I've had a couple of people ask me on Twitter and Facebook about cleaning gold jewelry. Which got me thinking about how long it's been since I cleaned mine! Let's just say....a long time. :-)
So I gave my rings a close-up look and, to quote my Mom when we were little and she was cleaning our ears, "You could grow potatoes in there!" lol. Or, in other words, there was plenty of dirt and gunk there.
Lotion, soaps, and just plain everyday dirt can get caught in the prongs, and this makes the stones appear facetless and flat. That just won't do! We want SPARKLY stones!
After some research I feel pretty confident that this is the most SAFE and EFFECTIVE way to clean your gold jewelry. Almost every source I went to said pretty much the same thing.
This particular advice comes from Good Housekeeping...and they seem to usually know what they're talking about. ;-)
Give gold a bubble bath by pouring a few drops of mild dish soap into a small bowl of sodium-free seltzer water or club soda (the carbonation loosens soil and removes debris). Put the jewelry in the bowl to soak for about five minutes. Swish it around, fishing out each piece to go over settings and crevices with a SOFT toothbrush. Rinse under running water; dry with a soft cloth.
For costume jewelry, especially if stones are glued rather than set, dab a cloth into the bubbly solution and gently wipe any smudges or grime, then "rinse" with a cloth dampened in plain water. Pat dry and lay the pieces upside down so moisture won’t soak into the setting.
Now, to KEEP them clean.....
Remove rings when washing your hands or applying lotions, and after wearing, wipe body oils and perfume off pearls with a soft cloth.
And that's it. Simple, but effective.
Great tips, I have found that if my rings get stuck on my fingers, spraying a little Windex on them will make them slide easier to get them off.
ReplyDeleteI love your tips. You have posted so many I can't wait to try. I used to work in an upscale jewelry store and we used a 50/50 mix of 409 and water. Everything came out beautiful and sparkly.
ReplyDeleteThis may sound ridiculous but have you ever been to a Target or other store bathroom where they have the super high powered hand dryers? They work really well at giving your ring a nice sparkle after washing your hands!
ReplyDeleteI clean my rings in 50/50 peroxide and white vinegar. let them soak for about 10 mins and then scrub with soft brush. Rinse thoroughly.
ReplyDeleteWow! Great tips! Thanks for adding so much to this post everyone. :-)
ReplyDeleteIs this unique to gold? It would be fine with platinum, right?
ReplyDeleteI always use toothpaste on all my jewelry, it works like magic. Just use an old toothbrush and clean it in all the nooks and crannies. And if you want to make it even more heavy duty, add some cigarette ash to the toothpaste. It looks icky but cleans and polishes in the same time.
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