Simple Steps For Keeping Your Sterling Silver Hoop Earrings Clean And Bright

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IceLady | Sep 13, 2010 |

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My very favorite pair of earrings in my jewelry box right now are my sterling silver hoop earrings. They are so classic, and they seem to just go with everything in my wardrobe. They look great with jeans and with dressier clothes, too. Sometimes after all the use (and abuse - you know, spraying hairspray on them, throwing them into the same little basket I keep hair clips in, not storing them in plastic or velvet, etc.) I give them, they need a little TLC to get them back to looking like new again.

Here's How I Keep My Sterling Silver Hoop Earrings Clean and Bright

To clean sterling silver jewelry, it is easy to use soap and water, a commercial jewelry cleaner or a jewelry polishing cloth. This will remove all the built up skin oils and stuff like hairspray and makeup and other dirt. The soap and water, however, doesn't clean off tarnish, and a jewelry cloth won't reach into those little bitty etched lines, etc. To get into those little hard to reach areas, a baking soda bath might be necessary. Put crumpled foil into a dish that can withstand boiling temperatures. Place your sterling silver hoop earrings on the foil. Then sprinkle some baking soda on them, and carefully pour boiling water over all of it until they are covered. You'll immediately smell sulfur, and you will be able to see the tarnish just melting off your earrings! Leave them in the bath for a minute or so, or until they look clean. Rinse them with warm water and then dry them off with a soft cotton cloth. You can buff them with the cloth, too, until they shine like new! I do this with my cubic zirconia rings, and other sterling jewelry that has only very hard stones on it, but never with anything that also has pearls or emeralds attached.

Now comes the hard part. No, I'm just kidding, now comes the easy part. If you want to keep your sterling silver hoop earrings clean, bright and ready to wear at a moment's notice, you will need to store them so that tarnish will not build back up on them quickly. I do this by simply placing my earrings in a little plastic bag that has a zipper on it. Little "snack" baggies are great for this. My earrings stay together, air does not get to them to cause tarnish buildup, and I can see what's in the bag easily and quickly. I also keep those little paper packages of salt crystals that come in new purses, etc. and I toss them in the bags with my sterling jewelry, too. They keep moisture to a minimum in the baggies, and off my jewelry.

You can see that it doesn't take very much effort or time to keep your sterling silver hoop earrings looking like new. A few minutes to clean them once in awhile, and a second or two to store them properly at night will ensure that you will have a "like-new" pair of sterling silver hoop earrings every time you reach for them!