How to clean a silver ring until it shines
Sterling silver jewelry can last forever if it is properly cared for, including regular cleaning. Anyone who owns a silver ring or a silver wedding band should know how to properly clean it, or they might not have it looking good for too long. The same applies to sterling silver flatware, serving pieces and artwork. Silver is one of the most beautiful materials around, so a silver ring or other piece of jewelry should be tenderly loved and cared for.
The first step to cleaning a silver ring is finding the right cleaning product for the job. There are many different silver jewelry cleaning products out there, and they are not all equal. The most important thing is to avoid any products that contain bleach, ammonia, alcohol or acetone; because they will probably do permanent damage to the silver ring they are being used to clean.
A spouse probably wouldn't be too happy if they found their significant other had ruined their silver wedding band because it was cleaned this way. The best product to clean a sterling silver ring is a mild cleaner that has been diluted with a little bit of water. Silver jewelry and serving pieces can even be cleaned with simple home products, such as baking soda, mild phosphate-free detergents and non-abrasive tooth paste.
The whitening toothpastes that are popular these days, however, are probably too abrasive to clean a delicate sterling silver ring. There are also many good commercial silver products on the market if these items aren't readily available.
The next step in cleaning that silver ring or silver wedding band is choosing a cleaning brush. Be careful about the type of brush used to deep clean sterling silver jewelry, and stay away from hard bristle brushes and those with horsehair. The best cleaning brushes to use on a silver ring would be a baby tooth brush, a mushroom brush, a very soft bristle toothbrush or a sunshine cloth.
These can be used wet or dry, as long as the silver ring is dried immediately afterwards to avoid water spots. Also remember to clean up and down and not in a circular motion. When drying a sterling silver ring or silver wedding band, choosing the proper cloth material should be taken very carefully. Always use 100 percent cotton materials such as old T-shirts, sweat shirts, cotton balls, soft flannel materials and silver wipes. Using these types of home and commercial materials can help prevent the sterling silver ring or wedding band from being scratched or even completely damaged. Cleaning a silver ring, silver wedding band or any other kind of silver jewelry isn't too hard, but it's possible to mess it up badly. Just remember that silver is a fairly delicate material, and it should be treated tenderly. The same applies to any piece of silver, including stainless silver.
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