Having the most stunning jewelry in the world means nothing if your jewelry isn’t kept clean. With everyday wear, your jewelry becomes worn and dull. Whether you’re wearing your favorite gold chain or silver hoops, you need them to shine as brightly as possible!
Knowing how to clean jewelry properly is an essential step in ensuring all of your jewelry items shine to their fullest potential. Each piece of jewelry will need to be cleaned differently depending on what it’s made of. For example, your gold pieces and your silver pieces require different cleaning methods to clean them without causing damage.
Don’t be caught walking around with dull or tarnished jewelry. Learn how to clean all of your jewelry pieces the right way, no matter what material they’re made of by continuing to read below.
Here’s everything you need to know!
Pearls
Pearls, like opals and turquoise, are porous and will need gentle cleanings. Soaking your pearl necklaces in a solution will damage them. Instead, you’ll want to lie your pearls on a clean and soft cloth.
Combine warm water with a small amount of shampoo. You can then take a makeup brush or a soft-bristled toothbrush and gently rub the pearls clean with the solution. When finished, take another clean and soft cloth and dampen it.
Rub the pearls clean. Lay the necklace on a flat surface to air dry. This helps prevent stretching.
Gemstones
For gemstones, create a solution of a few drops of dish soap and warm seltzer water. Take a soft-bristled toothbrush to gently clean the gemstone. After scrubbing clean, place the gemstones in regular water to rinse.
To dry your gemstones, you can buff them dry.
Gold
Gold jewelry pieces can be cleaned by placing them in a cleaning solution to soak. Mix warm water with a few drops of dish soap and then place your gold jewelry inside. You’ll let them soak for about 5 minutes before removing them.
As they soak, you can move them around a bit by giving the container a little shake. This might help break up some of that built on dirt. When the 5 minutes is done, remove the gold pieces, and place them on a soft cloth.
There might still be dirt stuck inside clasps and other small cracks. To remove this stubborn dirt, you can use a soft-bristled toothbrush to scrub clean. When done, rinse all pieces under running water and buff dry using a clean soft cloth.
Silver
The best way to clean your silver jewelry is to use a silver jewelry cleaner. These cleaners are made specifically for silver pieces and will clean them well without damaging them. If you don’t have a silver cleaner, then you can try a few other methods.
Do keep in mind that using other methods should only be done once in a while as silver can be damaged easily. Silver-plated jewelry should be given even more gentle care than your other silver pieces. With this in mind, here are a few methods to try.
Baking Soda
Use this method on silver jewelry that’s extremely tarnished. Mix 1 part water with 3 parts baking soda. Use a soft cloth to apply to your silver. Be sure that you rinse your silver beforehand.
Rub the tarnish off your silver using the cloth and mixture. When done, rinse with cold water and use a clean soft cloth to buff dry.
Dish Soap
Mix warm water with a few drops of dish soap to create this mixture. Take a clean and soft cloth and did it into the mixture. Gently rub the silver clean using the cloth and the solution.
After the tarnish’s removed, rinse the silver clean using cold water and buff dry with a clean and soft cloth.
Silver/Gold Mix
Some jewelry pieces might be a mixture of both gold and silver. When cleaning a gold and silver piece, you’ll need the following:
* A clean cloth
* Mild detergent
* White vinegar
* Milk
* Tomato juice
* Baking soda
* A bowl
If your jewelry needs a simple dusting, then you can do so using a clean soft cloth. For jewelry that needs a deeper cleaning, use the warm water and dish soap method.
If your jewelry pieces are tarnished and in need of a good deep cleaning, then place them inside a bowl. Cover the pieces fully using either the white vinegar, milk, or tomato juice. Let them soak in the bowl overnight.
Rinse clean with warm water and dish soap in the morning. If some sections of the jewelry are still tarnished, you can rub them clean using some baking soda sprinkled onto a damp soft cloth.
Remember to be extremely gentle and rinse and buff dry.
Copper
If your copper jewelry doesn’t have a gemstone in it, then you can use a simple lemon juice and salt mixture to clean them. Wet your copper jewelry with the lemon juice and then sprinkle on some salt.
Take a soft cloth and rub the copper clean. You can also cut a lemon in half and sprinkle salt onto the lemon and use the lemon to rub the copper clean. When done, rinse the copper and buff dry using a clean and soft cloth.
Costume Jewelry
Costume jewelry is fun and can be just as stunning as your other pieces! When cleaning costume jewelry, you need to dip a clean and soft cloth into a dish soap and water mixture. Use the cloth to wipe clean any dirt on your costume jewelry.
When done, rinse the jewelry with a damp cloth. Set the pieces out to air dry. Be sure to lie all pieces upside down to prevent the water from settling into the jewelry’s setting.
It’s Time to Clean Jewelry the Right Way
If you want your jewelry to shine for a lifetime, then you need to keep these tips in mind. Clean jewelry without causing damage by following these helpful steps above.
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Thank you for all this information. I am happy to learn how to clean all the different type of my jewelry.
This is a very informative blog post about cleaning jewelry. I didn’t know you could use dish soap and baking soda to clean jewelry. Now only if I had expensive jewelry that needed cleaning 😉