Spring Clean!

All your jewellery will benefit from a little spring clean. Gold doesn't tarnish but nonetheless a gentle wash with a little washing up liquid and an old toothbrush will remove dirt from crevices. To dry, a final rub with a soft cloth gives it a light polish...and it will instantly look much brighter.

Sterling silver will naturally tarnish over time. This is a result of the copper within the silver oxidising on contact with the air. One of the best ways to avoid this is to wear it - simple! And if you keep it clean and store it in an airtight container it will be much less prone to tarnishing.

However, most likely from time to time you'll need to give your silver jewellery a bit of tlc.

One of the best ways is super-simple and you only need a few household items: tinfoil, bicarbonate of soda and boiling water. Here I'm going to clean a rather grimy silver chain.

1 - First of all give I give it a gentle scrub. Some washing up liquid and an old toothbrush is ideal for this.

2 - Line a small bowl with tinfoil and place it on top.

3 - Boil the kettle and pour the water into the bowl, covering everything.

4 - Sprinkle over a generous amount of bicarbonate of soda....

And watch it fizz!

5 - Leave for 5 minutes or so, moving it around occasionally. If you think it needs longer then add some more boiling water and bicarb and let it bubble away for another few minutes.

6 - Remove and rinse well, giving another gentle scrub with the toothbrush and soapy water.

7 - Dry with a soft cloth and hopefully your silver is sparkling clean once more!

Before.....

And after!

This is such a pleasingly simple method and usually works a treat, but really tarnished items may take several goes.

Hope this is helpful! xx