Silver jewelleries have always been in trend irrespective of the attire you are wearing. From traditional to contemporary, there are so many designs available in silver jewellery. One of such jewellery which is loved globally is the silver anklet. Wear it with kurta, jeans, lehenga, saree or just any other attire, silver anklet adds a spark to your look. However, we all laze around when it comes to cleaning these silver items thinking that it is a tough task. But little do we realize that there are DIY hacks that you can use to clean the silver anklet at home. Before we introduce you to the clever hacks to clean silver anklets, let’s understand why silver gets black overtime.

A more sophisticated term for silver getting black would be oxidation process. There are many possible explanations for this with one being silver coming in contact with the hydrogen sulfide aka sulfur. Sulphur is present in the air and a chemical reaction takes place when silver comes in contact thereby forming a black layer. This is the reason why silver tends to blacken faster if continuously exposed to light and humidity. Other reasons for silver blackening could be exposed to cosmetics, perfume, body lotion, deodorant, bleach and so on.

Take a bowl and layer it with the aluminum foil. Now add boiling water and baking soda to the bowl. Put the silver anklet or any other jewellery you wish to clean into it. You will see the black colour on the jewellery disappearing immediately. Take out the anklet with the help of a spoon or plucker because the water will be still hot. You can get the silver anklet to return to its natural colour within seconds. Pat the jewellery dry with a soft piece of cloth and that’s all you need to do to get back your favourite silver anklet back to its original state. So that's all you need to know on how to clean silver anklets with baking soda.

Another very effective way to bring back the lost shine of your silver jewelry is the cornflour and water mixture. Take cornflour in a bowl and add water gradually to form a thick paste. Now apply this paste on the silver anklets you want to clean. Keep these anklets aside and let the coating dry completely. Once dried, remove the coating with a soft towel and you will notice the silver jewelry regains the shine. In case you do not have cornflour at home, the cream of tartar will also deliver the same result.

One of the most easily available items at home, toothpaste is also super effective in cleaning the blackened silver jewellery. However, you need to keep few points in mind when selecting the toothpaste to clean the silver jewelry. For instance, the toothpaste you have selected should be non-gel and nonabrasive. Just take a small amount of the toothpaste onto a handkerchief or soft cloth and rub onto the silver jewellery. Leave the jewellery for five minutes and rinse off with normal water. You will see the silver retaining its original shine after the process.

Another quick hack is the laundry detergent that is easily available in every household. Take a bowl and line it with the aluminum foil and pour hot water in the bowl. Add one teaspoonful of detergent powder and stir it well. Now, drop the silver anklet or any other silver item into it. After one minute of soaking, take out the jewellery with a spoon and pat it dry with a clean and smooth towel. You can also let the silver item dry in the air.

Yet another easily available item at home or any medical store, hand sanitizers are a perfect way to clean your silver anklet. All you need to do is take a few drops of hand sanitizer onto a soft cloth and rub the silver item gently. However, do make sure that the sanitizer you are using is alcohol-based rather than chlorine-based. It is because the chlorine-based alcohol could release free radicals that could act as an abrasive on the jewellery.

There you go having quick DIY hacks on how to clean silver anklet. Now, it is time to suggest few tricks that would protect your silver anklet or any other silver jewellery item from tarnishing.

Humidity also kills the shine of the silver jewellery, blackening it over time. The rate of corrosion increases if the temperature increases along with the humidity because the pressure of sulphur pressure is more intense as the temperature increases.

Regular contact of silver jewelry with cosmetics such as moisturisers, perfumes, lotions etc also tarnishes the metal over time. Moreover, the natural oil produced by our body can also cause the silver jewelery to react and get black.

Cut the contact between silver jewellery and air by putting the anklets and other small silver jewellery wrapped in the cloth. This also goes for the jewellery items that have silver coatings. Further, light can also tarnish the metal and therefore the bag with the silver items should be stored in a dark and dry place.

The silver jewellery has been loved globally ever since humankind discovered this shiny metal. However, with the discovery, people also came across the fact that silver is highly sensitive to sulphur in the air, light, chemicals, oils etc. There is no dearth of the ways in which you can retain the shine of the silver items. However, the method should be selected keeping in mind that it should not be very harsh or have abrasive properties. Do try one of the easy hacks for cleaning your silver anklet at home and let us know in the comment section below.