How to clean gold with hydrogen peroxide and baking soda at home

Gold is one of the most famous and popular metals around the world used to create exquisite jewelry. Such accessories look very attractive, have a beautiful shine in artificial and natural light, are durable, reliable, and not prone to breakage. However, all jewelry cannot be completely without flaws. Also products made of precious metal – gold. They, like other jewelry, must be properly cared for. The essence of care is cleaning, which, by the way, is easy to do at home. Let's figure out how to clean gold with hydrogen peroxide and other means.

Gold jewelry can be for both men and women. There are special types of jewelry that are created to support physical health (with healing stones), for wearing by children and adolescents. After all, oddly enough, not only adults want to wear gold items, since the metal itself is light and can be melted down very well.

On the jewelry market at a given time you can find a great variety of gold bracelets, rings, chains, necklaces, earrings, pendants, etc. This suggests that the consumer can choose exactly the option that suits his lifestyle, appearance view. It's easy to buy beautiful jewelry at a good price.

I would also like to note that purchasing gold products is a very profitable investment, because only this metal does not lose its price and properties over time.

Where can you take care of gold jewelry:

in sales showrooms;
in cleaning and repair workshops;
at home.

The essence of care is that gold is cleaned of the sticky layer, darkening on its surface or other dirt residues.

Of course, you can go to a salon or workshop, but cleaning gold jewelry will be quite expensive, and this is not very beneficial for a person’s budget. Therefore, it is advised to carry out “care procedures” at home.

Is it possible to clean gold with baking soda and hydrogen peroxide?

Baking soda and hydrogen peroxide work great as cleaning agents to give gold a shine and a clean, even finish.

Benefits of using baking soda as the main component of cleaning solutions:

The naturalness of the composition ensures gentle interaction with impurities included in gold jewelry, so the mixtures are cleaned but not damaged (if the instructions are followed).
Cleaning with soda-based mixtures does not require long preparation.
The cleansing method is accessible to everyone, since all components are used in everyday life and are available in any home.

Using soda, you can both clean gold from the outer oxide film and fats and polish it. In this case, it is worth refraining from mechanical cleaning by exposure to dry powder in order to protect the metal from damaging the surface. Only gentle exposure with solutions and pastes.

Benefits of using hydrogen peroxide:

Methods involving peroxide are suitable for all precious metal samples.
In addition to peroxide, cleaning solutions contain ingredients that are available in every home.
Minimum effort and time with maximum cleansing effect.
Peroxide, like soda, does not protect the metal from darkening and dirt, but it cleans perfectly.

The cleaning method using peroxide should be abandoned if there are inserts of precious or semi-precious stones.

Will such cleaning do any harm?

It is not for nothing that gold is classified as a noble metal. Its advantages include not only its attractive appearance and high price, but also its strength and resistance to solvents. It is quite difficult to spoil gold items. Of course, if you act within reason. Stick to the recipe and observe the dosages, and then you will not risk damage to your jewelry.

Let us remind you: pure gold is a soft, ductile, but at the same time dense and heavy metal. 100% gold can only be found in bars. And in jewelry there is 38-75% gold (385 standard - 38%, 585 standard - 58%, 750 - 75%, etc.).

List of contraindications

Hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, ammonia and most other home remedies are safe for gold. But you need to take into account that the products may contain stones and glue, which dissolve in an aggressive environment and deteriorate. It is not recommended to clean with home remedies:

Jewelry with adhesive setting. Stones of complex shapes, as well as amber and pearls, are often glued. Such decorations should not be immersed in water or liquid solutions.
Jewelry with organic inserts and soft stones: pearls, amber, coral, malachite, turquoise. They are very sensitive to various influences and to hydrogen peroxide in particular. Jewelry with the listed stones can be cleaned either by a specialist or at home with alcohol diluted in half with water.

Gold jewelry with sapphires, emeralds, quartz, aquamarine, topaz, beryl and other hard stones can be cleaned with peroxide and ammonia. As well as irradiated gold, matte, white.

Gold below 585 contains 50% or more different alloys, so it reacts more easily with strong oxidizing agents and alkalis. But it is stronger and practically not subject to deformation and scratches.

