Home DIYs to Clean Your Jewelry To Keep It Shining Like New

Exposure to dust and grime, lotions and soaps, and even air and moisture may dull and dull your favorite pieces over time, robbing them of their luster.

Fortunately, most things in your necklace box may be cleaned without visiting a qualified jeweler. Revive rusty silver and dull gold to its former glory, glistening stones such as diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, and turn those gems brilliant again.

There are some simple fixes for restoring the luster and sparkle to your prized possessions. Instead of spending money on travel to the jeweler to have your jewelry polished, consider one of these inexpensive home treatments made using common home materials.

What Professionals use to clean jewelry?

We spend a lot of money on jewelry, so it is essential to keep it clean and glistening. “How does one clean jewelry at home?” In this article, we would take a hands-on approach to show you the best methods to use daily to clean jewelry.

So there are two types of people; those that can clean jewelry by themselves and those who leave it to a professional. There are several techniques, but the number one technique jewelers use ultrasonic cleaners. These are sizeable machines with added cleaning solutions. They use high-frequency sound waves and chemicals, which create bubbles that latch on and ultimately remove any dirt and grime build-up. Therefore affordable versions of these machines are available in any online shop you might want to visit. However, if you are looking to purchase one, keep in mind that cleaning your jewelry this way at home could cause damage depending on the stone treatment or setting. So you have got to be careful. This is why it is essential to have your jeweler clean your jewelry using these machines to avoid damage.

Regardless, if you wish to clean your jewelry at home, this article narrows many techniques to three effective cleaning methods by a jewelry type.

How to Clean Silver Jewelry?

A practical method to cleaning silver jewelry is using shine bright. Shine bright is excellent for all kinds of tarnished metals, and if you appreciate instant gratification, this technique might suit you best. So you take a piece of jewelry, and you place it into the basket that comes in the shine bright’s container and dip into the solution of shine bright and swirl it around a few times. It instantly gets cleaned during the first few seconds. Then you rinse around a few times before taking it out into some lukewarm water under a faucet, and you dry it in a paper towel.

You might want to wear a mask that covers your nose while using this method, as the solution does not have an appealing smell. However, it gets the job done.

How to Clean Diamond Jewelry?

For diamonds, you can use dish detergent in warm water and a new soft bristle toothbrush. The most effective and safest homemade jewelry cleaning solution is a mixture of a few drops of dish detergent, commonly used in homes. Dish detergent is proven to clean oil and grime in warm water. If you are cleaning diamonds, you can use boiling hot water, whereas, with other jewelry, you could use lukewarm water because they could easily crack. It is essential not to use a toothbrush that already has toothpaste on it. So when you drop the dirty diamond jewelry in the mixture of detergent and hot water, you let it stay for about 15 to 20 minutes. After you scrub on them with a new soft bristle toothbrush. It is essential not to use an old toothbrush as it might have some toothpaste residue that could scratch the jewelry. After scrubbing the jewelry with a new toothbrush, you can rinse it in lukewarm water and dry it with a paper towel. The result would be a more sparkly, cleaner, and pristine piece of jewelry. You can do this cleaning once a week since it is a pretty straightforward method that you quickly find in a home.

How to Clean Gold and Platinum Jewelry?

You could clean using the same techniques as diamonds and in a polishing cloth for gold and Platinum. A polishing cloth has essentially two layers; the inside is just to clean the grime or whatever tarnish has built up, and then the outside is to polish it. You could get a polishing cloth on an online selling platform. Golden Platinum could also clean using the same techniques as you would for diamonds and polish it using a polishing jewelry cloth.

Why Should You Not Use Baking Soda or Vinegar to Clean Jewelry?

It is important to note that you should not clean your jewelry with baking soda. Baking soda is slightly abrasive and can scratch softer stones and metals. Likewise, vinegar should not be an option for you when you clean your jewelry at home. You can use vinegar or baking soda for very durable metal and stone such as diamond, white gold, or rose gold, but for weaker stones like opal or emerald, you should avoid using them. Vinegar is acidic and could damage plated jewelry and harmful porous stones. Most stones are porous other than ruby, sapphires, and diamonds.

Lastly, do not use boiling water in the rinse solution just because it can crack some precious stones.

