Cleaning jewelry at home - how to properly clean items

Why do you need to clean gold? Cleaning silver jewelry

Gold, unlike silver, does not tarnish over time, but products made from it easily accumulate dust and dirt, as a result of which they lose their luster and do not attract proper attention. In addition, bacteria found on contaminated products can cause harm to health, causing various inflammations. Therefore, for beauty and hygiene purposes, gold jewelry needs periodic cleaning.

Of course, for a certain fee, such a service can be provided to you in a jewelry workshop, but restoring the shine of gold jewelry is quite simple at home - all you need to do is have on hand a few ingredients and tools that can be found at home. As a result, your jewelry will look like new, and you will be able to save time and money.

Indicators of stone purity

In some cases, a single cleansing procedure is not enough and must be repeated several times. Among the main indicators of the purity of the amulet:

• smooth, silky, as if a newly polished surface of the stone;
• you are pleased to touch the gem, you feel cool and fresh;
• brightness, saturation of the color shade of the mineral;
• the gem seems to glow from within, emitting a radiance;
• taking the stone in your hands, you feel your mood lifting, you begin to feel confident in your abilities, and a feeling of comfort returns to you;
• power and strength emanate from the talisman.

Do not forget that jewelry, amulets, and amulets cannot be given to anyone, even just to take a closer look or try on. If you are afraid that your refusal will offend the person, then try not to give it to them, but simply put it on the table. Let your interlocutor take it from the table, and then, after trying it on, put it back. Then clean again.

Methods for cleaning gold at home

First, you need to determine the degree of contamination of the gold product and proceed from this when choosing a method for cleaning it.

Washing gold items

Lightly soiled jewelry that has been cleaned recently can be simply rinsed in a soapy solution. To prepare the solution, any soap, shampoo or other foamy product must be added to hot water. Leave the jewelry in the solution for a couple of hours, then gently brush with a soft toothbrush, rinse under running water and dry. If necessary, repeat the procedure, first soaking the products in a soap solution.

Chemical cleaning of gold

Quite often, black and greenish spots appear on gold items. The reason for their occurrence is associated with the oxidation of metals that are present in gold jewelry under the influence of air and water. Alloys are used to give products strength, since gold, which has a soft structure, is not used in its pure form. In order to remove oxidation stains, use an ammonia solution, which can be purchased at any pharmacy.

The ammonia solution should be poured into any non-metallic container and the product should be placed in it for 3-12 hours, depending on the degree of contamination. After this, the product also needs to be cleaned and rinsed. When working with ammonia, be sure to follow safety precautions!

Mechanical cleaning

If the gold item is heavily soiled and cannot be cleaned using the methods described above, clean it using abrasive materials. Never use baking soda or dish detergent for cleaning as they will scratch the decoration. This can cause the product to become dull and also lose weight due to the fact that its top layer is removed.

It is best to use a special paste with this method, which you can easily prepare yourself.

It is based on equal parts of toothpaste, soap shavings, Vaseline and crushed chalk. Apply a small amount of the mixture to a soft cloth and wipe the surface of the jewelry in one direction. After this, you need to clean the product from any remaining paste with a soft cloth, wipe it with vodka or alcohol to remove the fatty film from the surface, rinse with warm water and dry.

How to properly store diamonds

Diamonds should be protected from direct sunlight, as well as bleaches, powders and other harsh chemicals. It is recommended to store diamond jewelry in closed boxes lined on the inside with soft material, such as velor or velvet. Velvet bags will also work.

It is best to store jewelry separately from each other. So, different diamond rings should not touch each other. You should not leave diamond jewelry for a long time in rooms with high humidity.

Do not store diamond jewelry near heating appliances. It is also undesirable for stones to lie next to pearls. You can put a bag of silica gel in your jewelry box to absorb excess moisture.

Traditional methods of cleaning gold

There are also proven folk methods for cleaning gold at home:

• an effective and gentle way to clean gold that does not damage the surface of the product - using tooth powder;
• soak a soft cloth in a mixture of beer and egg white and wipe the product;
• wipe the decoration with table vinegar;
• wipe the contaminated surface with onion juice, rinse and dry;
• wipe the gold item with an aqueous solution of borax (sodium tetraborate), which can be purchased at the pharmacy;
• Another effective method is cleaning with ammonia. It is necessary to prepare a mixture of chalk and ammonia, wash first in soapy water, and then in running water and dry;
• Using lipstick that contains titanium dioxide can help get rid of black spots.
• Wipe the product with a small amount of lipstick applied to a dry swab, then polish it until shiny with a piece of velvet cloth;

Using hydrosulfite (usually used by photographers to print photographs) you can remove iodine stains. To do this, the jewelry needs to be placed in a hydrosulfite solution for half an hour, then rinsed and dried.

