Cleaning Copper, Silver and Brass

If you've ever had a problem cleaning your sterling silver, copper or brass creations, here's a quick and effective way:

Sterling Silver - some folks like the slightly tarnished look, but if you don't, or your silver is darkly tarnished, here's a quick way to remove it:

Take a small piece of aluminum foil large enough to fit the bottom of a heat resistant container (preferrably glass and not metal) such as a Pyrex measuring cup or pie plate. Pour a small pile of baking soda and lay your silver on top. Pour boiling water over the baking soda and silver jewelry being careful not to burn yourself. The baking soda will foam slightly. If you pay attention, you should smell a faint whiff of rotten eggs. When the water is cool enough to put your hand in, remove the jewelry and rinse thoroughly and give a quick bath by rubbing the jewelry between your palms with a little liquid hand soap. Rinse and dry. Your sterling will look like new!

Copper and Brass:

Copper and brass can be cleaned in much the same way. Give the jewelry item a quick dip in lemon juice with a pinch of salt. Don't soak for too long - a couple minutes should be sufficient. Remove the jewelry from the lemon juice and clean by rubbing the item briskly between your palms with a bit of liquid hand soap or dishwashing liquid. Dry thoroughly.

If you don't have lemon juice, even orange juice or white vinegar can be used, though they take a bit longer in my experience. I've even heard of folks using ketchup, though I've never tried this myself.

Maintenence:

For all three metals, a good polishing cloth like those used for silver polishing works great to keep your slightly tarnished jewelry looking beautiful and sparkling. When not in use, store your jewelry in a tightly closed plastic bag.