Cautions

Before cleaning gold items at home, you should familiarize yourself with a number of rules.

To prevent your jewelry from getting damaged:

Use only soft materials and brushes. Of course, something tough and hard will clean your jewelry faster. But then there is a risk of leaving scratches on the product. They may not be visible to the naked eye, but if you look at the reflections through a magnifying glass, the gold will appear dotted with thin stripes and depressions.
Avoid abrasive cleaning products. Powders and gels with hard particles also leave marks on the gold. After such cleaning, the gold can only be restored by polishing by a master.
Do not use bleach or other aggressive substances. They can lead to loss of shine and stains on the product. Gold itself is resistant to most oxidizing agents and solvents, but additives in the form of silver, nickel, palladium, and copper are not.
Use only glass and ceramic dishes. Metal containers will participate in a chemical reaction, but we don’t need that.
Do not clean items of different samples, white and yellow, red gold, silver, in the same container. This may cause color changes.
Prepare your jewelry for cleaning. Remove pendants from chains and sort different types of gold and items with different types of stones.

We recommend: How and with what can you quickly clean bronze products at home?

Cleaning gold with hydrogen peroxide and soda

When hydrogen peroxide and soda are combined, a mild chemical reaction occurs that effectively removes light stains. By combining peroxide with soda, the maximum cleansing effect is achieved, which disinfects, removes the sticky layer, and also provides the metal with reflective particles.

Metal utensils and cutlery are not suitable for procedures. Suitable containers are glass, porcelain, ceramics, earthenware.

Two-component cleaning method

A quick method for making gold shine requires only 2 ingredients:

hydrogen peroxide;
soda;
cotton wool

The amount of soda and the volume of peroxide must be selected individually. You need to clean gold with soda and peroxide in the following way:

Add a couple of tablespoons of baking soda to the container.
Pour in the peroxide and stir until you obtain a porridge-like mass without obvious signs of abrasive elements. It is better to get a more liquid mixture than with abrasives.
Using cotton wool soaked in the solution, wipe the jewelry using gentle polishing movements.

The good thing about this method is that it does not require subsequent rinsing with water and can be carried out in field conditions.

Soaking in a solution of peroxide and soda

A solution based on hydrogen peroxide, soda and boiling water is an effective way to disinfect, remove medium-level contaminants and add shine.

For the procedure, prepare:

boiling water – 200 ml;
baking soda – 2 tbsp. l;
hydrogen peroxide (3%) – 2 tbsp. l;
gauze cloth.

Step-by-step instruction:

Thoroughly dissolve the soda in boiling water.
Add peroxide.
Wrap the gold in gauze and place it in the solution for no more than 10 minutes.
Remove, lightly wipe with gauze and rinse with water.

If the first method belongs to the category of mechanical cleaning, then the second to chemical - since the result is achieved due to the reaction of the peroxide compound with soda.

Special cleaning pastes

In stores you can easily find special pastes designed specifically for cleaning yellow metal products. They usually consist of molar water, petroleum jelly, vegetable oil, lead carbonate, but more complex compositions can be used. To use, you need to apply a little special paste to a brush with soft bristles and gently wipe the surface of the product with this brush. Movements must be done in one direction. After this, you should rinse the product with vodka (removes fats remaining from the paste), but you can also get by with water. After this, carefully wipe the jewelry and let it dry.

How to clean gold with hydrogen peroxide

Peroxide cannot be used in its pure form: it has bleaching properties. Gold should only be cleaned with hydrogen peroxide in a diluted state. An undiluted solution may cause excessive lightening of the surface. But when combined, for example, with water, the necessary conditions are achieved that provide lightening, whitening and cleansing of dirt and plaque.

A quick method with nuances

The nuances include a list of prohibitions:

White gold cannot be cleaned.
Hard-to-reach places, engravings, decorative elements, carvings are difficult to clean in this way.

Required:

capacity;
suede or velor;
hydrogen peroxide – 30–35 ml;
warm water – 250 ml;
ammonia – 1 tsp;
liquid soap – 2 tsp.

