You may call it a materialistic approach and even be skeptical, but there is nothing more mesmerizing than the sparkle of a diamond - and when the gem on your ring begins to fade, it becomes very sad and unpleasant. We won’t put it off until later and will hasten to make you happy - the situation can be easily corrected! Moreover, you will not need to get lost in search of something supernatural, but just take a look around your home. We assure you that these methods are also simple and safe, both for you and for your beloved jewelry.
The rings should not come into contact with: hairspray, nail polish, polishes and bleaches. All of them contain substances that are hazardous to your jewelry and can damage them.
So, the three fastest and easiest ways to clean precious metal rings with stones using the products that everyone has in their home.
General rules for cleaning gold
All cleaning operations will not be done in vain if you follow the general recommendations and avoid annoying mistakes. Contact of the metal with certain substances should be avoided to avoid damage.
Advice from professionals
A few secrets that will help you clean gold without harming your jewelry:
- The container must be made of a material that is not prone to oxidation (glass, plastic). It is better to take a deep dish - it will be easier to place the whole thing in it.
- When soaking gold jewelry in various solutions, it is important that the liquid covers it completely.
- Mechanical cleaning is indicated only if other methods have proven ineffective.
- To add shine, the cleaned gold item is washed under running water, dried and polished with a soft fiber cloth.
Basic mistakes
Common mistakes that owners of gold items make:
- constantly wearing gold without periodic cleaning and daily wiping;
- performing cleaning and other chores around the house, washing in the bathtub or shower without removing the gold;
- cleaning with dry soda, other abrasives and aggressive chemicals;
- poor quality polishing;
- improper storage of cleaned jewelry;
- Insufficiently thorough cleaning of hard-to-reach areas.
What substances negatively affect the quality of gold?
Gold products are adversely affected by iodine and chlorine.
In conditions of high humidity and heating, their negative impact increases. Such substances are present in sea water, swimming pools, medicines and household chemicals. It is recommended to remove jewelry when performing water procedures and swimming in the sea, before applying cream or lotion to the body. Gold deteriorates and loses its attractive appearance under the influence of:
- cosmetics and perfumes;
- sweat and other natural secretions;
- aggressive chemicals.
How to clean gold jewelry at home
Soapy solution
Using a soap solution, you can remove simple stains - cosmetic residues, dirt, grease deposits. It is better to make a solution using warm water; instead of liquid soap, you can use dishwashing detergent. The jewelry should be left in the solution for at least half an hour, preferably 3-4 hours, and after soaking, walk over the surface of the metal with a soft brush (an old toothbrush will do) to remove the most difficult stains. When all the dirt is gone, rinse the jewelry with clean water and wipe dry with a soft cloth.
Ammonia
Ammonia is used in its pure form or a solution is made from it - take 6-7 drops of the product per glass of water. In its pure form, alcohol is used as follows: moisten a soft cloth in it, wipe the jewelry with this cloth, and then wash it in a soapy solution and clean water. A solution of ammonia is used as follows: the decoration is dipped into the liquid for 30 minutes, then taken out and wiped with a brush or cotton swab, dipped into the solution again and then wiped dry with a paper towel.
Special paste
You can make a jewelry cleaning paste at home. According to the recipe, you need to take the following ingredients in equal parts:
- water;
- petrolatum;
- soap shavings;
- powdered chalk.
The result is a thick paste, which must be rubbed over the surface of the decoration (it is convenient to do this with a piece of soft cloth). The paste will take on the accumulated dirty residue; the main thing is to wash off the paste with soap and water, otherwise a greasy film will remain.
Cleaning jewelry with minerals requires great care - some stones are extremely sensitive not only to cleaning products, but also to plain water. If you have doubts about how exactly you can clean your jewelry with a mineral, or you don’t know exactly what kind of stone it contains, it’s better not to take risks and entrust the cleaning to professionals.
Before you begin any cleaning procedures, carefully examine the jewelry. If the stone is not inlaid, but glued to metal, such jewelry cannot be soaked in water - the glue may become soggy and the precious insert will fall out.
- Diamonds, sapphires, emeralds. These minerals are suitable for cleaning with a soap solution or a solution based on ammonia.
- Cubic zirconia, zirconium. Such jewelry can be cleaned with soapy water, ammonia solution, and grease deposits can be removed with medical alcohol.
- Lapis lazuli, rubies, opals, amber. To cleanse these minerals, you can use a mild soap solution with a low pH level (for example, mild baby soap).
- Pearls, coral, turquoise. These stones are very sensitive, so at home only dry cleaning is allowed - the stones are carefully wiped with a soft cloth.
How to properly store silver
Finally, here are some key tips on how to store your silver. And although this cannot be a 100% guarantee of the safety of the appearance of silver items, we still strongly recommend that you keep them.
- Silver items should be kept in closed containers and with minimal humidity. If you are not going to use any silver item for a long time, then it should be washed with soapy water and wrapped in foil or flannel.
- It is unacceptable for silver to lie next to medicines, food, cosmetics, household chemicals, etc.
- Before going to the beach, taking a shower or going to the bathhouse, it is advisable to take off your silver items.
- If the silver gets wet, be sure to dry it with a napkin or soft cloth.
With proper care of your silver, it will always look good. We hope that our tips will help you clean your silver and make it shine.
Prevention of oxidation
To prevent jewelry from turning black too often, you should follow simple rules of prevention:
- store in a dark, closed place;
- wrap silver in foil for storage;
- avoid contact with chemicals;
- After each use, rinse with water and rub dry with a woolen cloth.
