Tarnish is a chemical reaction on the surface of metal. It causes a layer of corrosion on any metal object, whether it is silver, brass, or copper. Historically, objects made from silver were created for a variety of reasons, ranging from religious, artistic, technical, and domestic uses. To this day, silver still plays a substantial part in our lives.

If you own any objects that are either made from silver or that are plated with silver, you might be aware that the bright and shiny surface of silver can gradually darken and become less shiny. You might be wondering why this happens.

Silver can have an appearance that is less shiny because it undergoes a chemical reaction with sulfur-containing substances such as gases and particulates in the air. Many retailers and manufacturers of both silver and silver jewelry make the mistake of tarnishing their silver when stored or shipped in their boxes due to their packaging. The packaging used tends to contain both sulfur and chlorine, which are harmful to silver.

Silver tarnishing occurs as a result of silver combining with sulfur. This creates silver sulfide (AgS), which is black.

One of the worst situations is when these items are transported or stored under high heat conditions. These conditions can release sulfur into the box. When the sulfur content is high enough, it can cause the silver to tarnish. Metals—especially silver—are best conserved when they are stored or placed in a low humidity atmosphere. This is ideally at 40% relative humidity or lower.

A big solution to this problem is to take advantage of silver storage bags. These bags are a great idea for reducing the risk and potential of tarnish. You can use silver storage bags to assist with packaging if you work as a manufacturer, which reduces your risk of delivering products that will come to the consumer as being tarnished. You can also use silver storage bags if you are looking to keep your valued silver items in a good condition. Having them in a bag format is also more convenient for storage reasons. All in all, a silver storage bag to prevent tarnish is one of the best solutions out there.