Every modern person has jewelry. It's not news that people wear them for years, and naturally the accessories begin to fade, become dirty and deformed.
How to clean gold and silver at home? This is precisely the question asked by all those who have not cleaned their products made from these precious metals for a long time. Every day experts recommend new ways and methods to help take care of your jewelry. Why not take advantage of such advice? Of course, everyone chooses the method of how to clean silver and gold at home. But, nevertheless, it is recommended to do it correctly.
How to clean gold jewelry at home
Cleaning this metal and products made from it must be done with extreme caution. In particular, you should be careful with white accessories or those with stones. When asking the question of how to clean gold jewelry, you should understand that standard “grandmother’s products” are not always so good, it is best to resort to more professional recommendations, or to clean expensive items in specialized workshops. So, how to clean gold jewelry at home in a simple way? It's simple:
- Oxygen bleach. You need to drop a couple of milliliters of special dishwashing detergent into it and pour boiling water over it. Place accessories into the resulting foam for no more than 20 minutes. After this procedure, clean the surface with a toothbrush and dry.
- Lemon juice. This method is extremely simple. First, take the lemon out of the refrigerator and start squeezing out drops of liquid. As soon as there are about 10 milliliters, drop the products there and hold for about 5 minutes. Then just wipe them thoroughly.
It’s another matter when you don’t know how to clean precious stones in gold jewelry, because here you need to try. It is possible to use a concentrated solution of liquid soap. Place accessories with pebbles in a special fabric bag and in a soap solution. You need to boil this bag in it for up to 3 minutes. You take it out and wipe it off. Diamonds will sparkle.
Also, if the method does not work, and you want to learn more about how to clean stones in gold jewelry, you can use washing powder and ammonia. To prepare, you need hot water and 1 tablespoon of both components. Place the product in this solution and take it out after 1-2 hours. Wipe it and the diamonds will sparkle like new.
And in principle, as for the latter, to clean gold jewelry with diamonds, and they begin to sparkle brighter than the stars, you can use another effective recipe. A weak solution with ammonia will do the trick. Just take one glass of water and 7 drops of medicine. Wipe with a soft cloth and dry thoroughly. It's that easy!
Gold
Gold jewelry should be cleaned of external contaminants with special care. Particular care must be taken when handling white metal products and jewelry with stones. The only option for cleaning them is soapy water. There are other means for regular gold jewelry.
You can clean gold at home using contact lens liquid or lemon juice.
An excellent solution for cleaning gold is a boiling solution of water with the addition of washing powder. 2-3 minutes after immersion, dirt comes off easily from the product.
For serious stains on gold jewelry, the following composition is suitable: 0.5 teaspoon of washing powder, 1 teaspoon of water, ampoule of ammonia. The decorations should be immersed in the finished mixture for 5-7 minutes. After this, the remaining dirt is removed with a toothbrush.
How to clean silver jewelry at home
Most people still prefer accessories made of this metal. Firstly, it is beautiful and the color is shining, and secondly, products made from it are not so expensive. There is just one drawback: the metal can tarnish or even turn black. To take care of this ahead of time, you need to know how to clean silver jewelry at home. Valuable advice will come in handy, so here is a list of the best cleaning options:
- Water with soda. At the same time, you should not add too much soda, only a little per glass of water. Then, you should leave the accessory for 20 minutes and remove it, then dry it with a soft cloth.
- Washing powder. To prepare this recipe, you should bring a tablespoon of washing powder to a boil in plain water, and then leave the products for 20 minutes. Remove and wipe and dry.
If you are wondering how to clean tarnished silver jewelry, then you should resort to other methods. For example, you can prepare a special remedy at home that will help. So, you should mix 5 glasses of water, 2 teaspoons of ammonia and 1 tablespoon of tooth powder. Rub your accessories with this mixture and then rinse with warm water. Shine is guaranteed.
As for how to clean silver jewelry from blackness, you should use a solution with soda, to which you need to add a couple of drops of ammonia, and all this per liter of water. Wipe with a soft cloth and rub until shiny.
The most important point is if you don’t know how to clean silver jewelry with stones, because you can’t rub them, otherwise the diamonds might just fall out. To do this, it is recommended to use a very simple remedy: buy a regular hydrogen peroxide solution at the pharmacy. Take the product and dip it in it for a few seconds. Wipe with a soft cloth without pressing and then the stones will sparkle, and the accessory will become bright and catchy.
Thus, to clean silver jewelry at home, you don’t need to use any overly expensive products; it’s enough to make do with what you have at hand, which is a huge plus.
Silver
Many people prefer silver jewelry.