Recommendations for caring for gold jewelry

The more often the noble metal is cleaned, the faster it will lose its attractiveness. To avoid this, you need to consider the following recommendations for caring for gold jewelry:

1. After visiting the bath or washing dishes, you need to wipe the items dry with a towel or napkins.
2. Before cleaning or visiting the bathhouse, jewelry should be removed.
3. You need to store jewelry in a special case.

It is better to take antique jewelry to a workshop for cleaning.

There are many ways to clean gold jewelry from dirt. One part of them is suitable for destroying heavy stains, and the other is only suitable for removing light deposits. Before carrying out work, it is necessary to study the specifics of using chemicals so as not to damage metal surfaces.

White gold cleaning

White gold is a metal obtained by combining gold, nickel and copper in certain proportions. White gold is similar in color to platinum or silver. Products made of white gold in combination with diamonds look beautiful and elegant. Cleaning such jewelry absolutely cannot be done using abrasives, since their top layer is usually irradiated, that is, treated with radium ions. It is best to prepare a solution of equal parts water and ammonia, as well as a small amount of any detergent and leave the product in it for 30 minutes. After this, rinse and dry well.

Features of caring for jewelry with stones

Avoid leaving stones in direct sunlight as this may cause some stones, such as turquoise or garnet, to change color. Gold items with precious and semi-precious stones should be cleaned once a month. Their cleaning must be carried out with great care. It is best to use a cotton swab for this, which is wound on a match or stick. Dip it in cologne or alcohol and clean the stone on all sides.

If the stones are not secured to the product with “paws”, but are glued, then it is better not to immerse such products in water.

Grease stains can be easily removed from stones using gasoline. Soak a soft-bristled toothbrush in it and gently brush the stones. Precious and semi-precious stones - emeralds, diamonds, sapphires, topazes, etc. - can be cleaned using any soap solution, then rinse with warm water.

Diamond jewelry can be cleaned with a soft brush and any liquid detergent applied to it.

Cleaning gold plated jewelry

Gilded products do not differ in appearance from gold ones and are not inferior to them in beauty, although they are much cheaper. Such jewelry is made from various alloys and then covered with a thin layer of gold leaf. Thanks to modern technologies, tiny gold droplets are sprayed onto the alloy.

When cleaning such products with abrasive pastes and powders, a thin layer of gold plating can easily be damaged. It is better to use vinegar, wine alcohol, egg white, and beer for this. Apply one of these products to the surface of the product, rinse and dry.

With proper care, gold-plated jewelry will serve you for a long time without losing its beautiful appearance.

The need to clean stones

This is due to the fact that during the operation of a talisman, amulet, talisman made of crystal, part of the negative energy does not disappear completely, but remains in it. As a result of prolonged use, a large amount of negativity accumulates inside the mineral. This can lead to the talisman losing its protective functions, the owner’s mood deteriorates, his health deteriorates, fatigue, drowsiness and other problems appear.

But bad energy can accumulate not only during long-term use. A conflict situation, quarrel, scandal in which you become a participant leads to a surge of negative vibrations that the crystal can “remember” in its energy structure.

Decorating with such a negative crystal may not harm you. In most cases, it simply stops being liked. You take it out of the box less and less, and then you stop wearing it completely. If a lot of negative information accumulates, the stone may become cloudy, lose transparency, and cracks and other defects may appear on it.

Those stones that have recently appeared in your collection also need to be subjected to a mandatory cleaning procedure, and it doesn’t matter how:

• inherited from my beloved grandmother;
• was purchased from an online store or jewelry boutique;
• given by a loved one;
• was accidentally found on the street, on the beach, and so on.

Before the product reaches you, it has passed through the hands of many people. The crystal structure has absorbed information that is foreign to you, not always of a positive nature. Only found unprocessed stones are absolutely free from energy, completely pure.

Gemstones are the most susceptible to energy pollution. Among them, the most dangerous, in case of untimely or incorrectly performed cleaning, is onyx. But citrine is easy enough to take care of regularly. If the mineral was inherited from deceased relatives, or it is intended to be used to treat diseases, then it must be subjected to a complete purification procedure.

Causes of gold blackening

You can often observe blackening of gold. Popularly, this effect is often mistaken for the evil eye. But there are understandable, logical reasons for the darkening of gold.

Jewelry is never made from pure gold

Silver, copper and palladium, which are added to the alloy, give the product wear resistance and strength. However, during the production of jewelry, the ligature can be broken; this is often done on purpose, in order to save money by reducing the cost of the material.

Biological characteristics of the human body can also lead to blackening of gold. It is no secret that the environment today is far from ideal; this, in turn, affects the human body.

The body's waste products are eliminated through the skin, and as a result of contact with it, a dark film of dust, grease and sulfides can form on the surface of gold jewelry. This film can be easily removed using liquid soap and ammonia.

Professional products

Special products are sold for home cleaning of gems: