First of all there is no fool-proof plan to protect your Silver articles from turning black because silver reacts with so many materials found in our everyday life. The best you can do is storing it properly so as to minimize its tarnishing.
The main objective is to prevent your silver from any exposure to Air, Humidity and Heat. In order to do that you have to store it the right way.
Things that you will require for storing your Silver properly are:
- Anti–tarnish Cloth/Flannel Pouch ( Or Acid–free Tissue Paper): These Anti-tarnish Cloth/Pouches are specially treated with chemicals to minimize the process of tarnishing of silver.
- Ziploc Bag (Or any Airtight Plastic Bag): These bags are airtight and prevent the Silver from any contact with air.
- Anti-tarnish Strip: These Strips are specially made to absorb the tarnishing agents present in the air around us.
Method:
- Wrap your Silver Item in an Anti-tarnish Cloth/Flannel Pouch. (Or Acid-free Tissue Paper)
- Put it in a Ziploc Bag. (Or in an Airtight Plastic Bag)
- Add an Anti-tarnish Strip in the bag before sealing it shut.
- Keep the bag in a cool dry place.
If you store your Silver Items carefully and in a proper way, you can avoid frequent tarnishing of the silver.
This in turn will save you from the time consuming labour of cleaning them over and over again. Frequent cleaning or polishing of silver ultimately damages its lustre and shine. So it’s better to avoid tarnishing as much as possible.
Do’s and Don’ts of using Silver Items.
DO’S
- Keep your Silver dry. Protect it from moisture as much as possible.
- If it gets wet, dry it off immediately with a soft cloth.
- Always clean your Silver with warm water after using it. Dry it off with a soft cloth.
- Always put on your Silver jewellery only after applying makeup and perfume, as these things accelerate tarnishing.
- Clean your Silver Jewellery after wearing it as the sweat and oils from our body speed up tarnishing.
- Store your Silver correctly.
DONT’S
- Don’t wear your Silver Jewellery while washing up or taking a bath.
- Don’t wrap your Silver in newspaper as the ink on the newspaper is acidic and may speed up tarnishing.
- Don’t use rubber bands on your Silverware as it contains sulphur and may tarnish your Silver.
- Don’t store your Silver in cardboard boxes as they retain moisture and may further increase tarnishing.
- Don’t keep all your Silver in a single bag/pouch as they will bump into each other and get scratched or dented. Pack each item separately.
So just follow these simple rules while using and storing Silver and you may keep your Silver shiny for longer period of time. It will minimize the need to polish them frequently. Thankfully tarnishing doesn’t actually damage the Silver. It just creates a coat of corrosion over its surface which can easily be cleaned with the methods given here.
