Frequently Asked Questions About Colloidal Silver
Here is a list of the most frequently asked questions about colloidal silver by our customers. If you’re interested in learning more, we feature in depth posts on everything concerning colloidal silver in our Collolidal Silver Learning Center.
What is colloidal silver?
Colloidal silver solution is sold as a nutritional mineral supplement at many health food and nutritional supplement stores. From Wikipedia: “In chemistry, a colloid is a mixture in which one substance of microscopically dispersed insoluble or soluble particles is suspended throughout another substance.” So colloidal silver is the mixture of tiny silver particles suspended in water.
What does colloidal silver do?
Silver is a non-toxic and naturally occurring element that has been known to have antimicrobial properties and has been used to treat infections and heal wounds since ancient times. The father of modern medicine, Hippocrates, taught that silver healed wounds and controlled disease. Colloidal silver, being composed of water and microscopic silver particles, has the same properties as silver.
The information contained in this site is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as medical advice on any subject matter. Please review our disclaimer .
How is colloidal silver made?
Colloidal silver is made by a process called electrolysis. Electrolysis is the chemical breakdown of a compound into its constituent elements brought about by a flow of electric current. To make colloidal silver, two pieces of silver wire (not touching) are placed in a glass of distilled water. One piece is attached to the postive battery terminal and the other to the negative battery terminal. This creates an electic circuit through the water. Please note, because the distilled water carries no electrical charge, a very small amount of salt solution is needed to complete the circuit in the solution.
Very quickly the silver wire connected to the positive terminal will start releasing silver particles into the water, which is the colloidal silver. In actuality, you only need one silver wire, and can use copper or another conductive metal for the other, but it’s safer to use two, so that you don’t mix them up by mistake. Our Wombat Survival Colloidal Silver Generator kits are safe and easy to use. Simple step by step illustrated instructions are included with each generator.
Do you need distilled water to make colloidal silver?
Distilled water is the best, because it is 100% pure. Tap water, mineral water, spring water, etc. contain impurities and should not be used. You can buy distilled water at most grocery stores and supermarkets, but it can get expensive. Another option is to purchase a countertop water distiller, which will pay for itself very quickly.
If you can’t get distilled water, highly purified water made with a reverse osmosis filter is the second best choice. Reverse osmosis filter systems will remove more than 99% of most dangerous contaminants in the water. Many are in the same price range as colloidal silver generators, but may require installation under the sink.
Can you use sterling silver?
Never! Sterling silver is only 92.5% silver. The rest is mostly copper and some other metals. Minimally the silver you use should be 99.9% pure. Ideally you want to use the purest silver available. At Wombat Survival we only use the finest 99.99% pure silver, which is 100 times as pure as 99.9% silver! All orders shipped come with a Certificate of Compliance confirming both purity and wire gauge.
It’s interesting to note that the The Canadian Silver Maple Leaf coin is a 99.99% pure-silver bullion coin that is issued annually by the Government of Canada, and is produced by the Royal Canadian Mint. These can be used as well to make colloidal silver.
How long will the silver rods last?
Everytime you make colloidal silver solution the silver rod connected to the positive terminal will be losing particles and getting thinner. They will eventually get so thin that they will break under light pressure and will need to be replaced. Obviously, using it less often will extend the life of the silver rods. You can rotate the rods each time between the positive and negative terminals, so they will wear evenly.
It’s impossible to say exactly how long they will last without needing to be replaced, but in our experience most people get many years of use from a single set of silver rods. I’ve personally used my set for well over 10 years. Our heavy-duty 12-gauge wire has 26% more surface area than the more commonly sold 14-gauge wire, assuring that you get many years of use from a set of our silver wire electrode rods.
How do I store colloidal silver?
When storing your colloidal silver, it should be kept in a dark glass container and not exposed to direct sunlight. It should be kept at room temperature and not refrigerated. Also, colloidal silver should not be stored next to electronic and electrical devices such as televisions, computers, microwaves, speakers, etc., because they can deactivate the charged silver particles and cause them to fall out of suspension to the bottom of the container.