Frequent blackening of jewelry during wear may indicate the presence of undiagnosed diseases. It is worth paying attention to this and visiting a doctor. If everything is in order with your health, then you can easily clean silver and gold using the methods listed above.
Mechanical cleaning
If there is an old coating on the gold item, or it has not been cleaned by soaking, you can resort to mechanical action. All manipulations must be carried out very carefully so as not to leave scratches on the jewelry.
An effective multi-component product helps in cases where all other compounds are powerless. The following components should be mixed until smooth:
- toothpaste;
- cosmetic Vaseline;
- grated laundry soap;
- crushed chalk;
- warm water.
Crushed chalk
The decoration is wiped with a soft cloth or cotton pad, onto which the resulting mixture is applied. The remaining composition must be washed off with water, and then wipe the item dry.
Tips for caring for gold
In order for gold items to retain their visual appeal for a long time and not lose their properties, it is worth taking good care of them:
- remove jewelry in contact with paints and varnishes, cosmetics, ointments and other compounds containing acids, chlorine, sulfur, mercury, alkalis;
- take a bath or shower, play sports, removing all gold items;
- wipe the item only with a soft cloth made from natural materials;
- do not use abrasives or hard sponges when cleaning;
- Before cleaning, it is important to rinse the product under the tap and dry it;
- prevent medication from coming into contact with jewelry;
- trust ultrasonic cleaning of gold with stones only to professionals;
- properly store gold items in a separate case that protects them from the sun and moisture;
- do not place objects in cardboard (paper), as it contains sulfur;
- remove dirt immediately after it appears with a soap solution;
- Do not bring jewelry to a state where it is not possible to eliminate blackness and other problems on your own.
To prevent gold from becoming dirty and blackened, you should properly care for your items and store them in a suitable place. However, don’t worry if stains appear on your jewelry; there are many effective products that will help you delicately clean your favorite earrings or ring. Before cleaning gold at home, you need to familiarize yourself with the features of using various compositions and the nuances of certain alloys.
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Proper storage and care of gold and silver rings
To ensure that jewelry does not lose its original appearance for as long as possible, you should adhere to the basic rules for storing and caring for it. The place to store silver and gold rings should be in a dry, dark, cool place. To prevent contamination, jewelry can be wiped with special products from jewelry stores. It is better to play sports, swim in the gym or do housework without rings on your fingers.
If the jewelry is severely damaged or requires cleaning, contact the nearest workshop of the Golden Age jewelry chain . A team of professionals will quickly and efficiently return your products to their beautiful appearance.
Rules for storing jewelry
Costume jewelry, despite all its advantages, deteriorates much faster than products made from natural materials. It is quite capricious in terms of care and storage. Getting rid of defects is much more difficult than preventing them. Therefore, in order for jewelry to remain beautiful for a long time, it must be stored correctly:
- jewelry should be stored in an extremely dry, preferably dark place;
- You cannot leave decorations on the windowsill, in direct sunlight, in rooms with high humidity, or in wet containers;
- ideally, all accessories should be stored separately from each other, and not in one box;
- avoid contact of cream, perfume, hairspray on products;
- Before washing dishes, cleaning, or swimming, jewelry should be removed;
- After each wear, if even slight dirt appears on the product, it should be cleaned immediately, at least with a dry cloth.
You can clean jewelry from darkening, dirt, and restore its shine at home, without resorting to the help of jewelry workshops or expensive professional products. It is important to follow the recommendations for processing jewelry, since each material has its own reactions when interacting with a particular substance.
Cleaning silver at home
Silver, like gold, develops a patina. Even if you minimize the contact of silver with aggressive substances, over time it still oxidizes under the influence of oxygen. A so-called oxide film forms on the jewelry, which changes the true color of the metal.
Copper is often added to the silver alloy. Due to contact with air, it can form silver sulfide - this is a dark coating on the product.
Silver is cleaned with soda. Here's how to do it:
- Place a tablespoon of baking soda and 2-3 pieces of aluminum foil in a glass - the size of one piece is approximately 5 × 5 cm.
- Place silver jewelry on the bottom.
- Pour boiling water over and leave for 5-10 minutes. Soda reacts with aluminum, resulting in the release of hydrogen, which removes dirt and oxidation.
- We rinse the products with cold water and wipe with a dry cloth.
How to beat burnout
Cleaning diamond jewelry
Best ways to clean diamonds in gold:
- Ammonia: exactly 9 drops of the substance per glass of water. Immerse the product in the solution for 3 hours. Then remove and rinse thoroughly.
- Coca Cola: place the products in a glass of drink for 2-3 hours. Rinse with tap water and polish with microfiber.
Be sure to watch: How and where diamonds are mined
Diamonds are also cleaned with a special paste that can be purchased at a jewelry store.
Causes of darkening
Costume jewelry is made from an alloy of metals that are susceptible to oxidation when interacting with other substances. When in contact with skin, water (especially chlorinated, sea water), or exposure to air, jewelry gradually darkens, loses its shine and brightness.
Costume jewelry can darken from household chemicals, perfumes, and frequent contact with other objects. It is important to regularly clean products, including stones, which also become dull and scratched. It is better to remove jewelry before cleaning and contact with water.
Cleaning silver with ammonia
This is probably the easiest way to clean silver. You just need to buy a bottle of ammonia (10%) at the pharmacy, pour it into a suitable container and place silver jewelry in the liquid for 15-20 minutes. After which the products must be removed, rinsed in running water and polished to a shine.
In fact, cleaning silver only seems like a difficult task. You will need no more than an hour to put your jewelry in order, and you can do everything yourself, without the involvement of expensive specialists - jewelers.
