How to easily clean a tarnished silver necklace?

Debbie diot
by Debbie diot

I think I read somewhere in Hometalk easy ways to clean my necklace which has become tarnished with age

It’s made with old California beach glass from the ‘30s. Thanks for your ideas!

  8 answers
  • Catherine Juhlin Catherine Juhlin on Nov 11, 2018

    Baking soda and water semi thick paste, tub it, then rinse off.

  • Carolyn Carolyn on Nov 11, 2018

    Take a small disposable aluminum pan and put about a half cup of baking soda in it. Next, pour boiling water into the pan with the baking soda and stir until it is dissolved. Then, put your necklace into the pan and it will magically remove the tarnish immediately. There must be enough water added to the pan to completely cover the necklace. Then, just remove it from the pan, rinse and dry. Good luck to you.

  • I would be wary of soaking it in anything because of the stones. I would hate to see them damaged. I would use a silver polishing cloth and clean it carefully, avoiding the stones.

  • Th toothpaste. Not gel, the old fashioned paste type and an old toothbrush, or pick one up at the dollar store. I have something similar and it worked for me. Beautiful necklace!

  • Johnavallance82 Johnavallance82 on Nov 12, 2018

    Hi there,

    Yes, Toothpaste and an old toothbrush is the best way to go, then rinse/brush in warm water to clear residue and buff dry......

  • Vera Johnson Vera Johnson on Nov 13, 2018

    I have tons of old sterling silver jewelry. I've tried everything that anyone told me about. Toothpaste and old or very soft new toothbrush work the best, especially when there are intricate designs. If your silver is smooth the best is an actual jewelry cleaning cloth. They have 2 sides... for really cleaning, and for buffing

  • Nanaspeaks Nanaspeaks on Nov 17, 2018

    I like to use ketchup for my silver jewelry. Pretty inexpensive and works great leave it in the ketchup for a few minutes. Rinse well and dry well with soft cloth. Repeat if not perfect. I use a soft brush when needed. Good luck.

  • Chloe Crabtree Chloe Crabtree on Oct 02, 2022

    These are many ways to clean your silver, try one of these:

    No more tarnishing with aluminum

    Boil 4 cups of water, a tablespoon of baking soda, and some aluminum foil. Place silverware in for 10 seconds then remove with kitchen tongs.

    Ketchup isn’t just for eating

    Tarnished silver can be polished with ketchup using a paper towel – for silver that has crevices, use a toothbrush.

    Kill two birds with one stone

    When using Windex to clean your windows, spray some on a rag and use it to scrub your silver.

    Brush your silver with toothpaste

    Use circular motions to brush non-gel and non-abrasive toothpaste onto silver. Leave on for five minutes before washing off with water.

    Use soda for tarnished silver

    Fill a plastic bowl with lemon-lime soda and place slightly tarnished silver in it for one hour. Rinse and dry with a paper towel.