Unconventional methods to clean Artificial Jewelry at home

The first method involves ketchup, an unused toothbrush, and your favorite old jewelry, which you do not want to get rid of. This method applies to jewelry that has not been used for a very long time and is now oxidized. So for cleaning your jewelry, you will dip the toothbrush into the tomato ketchup and gently apply it all over your jewelry. This DIY method will work out on metal jewelry. If you have a piece of jewelry made of metal and non-metal, only the metal parts will change; the non-metallic parts will remain unchanged. After brushing the jewelry with ketchup, set it aside for ten minutes. It is in the process that all the oxidization residues and dirt will come off your jewelry. After ten minutes, give your jewelry a gentle scrub with your toothbrush, and you will notice the dirt coming off quickly. At this point, your jewelry will be clearer and polished. Slowly and steadily, you will see your jewelry turning black because it is where all the oxidization is going on. Once done, wash your jewelry with lukewarm water and set it aside. To dry your jewelry, pat it with a dry towel. The result is incredible, with your jewelry looking polished.

For the second DIY, you will use your jewelry, toothpaste, and toothbrush. This process is almost similar to the latter. You will apply toothpaste over your toothbrush and gently rub it all over the jewelry. Once you are satisfied with your cleaning, you should put the jewelry for a warm water bath. After washing with lukewarm water, pat the jewelry dry with a towel. The finished output looks clean and polished.

Another method that is also quite out of the norm is using Alka Seltzer. Alka Seltzer is suitable for cleaning precious stones at home. Simply immerse your jewelry in a small glass of water, add a pill or two of Alka-Seltzer, and set it alone for 10-15 minutes, based on the amount of water and jewelry you want to clean. Then take out the jewelry, brush carefully with a soft-bristled toothbrush, then pat dry. Real gold chains, gold bands, and silver will also be free of residue with this approach.

Ammonia is another atypical way to clean your jewelry at home. You can bring back glow to your jewelry by soaking them in a solution of ammonia and warm water for about ten minutes. For half cup of ammonia, you should be able to use one cup of warm water. After letting the jewelry in this solution for some time, gently pat it with a clean, soft cloth. The limitation to this method is that you can not use it for pearls as ammonia will dull the color of the delicate surface of pearls.

For many people, beer, vodka, and club soda are majorly used as a drink or in cooking. If you did not know this, we introduce you to beer as a cleaning agent for jewelry. You can use this method by pouring some beer onto a dry cloth and then rubbing it gently over the jewelry piece. On the other hand, you can also bring back glaze to your jewelry by soaking them inside a glass of club soda and allow it to soak overnight. Later remove and soak it off with a clean towel.

Also, any glass or jewelry with dazzling stones may be polished with a few vodka sprays. Even if people stare, you may clean the grime off your eyeglasses with a cloth dipped in vodka and applied to the stones, or submerge your item of jewelry for a few seconds to restore its shine. It would be folly to try this with prescription lenses! Any gemstone that isn't a crystal should also be kept out of the reach of alcohol. Diamonds, emeralds, and other jewels will benefit from a vodka bath.

Another method that is peculiar to cleaning pearls is using shampoo. To polish your pearls, use a little amount of gentle shampoo (think baby shampoo). If you don't want to risk harming your pearls by soaking them, use this simple approach! Combine a little amount of shampoo and warm water. To make this approach work best, use a small brush, such as a cosmetics brush, to polish each pearl with a small amount of the mixture (make sure the brush is clean beforehand!). Turquoise and opals, for example, will benefit from this treatment.

Another technique is to use a window detergent. Window detergent is used to freshen up all-metal jewelry or jewelry with transparent jewels like diamonds or rubies. After spraying on the cleanser, clean with an unused toothbrush. This will be bad if the item contains non-transparent stones like opal or turquoise or organic jewels like a pearl. The detergent's ammonia and chemicals can tarnish these fragile beauties.

How to Care for Your Jewelry Properly?

It is essential to get rid of your rings when you wash your hands, shower, apply body lotion/beauty creams to keep your jewelry safe from any secondary reacting effect with the different solutions.

Avoid wearing jewelry when you swim. In swimming, there is chlorine and salt, which could damage your jewelry.

For pearls, it is crucial to use a soft towel to clean your jewelry after each wearing to get rid of oils and perfumes that could change their color.

Finally, do not forget to check your valuable jewelry at your jewelry store or Jewelry repair to verify and examine the state and settings of your jewelry with time.

How to Store Your Jewelry Properly?

Storing jewelry is another aspect of how nice your jewelry will look while you use them. The way you keep your jewelry would significantly affect how they look; therefore, you should follow all essential guidelines necessary for their storage.

First things first are to avoid exposing and keeping your jewelry with direct sunlight and excessive heat. Your jewelry would look more attractive if you keep them in clean and dry places.

However, you might like the idea of keeping jewelry exposed out just for the visual fun of it, as is the case with people who expose their jewelry on decorative trinket trays and jewelry holders. You could still do this, but you should be willing to clean the jewelry regularly to maintain its glow.

Another storage tip is to keep all your jewelry pieces in a box with separate compartments to avoid mixing, scratching, and rubbing against each other.

Source:

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