Tarnished jewellery: it’s the fashion heartbreak no one warns you about. One minute your favourite silver necklace is gleaming away like it belongs in a Tiffany’s window display and the next – it’s dulled, blotchy and looking like it’s survived a shipwreck. Dramatic? Maybe. But if you’ve ever opened your jewellery box en route to a party only to discover your statement piece has lost its sparkle, you’ll understand the panic.
That exact scenario happened to me recently, and with no silver polish in sight (because who actually remembers to buy that?), I found myself staring down a half-squeezed tube of toothpaste and wondering: could this work?
Thanks to its mild abrasives and detergent properties, toothpaste can gently lift away tarnish and grime without wrecking your jewellery. And, while I’m not saying ditch the polish for good, when you’re in a pinch, it might just save you.
Naturally, I had to test it for myself. For science. For fashion. For all of us who leave things until the last possible minute. I risked my own accessories to find the answer, so you don’t have to. Don’t say I never do anything for you. Here’s what happened when I gave my silver jewellery a minty-fresh makeover.
How to clean your jewellery with toothpaste
Before we dive in, let’s get one thing straight: nothing beats a proper silver polish and a specialist polishing cloth. They’re designed for the job and are always the safest bet for your most treasured pieces. If you have heirlooms or high-end jewellery, please step away from the bathroom cabinet and stick to the professionals.
Do not use toothpaste on any soft stones such as opals, pearls, turquoise or anything porous. Understand that while toothpaste can be great for cleaning silver jewellery, it can also damage certain types of silver, too, so please proceed with caution. Avoid using toothpaste on sterling silver or highly polished silver.
But for your everyday silver bits, those well-loved but technically less precious pieces that just need a bit of emergency sparkle, toothpaste has the potential to work wonders… if you do it right. Here’s how to clean silver jewellery with toothpaste without turning it into a cautionary tale.
Choose the right toothpaste.
Not all toothpastes are created equal when it comes to jewellery cleaning. Avoid whitening toothpastes as these can be too harsh and abrasive. Similarly, skip anything with high baking soda or tartar control formulas. No gels either – they’re too gentle and won’t lift tarnish effectively, so there’s no point.
What you want is a good old-fashioned, plain white toothpaste – nothing fancy, just solid and white.
Prep (carefully)
The first step is to wet your jewellery slightly – this helps the toothpaste glide on smoothly.
Do NOT do this over a running tap. One slip and your favourite ring could disappear down the plughole faster than you can scream your favourite expletive.
Rub it in
Apply a small amount of toothpaste to the victims in question, think pea-sized. Using your finger, soft sponge, cotton swab or even a bit of paper towel, gently rub the paste into the jewellery, focusing on tarnished spots. You’ll notice the tissue or swab turning grey or black – that’s a good sign. That’s the tarnish lifting off.
For fiddly, detailed pieces, grab a baby toothbrush or one designed for sensitive teeth. These have soft bristles that can sneak into tiny crevices without scratching the surfaces. Please make sure you don’t reuse it for your teeth afterwards (unless you like minty-fresh fillings with a side of silver dust).
If the tarnish is especially stubborn, let the toothpaste sit on the piece for 2-3 minutes to work its magic.
Rinse, repeat, reveal!
Once the scrubbing is done wipe away any excess paste with a damp tissue, paper towel or cotton swab. Repeat the process if needed, but always be gentle. Finish it all off by patting dry carefully with a soft microfiber cloth, then leave your jewellery to air-dry fully before wearing or storing.
Did it actually work? My results
I tested out the hack on a couple of my rings that were looking more than a bit worse for wear, along with some bangles, which, let’s just say, weren’t exactly expensive. I wasn’t quite ready to sacrifice my favourite pieces until I knew this method was both safe and worth the effort.
Armed with a soft toothbrush I dabbed a pea-sized blob of toothpaste on to each piece and gently scrubbed away, making sure to get into every tiny nook and cranny –including the particularly grimy insides. For the more stubbornly tarnished bits, I left the paste to sit for just under five minutes. Then, I wiped everything down with a damp paper towel, ready for the grand reveal.
So… did it work? In a word: yes. But let’s manage expectations here, it wasn’t quite a Cinderella transformation. The really tough, long-standing stains and rust spots didn’t really budge (toothpaste isn’t magic, after all). But I was genuinely impressed by how much brighter and cleaner everything looked.
I went into the process, I’ll admit it, pretty sceptical. But I couldn’t argue with my results. The dull grey tones were gone and that classic silver gleam started to peek through again. One of my rings, in particular, was unrecognisable. Which, in hindsight, says a lot about how long I’d left it to tarnish. Oops.
I’ll be honest, nothing quite prepares you for the horror of seeing the grime that comes off your accessories, but at the same time, it’s sort of satisfying. The paper towel turned a worrying shade of black, leaving me wondering why I hadn’t done this ages ago. The whole process, from start to finish, took only 15 minutes, and that’s including the few moments of me staring in disgust at the dirt I’d just removed.
That said, it wasn’t without its annoyances. Toothpaste, it turns out, loves to cling to every tiny crevice, especially in more detailed pieces. I ended up having to go back in with a clean toothbrush to get rid of the stubborn residue a couple of times. Plus, the bowl of water I’d been using for rinsing left a weird chalky film on both the jewellery and my hands – but this was easily remedied with a bowl change (or two). In hindsight, I’d recommend rinsing the jewellery in the sink instead – but please make sure you pop the plug in. No one needs that kind of drama.
Bonus perk? The whole process smelled delightfully minty, unlike the headache-inducing fumes of regular silver polish. In the end, my jewellery was significantly cleaner and brighter, so I’d call that a pepperminty victory.
Other ways to clean silver jewellery
If you have a bit more time on your hands and are in less of a last-minute panic to get your jewellery cleaned up, the GH team has found a couple of other surprising ways to clean your jewellery and get your accessories back to their shiniest potential.
Eco-friendly DIY silver bath
To clean your silver chains, start by lining a bowl with aluminium foil, ensuring the shiny side faces up. Pour in enough boiling water to fully submerge the chain. For every 500ml of water, add one tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda, stirring gently to dissolve. Place the chain into the solution and let it soak for up to 30 minutes. Once done, carefully lift the chain out with a spoon and allow it to cool if needed. Finally, rinse thoroughly to remove any residue and gently buff with a soft, lint-free cloth to restore its shine.
Cola drinks
Another method you can try is soaking your chain in a bath of cola, sounds like a prank but we promise it's not. The acidity of the fizzy drink can help lift the tarnish, however, be sure to leave it in only briefly, removing it as soon as the tarnish is gone. Rinse the chain thoroughly right away to remove any remaining cola, then gently polish it with a soft, lint-free cloth.
Bicarbonate of soda
Create a paste by mixing about three parts bicarbonate of soda with one part water, then carefully apply it to your silver jewellery, avoiding any stones or pearls. Gently rub the paste into the silver using a lint-free or microfibre cloth until the shine begins to return. For hard-to-reach, detailed areas, a soft toothbrush can be very effective. Once cleaned, rinse the jewellery thoroughly to remove the paste, then dry and polish it with a soft, lint-free cloth to bring back that sparkle.
Our favourite jewellery cleaners
