Why does silver turn yellow and what to do about it?

The acquaintance of man with silver goes back millennia: the noble metal was mined and used in states that existed even before our era. NS. And nowadays, silver is widely used in industry, medicine, for the manufacture of jewelry. Silver metal items look elegant and sophisticated. Unfortunately, they can become covered with an ugly yellow coating.

Silver belongs to the group of noble metals, which are known for the fact that they practically do not react with other elements of the periodic table. However, it is the most volatile precious metal. Interacting with the environment, in contact with the human body and various objects, silver is exposed to certain chemical elements and, as a result, darkens. This is a slow process, which is somewhat accelerated in conditions of high humidity, at high temperatures, under the influence of light.

In conditions of perfectly clean air, nothing would happen to silver. But in reality, many compounds and substances are always present in the air. Sulfur is no exception.

One of its sources is human activity. For example, sulfur dioxide is formed during the combustion of coal, in the course of the activity of industrial enterprises. The element is widely used in the composition of fertilizers, in medicines. In addition, it is present in many food products, in animals and plant organisms, in everyday objects around us. And this means that a small concentration of compounds of the element is always present, and we cannot exclude the interaction of substances.As a consequence, the silver turns yellow.

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of sulfur for the vital functions of the human body.... It is especially abundant in muscle tissue, in the skin. It is also known that there are many sweat glands on the human body, the secretions through which occur constantly. Among other products, sulfuric acid compounds are removed along with sweat. Therefore, you should not be surprised that after wearing it for a long time, the ring has become copper-colored, and jewelry that comes into contact with the body (chains, earrings, pendants, bracelets) begin to turn yellow. The process is accelerated if jewelry comes into contact with household chemicals and cosmetics that are aggressive to silver.

Silver also turns yellow under the influence of bromine or iodine. These elements are also present in many foods and medicines. Bromine is used in the manufacture of dyes for fabrics. There is another unpleasant reason why products may turn yellow: you purchased a fake made of cheap metals that look like silver. Such metals oxidize rather quickly and change color. Or the product is silver-plated, a thin layer of precious metal has become thinner and worn out in the process of wearing. In this case, yellowish spots will appear on the decoration.

Of course, if you have fake jewelry, no cleaning method will give the piece a silvery color. Even if you manage to remove the oxide layer, the yellowness will return very quickly. There are ways to deal with the annoying problem of silver. First of all, you can contact a jewelry workshop, where the master will perform the procedure professionally.

You can also clean the product from yellowness at home.... The best thing to do is with the help of special means... They are offered in considerable quantities by modern industry. The formulations are purposefully designed for the cleaning of precious metal products.

Among them there are both universal solutions and specially designed for silver products. Domestic products are popular Talisman, Aladdin, Adamas, Shine Coins, German paste Silberpflege Centralin and many others. They help not only to effectively cleanse of yellowness, but also return shine to silver things. It is only important not to exceed the holding time of things in the solution. Detailed instructions are usually found on the product packaging or label.

If for some reason it was not possible to purchase a ready-made product, you can try to remove plaque with the help of improvised means... For example, there is soda in every home; a cheap product is easy to buy at any grocery store. From soda and water you need to cook the gruel, and then rub the product with it. And also can be done in a small container hot solution of 1-2 tablespoons of baking soda and 500 ml of water, put foil on the bottom of the container and immerse in water product for a few minutes. The product removed from the soda solution is washed in warm water and wiped dry with a soft cloth.

Another available product - toothpaste or powder. They are applied to a soft toothbrush and gently cleaned with silver items. Then the products are rinsed in running water and wiped dry.

To brighten heavily soiled surfaces, you can use ammonia. Two tablespoons are diluted in 1 liter of water. The product is dipped into the resulting solution and kept for about 15 minutes.Then the product is removed and the darkening is removed with a paper napkin.

The natural desire of any owner of silver items is that they retain their presentable appearance for as long as possible. To do this, they must be properly looked after and not ignored the advice of specialists. First of all, things need store appropriately... It is necessary to choose a dark, dry place. Usually jewelry boxes are used for jewelry. It is desirable that they are made of varnished wood. The boxes should be tightly closed and the bottom should be covered with a cotton or linen cloth. If there are no separate compartments in the container, pack jewelry in plastic or velvet cases.

If long-term storage is expected, it is worth applying plastic zip bags. For additional exclusion of air access to the products, they can be wrapped in special paper, after cleaning. The product used should be wash periodically with warm water and soap, then dry thoroughly with a soft cloth. For better cleansing, you can take a brush, the bristles of which should not be stiff to avoid scratches.

For information on how to clean silver at home, see the next video.