How To Look After Your 925 Sterling Silver
After a while, all sterling silver will tarnish and require a polish. It's perfectly normal, it shouldn't spoil your gift and can usually be cleaned in a matter of minutes.
What Is Silver Tarnishing?
It's a natural process that discolours the surface, it changes colour from a light yellow/brown all the way to a dark purple/black. Silver tarnishing is accelerated by handling or when it comes in to contact with the wrong cleaners, wool, paint, stainless steel and rubber, just to name a few. (so, no handling with rubber/latex gloves or using rubber bands!). Humidity and temperature change can also accelerate tarnishing.
How To Clean Silver
As soon as you see a discolouration, clean it off – it's easy. We recommend purchasing a silver polish (such as Silvo – Silver Polish Wadding) and a soft non-scratch cloth. Both are available from most supermarkets. Silvo also contains an anti-tarnish guard which helps delay the discoloured tarnish that builds up on the surface of silver. Just lightly wipe the surface of your silver in soft straight strokes with the wadding or polish (not in circles) , then do the same again with a soft non-scratch cloth.
There are lots of old fashioned methods to clean silver, such as with toothpaste. We would advise avoiding this, some modern ingredients like baking soda may damage your silver.
"Stick to well known brands, follow their instructions, use clean soft cloths and no scrubbing! "
How To Prevent Silver Tarnishing
If your silver is in a display cabinet, try not to handle it often and don't place directly on a painted surface. Prevent humidity and temperature changes by not storing in the kitchen or a room exposed to outside temperatures, like a garage.
If it's not on display, wrap it in some acid free tissue-paper (don't used rubber bands), then put it in an airtight container or airtight plastic bag (like a clip/zip bag). You could even add a little bag of silica gel (which removes humidity), but not if within reach of children.
"Use a silver cleaner with an anti-tarnishing ingredient."