Step-by-step instruction:

Using a wooden spoon, stir liquid soap, ammonia, and peroxide into warm water.
Immerse the gold in the solution for 10, maximum 15 minutes. While soaking, you should not disturb the products: take them out, stir them.
When the time allotted for soaking has expired, remove the gold and rinse under running cold water.
First wipe dry, then polish using clean, dry suede or velor.

White gold cannot be cleaned with this solution. Powder and toothpaste are also not used for cleaning. Only professional processing is recommended for white gold.

Dishwashing detergent and peroxide for cleanliness and shine

If for some reason the ammonia solution is not suitable for cleaning, use dishwashing detergent. The soaking time will increase, but the effect will be simply amazing.

You will need:

capacity;
rags;
hydrogen peroxide (3%) – 2 tsp;
warm boiled water – 200 ml;
dishwashing liquid – 1 tsp.

Step-by-step instruction:

Mix warm water, peroxide and dish soap.
Immerse the gold in the cleaning solution.
Wait 15–20 minutes.
After removing the gold, rinse and dry with a dry soft cloth.
Polish with a velor or suede cloth.

If chemical cleaning methods have not helped to cope with the contaminants accumulated in the openwork weaves, only mild mechanical cleaning will help. In the case of peroxide-based solutions, mechanical cleaning means applying soft brushes to the metal, carefully cleaning between the thread elements with a toothpick or cotton swab.

The reason for the darkening of gold items

Gold, due to its chemical composition, cannot react with the environment. That is why this metal is so actively used in dentistry. Only alloys contained with gold in jewelry are subject to corrosion. It is possible to determine the gold content in a product by its sample. The sample number is equal to the gold content in the jewelry. For example, a product with hallmark 757 contains 757 milligrams of yellow metal in one gram of alloy. The higher the standard, the less the product will tarnish. However, this phenomenon cannot be completely eliminated; even the highest quality alloy will fade over time.

Fashionable matte products

This type of jewelry is becoming increasingly popular. But caring for them is more troublesome, because it is not recommended to use hard brushes or abrasive powders to clean such products. Therefore, professional options for cleaning gold at home are most often used. For example, using ultrasonic baths or special jewelry solutions. However, you can try other methods. These same methods work great for gold-plated jewelry.

Ammonia soaking

Peculiarity. Ammonia is safe for matte gold and can remove blackness from the surface.

What you will need:

Pros and cons of purifying gold with ammonia and ammonia

Pros:

Availability. Both products are sold without a prescription in pharmacies at a low price.
Efficiency. Products regain their original appearance and shine (as after purchase), thanks to cleansing from many contaminants.
Safety. By adhering to clearly defined proportions and following the instructions, the threat to health will be minimal.
Suitable for cleaning items containing precious stones.

Minuses:

Strong smell of ammonia.
Not used when the decoration has a matte surface.
Not suitable for pearl jewelry.
Engravings and gemstones are cleaned by hand only.
Gold will smell like alcohol for a long time.

Causes of gold contamination

Pure gold does not oxidize. In jewelry it is used only as an alloy with other metals. This way the product becomes much stronger mechanically, but more vulnerable and unstable to alkalis and acids.

The aggressive environment of household chemicals, cosmetics, dust, sweat - this is a list of possible polluters. Under the influence of these natural reagents, gold items become dull and lose their shining original appearance, and darkening appears in some places. Scratches are possible during wear.

In the workshop, the jeweler will professionally clean the item and present a polished piece without scratches. But what should those who do not have such a master and extra funds for jewelry services do?

Let's reveal the secret. There are a number of products available at home, thanks to which you can clean yourself, ridding gold items of dirt and plaque. One of them is hydrogen peroxide.

How and with what to clean a gold-plated product

To increase demand for a certain group of goods, jewelry stores now offer products not made of pure gold, but only with a small coating. Such jewelry requires special care, as scratches may appear on the surface.

Gold-plated jewelry cannot be cleaned using standard methods applied to gold. It is advisable to use a cotton pad soaked in wine alcohol or beer. You can use regular raw egg whites. An aqueous solution with a small amount of vinegar is considered a good solution. First, use a moistened cotton pad, then rinse under running water and dry in the open air.