Quick Tip: Cleaning Jewelry, Easy and Cheap!

Silver jewelry is probably my biggest love when it comes to accessories, but with this Arizona heat my silver doesn't stay bright. I've tried several cleaning products, most of which fill the house with toxic fumes, and all of which cost a pretty penny. Polishing cloths are handy too, but hard to find and last not so long. So when I found this great cleaning tip using things around the house I just had to try it. To my surprise, this works better than anything I've tried before!

What you need:

• Hot Water
• Aluminum Foil
• Baking Soda
• Small Bowl

 How to clean:

1. Heat some water on the stove top or in the microwave. I used a kettle, but you can use whatever, just to make the water steaming hot, not boiling.
2. While the water heats up, line a bowl with aluminum foil.
3. Pour baking soda in the bottom of the bowl and add the hot water making a "soup". You can use a spoon to stir, but not too much. The fizzing is the chemical reaction that will remove the tarnish.
4. Add your jewelry to water mixture. Let sit for 5 - 10 minutes.
5. Almost done! If your jewelry needs a little more cleaning and shine, try gently rubbing each piece between your hands along with baking soda from the bowl.
6. Rinse under cold water and pat dry with a towel.

As you can tell, some of these aren't real silver and they came out great too! There were some spots on the heart necklace that have worn away, but everywhere else shined up like new. I suggest watching yours closely until you know if this is safe to use.

The bracelet above was extremely tarnished, starting out brown. If you have some pieces that need a little extra cleaning power, try this approach before soaking:

1. Add hot water to baking soda making a paste in a small dish or mini Dixie cup.
2. Take a medium square of aluminum foil and ball it up (loosely).
3. Dip your crunched aluminum foil into the baking soda paste and use it to scrub tarnished areas. Try avoiding inlays and jewels because this may scratch other materials.
4. Follow up with above soaking method to get an even greater shine!

The scrubbing method is a life saver and works faster than anything I've seen. (And funny enough, it was a complete accident. Oops, for reading directions carefully!)

Do you have a great cleaning tip?