How to clean silver with ammonia (ammonia): effective methods

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Author of the article

Svetlana Pavlikhina

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It often happens that your favorite silver jewelry begins to darken. Why does blackness appear on metal? How to remove dark plaque? Many people have these questions.

Cleaning silver using ammonia is a popular and effective way to return your jewelry to its original appearance. For this, other components that do not negatively affect this metal can be used.

Why does silver darken?

Silver items often tarnish. This can happen several years after purchasing the jewelry or as early as the next week after wearing a ring or chain.

Silver oxidizes when sweat comes into contact with it. It contains amino acids and salts, as well as sulfur, under the influence of which jewelry begins to turn black.

Reasons why silver darkens:

• excessive human sweating;
• hormonal changes;
• admixture of other components in silver, in particular copper;
• use of cosmetics;
• use of certain medications;
• settling of dirt and dust on silver;
• metal quality.

The following factors also affect the rate of blackening of the product:

• humidity and air composition;
• frequent contact with dirty water;
• product surface shape;
• some household chemicals;
• contact with products such as egg yolk, salt, onion;
• friction against clothing made of synthetic material;
• silver sample.

Jewelry made from this metal can be cleaned from blackness.

Advantages of using ammonia

Ammonia, as a cleaner, has been used in ordinary household conditions for a long time, and not only for cleaning silver. Ammonia interacts only with oxidizing agents, forming ammonium salts and does not come into contact with metal, glass, fabric, so if used correctly it will not harm.

Important! You cannot clean silver and gold-plated objects with ammonia at the same time, that is, in the same container - they become unevenly colored. Yellow stains may appear on silver, and silvery stains on gold. For the same reason, silver with gilding is not cleaned with ammonia.

Precautionary measures

It must be remembered that when cleaning jewelry with ammonia, precautions should be taken. This substance is a powerful solvent and has a strong odor, so it can be harmful to health .

When working with ammonia, you must adhere to the following rules:

1. Do not allow skin contact with the solution. It is advisable to work with the substance wearing rubber gloves.
2. It is not allowed to breathe ammonia vapors, so cleaning must be done with a respirator or a face covering.
3. If the solution accidentally gets on the mucous membranes, you should rinse them with water. If necessary, you should seek medical help.

4. 
   It is best to use tweezers to remove silver from solution.

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5. After cleaning, the product should be rinsed thoroughly to avoid causing skin burns or poisoning.
6. After processing silver, it is necessary to ventilate the room.

If the product is made of gold-plated silver, then it is not recommended to use ammonia solution. For jewelry with stones, the dose of ammonia should be reduced.

Which samples can withstand this treatment?

Silver is a very malleable precious metal, so alloys containing 96 percent or more silver are not used to make jewelry or cutlery. The most common samples are 875 and 925. Products made from silver in combination with copper are considered more durable, but they have a yellowish tint.

No matter what quality the product is, even with the most careful handling, it will somehow get dirty and darken. It is possible to treat a silver alloy of any standard with a solution of ammonia.

Effective cleaning methods

At home, you can clean silver with ammonia using the following components:

• water;
• dentifrice;
• hydrogen peroxide.

They are the most effective for cleaning silver jewelry from tarnish.

Ammonia and water

To prepare the product, take ammonia and clean water in a ratio of 1:10. The solution is mixed well.

Cleaning algorithm:

1. 
   Place the products in a container with the solution and leave for 30 minutes. If the silver is very black, you can soak it for an hour, but no more.

2. Remove the jewelry using tweezers and wipe with a dry cloth.
3. Silver should be rinsed well under running water and cleaned until shiny.

In case of a small dark deposit, you can soak a piece of flannel or woolen cloth in the solution and wipe the decoration.

In case of strong blackness, it is recommended to use ammonia diluted in water in a ratio of 1:4.

With tooth powder or paste

You can quickly remove dirt with powder. However, if there are stones on the product, then this method is undesirable.

To do this, take the following ingredients:

• ammonia - 1 tbsp;
• warm water – 2 tablespoons;
• tooth powder - half a tablespoon.

You can use paste. The components are mixed and proceed to cleaning:

1. Soak a sponge in the mixture and thoroughly wipe the decoration.
2. After removing contamination, rinse the product under running warm water.
3. Wipe with a soft cloth.

Strong blackness can be removed as follows: apply the product to the brush and thoroughly clean the surface of the jewelry.

Recipe with hydrogen peroxide

Cleaning procedure:

1. 1 tbsp. Dilute peroxide and ammonia in 0.5 liters of warm water.
2. Immerse the decoration in the solution for 20 minutes.
3. Wash the product well with water.
4. Polish with a clean and dry cloth.

It is also recommended to add a little liquid baby soap to this mixture. It can also be replaced with detergent.

Preparing the product for cleaning

To clean silver or gold with ammonia, you may need:

• Toothbrush;
• sponge, wool or flannel fabric (under no circumstances should you use abrasive substances or hard brushes to clean silver: they can scratch it and ruin the appearance of the product);
• a container for the solution (it should be borne in mind that it cannot subsequently be used for cooking);
• paper napkins;
• rubber gloves and tweezers.

