Can You Shower With Sterling Silver?

Can You Shower With Sterling Silver?

Sterling silver jewelry is incredibly popular and available in many beautiful styles and designs, from earrings, rings and bracelets to necklaces, ankle chains and toe rings. It is no surprise that after a long day at work or the gym, we may jump in the shower only to realize that we are still wearing our precious jewelry. But is wearing sterling silver in the shower so bad? We’ve put together a few thoughts just to answer that very question.

Sterling Silver

Sterling silver is a high-quality, affordable, precious metal that is as popular as gold. With a little care and attention, it is good to know that your sterling silver jewelry can last you a lifetime. Because silver is an inert metal, it is unlikely that it will be damaged by hot water, shower gels or soaps. But sterling silver does contain other metals, including copper or nickel. These are blended with the pure silver in the course of manufacture to make the silver easier to fashion into those lovely designs. It is these added metals that are susceptible to moisture in the atmosphere or the shower, and this can lead to tarnishing.

Tarnishing

Tarnish appears on your jewelry as a green or darkened patina that may even have a metallic smell. It might not be apparent immediately on your sterling silver jewelry, but over time, you may notice that your jewelry begins to look dull or even blackened in the depth of intricate designs or engravings. If you often wear your sterling silver in water, for example, and don’t regularly polish it, you may see this dullness and tarnish begin to appear on your precious silver jewelry over time.

Care of Silver Jewelry

If you have been wearing your silver jewelry in the shower, the pool, the Jacuzzi, or even the sea, you can rinse it in fresh water to cleanse away any damaging chemicals such as pool chlorine or sea salts. Then, dry it with a soft cloth. Keep in mind that it is always a good idea to rinse your jewelry in a separate bowl (rather than in the bathroom basin) because you don’t want to risk losing it down the drain!

Before wearing a piece of silver jewelry, like these Silver Diamond Twisted Earrings, why not take some time to give it a quick polish with a silver polishing cloth? This will help preserve that wonderful luster. It is interesting to know that just by wearing your silver jewelry every day, it will gain some protection from your skin. This is due to the warmth, natural oils and acidity on the surface of your skin. These occur naturally and can help protect your silver jewelry.

There are also pots of jewelry cleaning liquid that are available from stores. These liquids have been specially formulated to clean gold or silver jewelry and will quickly remove any tarnish. A small jar will last a long time, but remember to use these liquid cleaners for plain jewelry designs only. They should not be used on jewelry with fixed semi-precious stones or pearls.

Rhodium Plated Silver Jewelry

If you really don’t want to worry that much about polishing your silver jewelry and you like to wear it in the shower or even in the sea, why not look for silver jewelry that is plated with rhodium, like this Vines Ring? Rhodium will keep your silver jewelry bright and shining and lessen the chance of tarnish developing, and it is easy to care for.

You might lose it!

Finally, one of the main reasons you might not want to wear your jewelry in the shower is that there is the potential of losing it in the shower water. Earrings are especially at risk because as we shampoo our hair, we can inadvertently loosen the fastenings, causing our precious earrings to drop into the shower tray and disappear down the drain! So, it might be a good idea to have a special container in the bathroom and get in the habit of routinely dropping your jewelry in there to avoid losing it in the shower, particularly if it is valuable or sentimental.

Sterling silver is an attractive precious metal and a popular choice for many people. The good news is that sterling silver is easy to wear and unlikely to be damaged significantly if it is worn in the shower. Just don’t forget to give it a bit of care and attention from time to time to keep it in top condition.