Jewelry 101: Effective Ways To Clean Your Jewelry

It would be best to make sure that your jewelry pieces are still clean to keep them in pristine condition. After all, there are a lot of things that could clog their settings or stones.

They can be dust, dirt, lotion, and soap, and all of them can accumulate and make your jewelry look dull.

If you notice that your jewels are not looking as lustrous as they used to, then it may be time for a jewelry cleaner.

Preventive Measures To Avoid Tarnishing

When it comes to preventing tarnishing, it’s all about good storage practices. A few simple storage methods can prolong the beauty of your jewelry.

Costume Jewelry: Store Them in Plain Sight

No one wants to dig through their jewelry box the first thing in the morning when you need to go to work.

Hiding them in the depths of your cabinet and pulling them out can damage them. Leave the ones you frequently wear in the open to prevent that.

For the ones you don’t wear as much, store them in a dry area-use a mini dehumidifier to ensure moisture won’t tarnish them.
Also, use twist ties to keep them from getting tangled.

If you’re still just planning to buy one, make sure that the one you’ll purchase has rhodium plating.

Rhodium is a metal that doesn’t tarnish, and it can keep your costume jewelry last long until the plating wears off.

Clean And Dry Before Storing

Moisture is one of the most significant tarnishing factors for jewelry. It can cause metal parts to degrade fast that can lead to too hard to reverse damages.

If one is already tarnished, be sure to get it cleaned and fixed right away and avoid putting it together with the rest of your jewelry.

Maintain A Consistent Temperature

Find a spot in a home that is far away from vents and windows. Keep them inside a closet that is consistently cool and dark.

During the summer months, be sure to check your pieces of jewelry twice a week and consider buying silica packets or a dehumidifier to absorb excess moisture and prevent the temperature to spike up.

Avoid Sunlit Storage

Some stones don’t do well when exposed to UV lights for long periods. You should keep pieces used in a dresser or nightstand.
Develop a habit of putting away your fine jewelry. Keep them in the same area so that you won’t misplace them.

Separate Jewelry By Metal

Silver jewelry, fine jewelry, and costume jewelry should all have their separate storage areas.

This separation helps prevent any interaction between the different metals. These interactions are often the cause of sudden tarnishing.

When dealing with silver jewelry, keep them from getting a lot of air exposure. Hide them in a felt pouch, felt-lined jewelry box, or silver polishing cloth.

Felt helps absorb excess moisture and prolongs your jewelry’s condition.

Cleaning Jewelry

While professional cleaning can do the job for you, there are ways to clean jewelry even while at home. All we need are supplies that are commonly found inside the house.

A proper application of them will lead your jewels to look brand new. Remember to use recommended cleaning materials like the ones below:

Vinegar

You can use white vinegar to clean jewelry with gemstones and gold. Place your jewelry inside a container with vinegar and let it sit inside for 10 minutes.

Agitate it a few times during this period and then remove it. Finish off by using a soft-bristled toothbrush to scrub any areas that still need some cleaning.

Cleaning jewelry with vinegar is one of the common homemade cleaning solutions.

Hydrogen Peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide homemade jewelry cleaner can be an effective cleaner for jewelry when mixed with baking soda.

Add a few drops of the chemical to the baking soda and then gently place them on the jewelry. Afterward, rinse and dry. This solution will help remove oils, grime, and dirt.

The Best Jewelry Cleaning Solution

The most effective jewelry cleaner is to use a few drops of mild dish detergent in lukewarm water. Avoid using hot water as it will do more harm than good.

After making the solution, the jewelry piece inside for a few minutes, depending on how dirty it is. Then use a small soft-bristled toothbrush to scrub any dirt remaining.

Afterward, place the jewelry in another container with lukewarm water.
Do not place it in water with a drastically different temperature as the gemstones might react to this change. Afterward, use a cloth or paper towel to dry your piece off.

What Do Professional Jewelers Use?

Jewelers use specialized cleaning equipment when it comes to jewelry. They focus on keeping the jewels safe while removing all the dust and dirt.

One of the tools that jewelers use is an ultrasonic cleaner.
This tool uses high-frequency sounds to shake off the dirt and let it mix with a cleaning chemical substance. Using it is fast, effective, and safe for your pieces. In a jewelers workshop, these chemical substances used must be kept in a controlled environment to make sure they do not interact with other chemicals or jewelry products. There are chemical spill kits that can be found here, meaning that they are kept contained at all times.

Another method that professionals use is steam. They have a tool that blasts jewelry with strong and hot steam that washes off all dirt and grime and brings back a piece’s shine.

You can always ask your best jewelry cleaner expert to learn more about their methods.