The cleaning method largely depends on the product: if you need to clean, for example, a chain, you should take into account that it consists of many links, which are not easy to get to from all sides, so the best option would be to soak the product. Before you start cleaning the product with ammonia, it is advisable to soak it in a soap solution for a while: most of the blackness will come off and it will be easier to clean the precious metal.

How to restore shine after cleaning

The metal may be cleared of dark deposits, but lose its shine. In this case, the following will help:

• lemon juice;
• baking soda;
• powdered milk.

You can also add shine using foil.

Baking soda

Baking soda can also restore the shine of a dull item. For this:

1. Make a thick mixture of water and soda.
2. Polish the surface with a toothbrush and product.
3. Wash in warm water and dry with a napkin.

The product can be boiled in water with the addition of soda. This should be done for no more than 10 minutes.

In order for the ring to shine perfectly, you should rinse the jewelry very thoroughly after baking soda.

Foil

For this method you will need:

• water – 0.5 l;
• 2 sheets of foil;
• salt – 2 tbsp.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. 
   Salt is dissolved in water and boiled.

2. Add foil and stir.
3. The decoration is kept in the solution for several minutes.
4. The product washes well.

In some sources you can find the same method, only without adding salt.

Lemon juice

If the product has become dull after cleaning, its shine can be restored in the following way:

1. Squeeze juice from one lemon.
2. Soak a sponge in the liquid.
3. Wipe the silver well.
4. Wash the jewelry under water.
5. Dry with a dry cloth.

If you do this at least once a week, the metal will not darken.

Powdered milk

You can restore the shine and purity of silver using powdered milk. It is diluted with water to the consistency of sour cream, and carefully applied to the product with a toothbrush.

After this procedure, leave the jewelry for a few minutes, then rinse the item in clean water and dry with a paper towel.

You can clean silver with regular milk, only sour milk. To do this, the product is placed in liquid for 2-3 hours.

Rules for using ammonia

Ammonia (ammonia) is a chemical and should be used in accordance with the rules.

What not to do:

• use hard cloths and sponges - the abrasive may scratch the metal surface;
• clean jewelry with pearls - pearls darken from ammonia, losing their quality;
• use a solution with a high concentration of ammonia if the jewelry contains a gemstone (use a weak solution of 250 ml of water and 5 drops of ammonia).

Other cleaning methods

There are many other methods for cleaning silver. These include:

1. Egg yolk. Soak a cotton pad in it and rub the product, then let it dry a little and rinse it off.
2. Vinegar. Polish the silver with the product for several minutes using a brush or sponge. The vinegar needs to be heated a little first.
3. Kefir. Place the decoration in a container with sour milk and leave for 2 hours, then rinse well.

4. 
   Lemon acid. The product is dissolved in water and simmered in a water bath. They also put a small piece of copper wire and a silver decoration there. Boil for 20 minutes. Wash the silver under running water.

5. Coca Cola. It is recommended to boil silver in the drink for 10 minutes.

An original way to remove dirt from silver is to clean it with lipstick. Rub the item well with it, then wash it off.

The following methods will also help to give your jewelry a new shine:

• soaking in sour milk;
• rubbing with vinegar;
• polishing with soap mixture;
• soaking in vinegar-soda solution.

After cleaning, you can wash your products not only in plain water; it’s good to add 2 drops of Ferry to it.

Rules for caring for silver

To prevent silver from darkening, the following rules should be followed:

1. Put on jewelry only after the cosmetic oil or cream has been completely absorbed.
2. Avoid storing silver in high humidity conditions.
3. Remove jewelry when swimming, especially in salt water.
4. It is advisable to store the products in a dry place; it is best to wrap them in foil.
5. Remove chains and rings before dishwashing or hand washing.
6. To prevent silver from oxidizing, it is recommended to place aluminum foil in the box.
7. You can put chalk in the storage box to help maintain the shine.
8. After removal, it is recommended to wipe the jewelry with a soft, dry cloth.

It is also important to periodically clean silver from plaque.

If you follow these recommendations, you can wear the jewelry longer, because it will turn black less.

Prevention of darkening

Silver plaques 6 times faster than gold. If gold items need to be cleaned once a year, then silver items need to be cleaned on average every 2 months.

The cause of blackness is impurities. Copper is added to silver for strength. The lower the sample, the more impurities there are in the product and the faster it becomes contaminated. Copper reacts with sulfur from human sweat, and black crystals appear on the surface of the jewelry - silver sulfide. Sulfur may also be present in the air.

To keep your silver items shiny and clean longer, take the following steps:

1. Choose a dry and dark place for storage.
2. Wrap the items in a soft cloth so that they do not touch each other.
3. Remove jewelry when bathing, cleaning, or applying cosmetics.
4. Don't leave silver wet. Wipe up spills immediately.

It is believed that silver jewelry darkens faster on people who have problems with stomach acidity.

Silver is a noble metal. He is credited with healing and mystical properties. Many people love silver jewelry much more than gold. But in order for them to serve for a long time, it is necessary to follow the rules of care. Ammonia is an effective home remedy for black on silver. However, its use is associated with a certain risk. Therefore, when choosing ammonia for cleaning, you need to study the list of “contraindications” and strictly follow the instructions.