How to Clean Your Sterling Silver Jewellery – A No-Nonsense Guide

Let’s talk about cleaning your jewellery — sterling silver in particular.

Your once shiny silver is now dull and grey, or worse, it’s turned black. Don’t panic. Before you reach for the toothpaste or something you saw on TikTok, let’s figure out what’s really going on.

First question: Is your silver tarnished or just dirty?

Spoiler: It’s probably a bit of both.

Tarnish vs Dirt: What's the Difference?

Dirt and tarnish are not the same thing. But they team up to make your jewellery look like it’s been living in the bottom of your handbag since 2006.

Tarnish is chemistry — silver reacts with air and moisture and goes sullen. Dirt is everything else — body oils, shampoo residue, sunscreen, the ghost of last Tuesday’s dinner.

The first step — always — is to wash the damn thing. It’s shocking how often that’s all it takes. And if it doesn’t do the job? You’re looking at actual tarnish, which has its own post and its own attitude problem. But first: let’s clean.

The Simple Secret to Clean Silver: Soap, Water, and a Soft Toothbrush

Yes. Really. Soap. Water. Baby toothbrush. That’s the magic.

It’s the safest, gentlest, most effective way to clean silver at home — and if your jewellery is gunky, dull, or simply smells weird, this is where you start.

Here’s what to do:

1. Fill a bowl with warm-hot water and a dash of mild dishwashing liquid. Not boiling — just comfortably hot.
2. Pop your silver jewellery in for a soak — a few minutes is usually enough.
3. Swish it around a bit, then gently scrub with a soft toothbrush. Get into the nooks, but don’t scrub like you’re cleaning grout.
4. Rinse well under clean water.
5. Dry thoroughly. Not “leave it in a damp towel” dry. I mean actually dry. Use a soft cloth, or pop it somewhere warm, or seal it in a bag with a few silica sachets to finish the job.

What About Other Metals and Gemstones?

Soap and water is safe for most jewellery, but a few notes for the cautious and the chaos-prone:

• You can wash all metals, but be gentle with plated items — you’re cleaning, not sanding off the surface.
• Don’t soak anything with pearls, opals, turquoise, coral, amber, kauri gum, rubies, emeralds, or mystery glue.  The reasons for each vary, but the danger for all of them is real. 
• Malachite, moonstone, sodalite, howlite — okay to soak if filthy, but don’t scrub. Use a cloth. And common sense.

Basically: if it looks fragile or expensive, or you’re not 100% sure what it is, don’t let it bathe unsupervised.

The Importance of Cleaning Earrings (Especially If You Wear Them Every Day)

Brace yourself.

When was the last time you cleaned your earrings? I mean really cleaned them. The hooks, posts, and butterflies. The bits that either live next to or pass through your body.

If your answer is anything short of “last week,” read on.

Earrings collect the worst of everything: skin gunk, hair product, old moisturiser, air pollution, and all the questionable things your fingers touch. Even if you’re otherwise pristine, your earrings are probably biohazards. 

Showering with them in? Sorry, that doesn’t count. If anything, it's just adding soap scum to the funk.

So, how often should earrings be cleaned?

• Every week if you wear them daily or 24/7.
• Every 2 weeks if they’re in rotation.
• Immediately if they smell, itch, or look like they’ve been on an archaeological dig. (That itch is not always a metal allergy. Sometimes it’s just grime.)
  

The Secret to Cleaning Grime and Buildup off Earrings?

Once again: soap and water.

Give those butterflies a good scrub. Be gentle, but thorough. Baby toothbrush. Gloves if you’re squeamish. Eye protection if you’re realistic.

Still wondering if you need a fancy soap? You don’t. I use mild dishwashing liquid in the studio. It works brilliantly, smells fine, and doesn’t lie to you.

Now go check your earrings. Look closely. Studs tend to accumulate grime on the back where the post meets the rest.  Hooks less so, but that doesn't mean they're clean.

P.S. A quick swipe with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton pad is also a good option for sanitising earring posts and hooks between wears. It’s fast, it disinfects, and it evaporates quickly.  But remember: use alcohol to sanitise. Use soap and water to actually clean. They do different jobs, and you probably need both.

Washing is the first step, but not always the only step. If your jewellery’s still looking dirty after a proper wash, you may need to tidy up the tarnish.  How you deal with that is coming in my next blog post.  But for now, soap and water first. Always.