10 February 2011- Who doesn't love to wear silver jewelry! Silver beads too are used for making stunning jewelry and people love to flaunt them too. However, what makes them worry about silver jewelry is the silver tarnish. Not only jewelry lovers but the hobbyists and craftspersons who work with these silver beads have to take extra care of them so as to prevent silver tarnish. Many of them even go for other expensive alternatives of silver or sterling beads such as white gold beads or platinum beads as they do not want to compromise with the looks and are also not able to invest time and efforts needed to clean them to remove silver tarnish. However, when one comes to know about the causes of silver tarnish and the ways that can prevent it, they love these silver beads! It becomes very easy to stop this natural process of silver tarnishing just with proper handling and care of silver.

Causes of Silver Tarnish

Tarnish is a layer of corrosion which forms on many metals including silver and sterling silver. This layer- the tarnish appears when silver is exposed to hydrogen sulfide. Hydrogen sulfide is present in the air, especially in humid air; certain foods like eggs and onions; materials used on a daily basis such as rubber, latex, wool and felt. It is also present on human body- in sweat and body oils. Therefore, whenever you touch your sterling silver beads or wear silver jewelry there causes silver tarnish. This makes it lose its silvery white sheen and it becomes dull gray and even black if proper care of silver is not taken on time.

Prevent Silver Tarnishing with Proper Care of Silver

Care of silver includes proper storage, handling and cleaning. You can not leave your silver beads in open when you are not working with them or you can not just leave your silver beads jewelry lying around after coming back from a party.

Store Properly to Prevent Silver Tarnish

To prevent silver from tarnishing, you must limit its exposure to air, moisture, and body oils. Store silver jewelry or silver beads in air-tight plastic bags. Zip close bags are perfect for the purpose. If you need to store large silver items, you can use trash bags that are tightly closed. When storing expensive silver beads in plastic zip-lock bags, insert a straw into the corner of the bag after placing your silver jewelry or silver beads and seal the zipper closure right up the straw. Now gently squeeze the bag so as to remove the excess air. Then also there will remain some air in the bag. To remove this remaining air from the bag, suck on the straw and while maintaining suction, take the straw out of the bag. You should simultaneously follow it with your index finger used to apply pressure to the bag. Just at the moment when the straw leaves the bag, apply pressure to the zipper closure with your finger which will seal the bag.

Use Anti-Tarnish Products to Prevent Silver from Tarnishing

There are many anti tarnish products that can be used to prevent silver tarnish. These include:

Anti Tarnish Strips - Anti-tarnish paper strips are non-toxic and effective remedy to prevent silver tarnish for up to at least six months. These anti-tarnish strips are also inexpensive. These strips can be used inside silver chests, jewelry chests, storage boxes and drawers etc. If storing silver beads in a bag, cut a bag-sized piece of the strip and place it in the bag with the beads or jewelry and keep the bag sealed. You must change the strips every 5-6 months or whenever you get even a slight ideas that they are no longer effective. You can even use bags made with anti-tarnish technology but they are slightly more expensive. They are available in sizes from 2 inches to 4 inches square.

Silver Tarnish Cloth - Silver cloth is another very good option to store silver to prevent tarnishing. Silver tarnish cloth is available by the yard at fabric stores. You can cut pieces of it to fit inside the drawers or compartments of jewelry box where you store silver jewelry , beads or other silver items. Buy a silver cloth embedded with tiny particles of silver. These particles react with the natural sulfur and humidity in the air to prevent silver from tarnishing. Silver cloth doesn't needs to be replaced as it lasts indefinitely.

Chalk - If you don't want to spend money buying these anti tarnish products, go for the cheapest option to prevent silver tarnish- these are the regular chalkboard chalk. Keep these chalks with your silver. Chalk works similarly as the strips do. They absorb the airborne substances that cause silver tarnish.

Additional Care to Prevent Silver from Tarnishing

Whenever you take out your silver jewelry or silver beads for any purpose and need to store them back, wipe them with a soft cloth before doing so. When storing silver, ensure to avoid rubber bands or contact with any other rubber items as they damage silver. Prolonged contact with rubber and rubber products lead to corrosion destroying silver plating. Also store your other metal beading jewelry supplies such as wire, findings, headpins, earwires, etc. in tightly sealed plastic bags separately.