a cotton swab, ventilation and rubber gloves, pitting and hollow parts; aluminium and warm sodium carbonate, rinsing, matte finish; storage in polyethylene bags, acid-free tissue, silver-particle cloths, silica gel and activated charcoal. Read in the browser.