How to clean jewelry. Jewelry should shine, but the gold ring and silver chain become dull, the precious metals tarnish and look worn out over time. Deposits of dirt, dust, and hygiene, and cosmetic products are responsible for this.
You can clean the jewelry with home remedies so that the jewelry looks like it used to. What you should consider in advance:
- If you are dealing with valuable jewelry pieces with precious stones or pearls, you should seek advice from the jewelry store about which gentle cleaning agents you can work with.
- Use a soft brush to clean jewelry. You should avoid stiff bristles as they cause scratches.
- It is best to clean your jewelry with lukewarm tap water. Make sure you insert the stopper in the sink so that the jewelry doesn’t accidentally go down the drain.
Clean gold jewelry with home remedies: How to clean jewelry
Gold is a relatively soft metal that can scratch quickly. That is why more resistant metal such as silver is often added to it. However, these mixed alloys tend to tarnish faster. With the following tools, you can easily clean the jewelry and gently but thoroughly remove deposits from gold.
Water bath with washing-up liquid and mild soap
- Place the jewelry in a bowl filled with lukewarm water.
- Add a few drops of organic dish soap or some mild soap. You can also use homemade dish soap for this. The surfactants ensure that deposits such as fats (from creams or the skin’s sebum) detach from the jewelry pieces and remain in the water.
- Leave the gold jewelry in the water bath for up to 15 minutes.
- Then use a soft brush, such as a baby toothbrush to remove stubborn dirt.
- Rinse the jewelry with water and buff it with a soft cloth.
Baking powder and baking soda against tarnished gold jewelry
- Baking powder is perfect for making tarnished gold shine again. Put a teaspoon of it on a soft cloth and rub the jewelry with it until it shines.
- Rinse it off with lukewarm water and buff it off with a second cloth.
Alternatively, you can put a teaspoon of baking soda on the piece of jewelry and let the baking soda take effect. Rinse the jewelry with lukewarm water and buff it with a soft cloth.
Tips of How to clean jewelry
- While toothpaste and denture cleaners are often recommended for cleaning jewelry, it is better not to use these home remedies. The toothpaste contains abrasive particles that can scratch the gold, and denture cleaner tabs contain aggressive ingredients.
- Often you will also find instructions on how to clean gold jewelry with aluminum foil. However, we generally advise against using aluminum foil, as the material can harm both the environment and our health.
Clean silver jewelry with home remedies
If you don’t wear silver jewelry often, the black discoloration can appear on it. These deposits are silver sulfide, formed when silver reacts with oxygen and traces of hydrogen sulfide. The substances can get onto the metal through the air or food residues on our fingers. You can use home remedies to clean the jewelry and remove the black stains quickly.
Lemon juice and salt
- Mix a paste of lemon juice and salt that shouldn’t be too runny.
- Put the mixture on a soft cloth and use the paste to buff the discolored silver.
- Then rinse the jewelry with warm water and buff it with a soft cloth.
Citric acid and toothpaste
Silver is not as prone to scratches as gold. You can therefore use toothpaste in the event of severe discoloration.
- Put some citric acid in a bowl and dip some toothpaste in it.
- Then use it to buff the piece of jewelry.
- Then wash the piece of jewelry off and buff it with a soft cloth.
Tip: If you add a little baking soda to the citric acid, the cleaning effect increases.
baking powder
- Mix water with baking soda and apply the paste to a soft toothbrush.
- Rub the mixture on the jewelry with the toothbrush.
- If the discoloration is stubborn, you can leave the mixture on the silver for up to half an hour.
- Then rinse the jewelry with water and buff it with a soft cloth.
Tips :
Proper storage can prevent discoloration or help prevent it from occurring so quickly. Store silver jewelry in a dry, closed container, preferably in a jewelry box or in reusable bags that can be closed.
To prevent discoloration, you can polish the jewelry regularly with a silver cleaning cloth.
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