Why do necklaces turn brown

Lay all of your darkened costume jewelry on the foil. Mix one tablespoon salt and one tablespoon of baking soda and mix with one cup warm water.

Pour into the dish. The mixture will create a chemical reaction with the foil and bubble as it cleans the jewelry. Never soak or submerge your silver in any substance unless you're a professional jeweler. Never use household items in place of a professional polish.

Common cleaners like baking soda, dish soap and toothpaste are too abrasive for silver jewelry. Christina Bednarz Schnell began writing full-time in Her areas of expertise include child development and behavior, medical conditions and pet health.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in international relations. Tip Prevent future tarnish buildup after polishing by storing your silver jewelry in a leather pouch or zip-seal plastic bag. Warning Never soak or submerge your silver in any substance unless you're a professional jeweler. Cleaning sterling silver involves removing tarnish and then polishing the piece to bring out the shine.

Tarnish is the oxidization that occurs when air-borne sulfurs and chlorides are present, causing a yellowish cast on the sterling silver. It's best to remove tarnish in its early stages with frequent, light cleanings. Silver that's used frequently and washed carefully will require infrequent tarnish removal.

Remember to treat your silver gently, as it's a soft metal [source: BishopMuseum ]. Keep your silver clean by avoiding contact with salt, lemon, egg, mustard, mayonnaise and rubber. Wrapping sterling silver in acid-free tissue and storing it in silver cloth or a sealed polyethylene plastic bag will help prevent tarnish [source: estes-simmons ]. Sign up for our Newsletter!

Mobile Newsletter banner close. Your necklace could cause the darkening of the neck, and you could remove the staining on your skin using warm water, liquid soap, and a washcloth, a regular facial cleaner with water, or rubbing alcohol-soaked in cotton balls.

Read more useful tips here or here! Stephanie is a jewelry lover when she was a teenager. Her major was fashion design when she was in college.

She is a jewelry designer at SOQ Jewelry and other design companies. Now she is also a writer for our website. You must be logged in to post a comment. You will Learn in this Post. Share Tweet Pin. Leave a Comment Cancel reply You must be logged in to post a comment.