They are original and beautiful. But this metal often gets dirty, loses its shine and darkens. Therefore, it is especially important to clean it systematically. This service is offered in many jewelry workshops for a fee. But carrying out such a procedure regularly is expensive for the wallet. Silver can also be cleaned at home using simple household products. Minor stains on silver items can be removed with a soap solution. To do this, dissolve a small piece of soap in warm water. After this, add a few drops of ammonia. Silver jewelry is placed in the prepared solution for a day. In the morning, clean the product with a toothbrush. At the end of the procedure, the jewelry is washed under clean running water. Dry it with a piece of soft cloth.
It is worth noting that using abrasive materials can leave visible scratches on the silver. After this, they can only be removed at a jewelry workshop. This is why you should choose a toothbrush with soft bristles. For soft fabric, use suede or flannel.
Soda moistened with water is an effective means for cleaning a chain. The chain should be placed on the palm of your hand. After this, it is generously sprinkled with baking soda. You need to clean the chain with a toothbrush for 10-15 minutes until the soda darkens. Next, the chain is washed with clean running water.
Remember: it is strictly forbidden to clean silver with kitchen detergents, as they contain alkalis, which will cause it to darken. You should also not use hydrogen peroxide as a cleaning agent.
How to clean jewelry at home
Among the additional recipes that can be used to clean gold jewelry is a mixture of gasoline. If you notice too much plaque on the accessories, you need to dilute gasoline with water in a small amount and clean it with a toothbrush. This way, it will be easier to clean gold jewelry, because the dirt will immediately fall off, you won’t have to put in a lot of physical effort. You just need to rub it a little with a brush - up to 10 minutes.
In general, in order not to wonder how you can clean silver jewelry, we note that a special product for cleaning accessories made of this metal is effective. It can be bought in stores.
Thus, you already know how to clean gold and silver jewelry, so it will be easier for you to navigate so as not to damage the product. The main thing is to follow the cooking recipes exactly! Good luck to all!
Simple Ways to Clean Jewelry
Everyone knows that jewelry, including gold, fades and becomes dirty over time. The coating that covers the surface of the metal affects the appearance of the product, and, importantly, it is also harmful. Pollution can cause inflammation, for example, of the earlobe; there is no need to talk about piercing at all.
In order for our jewelry to always shine and delight us, they need to be looked after. Of course, this “burden” can be left to professional jewelers, but having the knowledge of cleaning jewelry at home, you can significantly save your time and budget.
Gold itself is a very soft metal, therefore, in the manufacture of jewelry, an alloy with other metals is used - nickel, copper, zinc, silver and others. Often, during the oxidation of the above metals (by interaction with oxygen and moisture that are in the air around us), so-called pollution occurs. For example, as you have most likely noticed, copper produces green and greenish-black stains on gold jewelry. The difficulty in this case is that the initial stage of oxidation of individual sections of the product can only be seen under magnification, but the overall appearance of the jewelry is undoubtedly spoiled. Therefore, I will offer you a method of step-by-step cleaning at home.
Stage 1 “Soap solution”
Soak all your jewelry in warm (40-60 C) water with the addition of detergent or dishwashing detergent, laundry detergent for 1-2 hours so that accumulated dirt and grease have time to soak, then clean the products with a soft brush, paying special attention to areas setting stones, the inside of the product and various screws and grooves on the jewelry. Rinse under running water and dry.
We look at the result - “wrong coat!” - so we move on to the next stage.
Stage 2 “Chemical”
We go to the nearest pharmacy and buy an aqueous solution of ammonia (at least 25%), pour the solution into a small container and leave the product that needs cleaning for 2-4 hours. In case of serious contamination, you can leave it overnight or even for a day. Again, rinse with running water and dry. The cleaning mechanism occurs due to the entry into a chemical reaction of a solution of ammonia and metal oxides included in the alloy (silver, copper), followed by their dissolution in water. We evaluate the result - “the coat looks right, but something is wrong!” — let's move on to stage 3.
Stage 3 “Mechanical”
Ammonia is capable of dissolving oxides, but is powerless against sulfide deposits, which are black in color. This requires “surgical” intervention, namely mechanical cleaning using abrasive materials that are included in professional pastes for cleaning jewelry.
ATTENTION!!! We don’t do amateur work, using soda when cleaning, it will clean well, but will leave a lot of small, unnoticeable damage, which will eventually give us a dull shine to the product.
And so, the above pastes, which can be purchased in specialized stores, are based on petroleum jelly, vegetable oil, or other fat with the addition of abrasive powder (for example, corundum). Apply a small amount of paste to a cloth or brush with soft bristles and gently wipe the dirty surface, then wipe with a dry, soft cloth and wipe with alcohol to remove the grease contained in the paste. Wash with water and dry. We look at the result - “this coat is even better than that!”
Concluding the story about ways to clean jewelry, I would like to say the following - timely care of the product will extend its service life, ennoble it and your appearance and give you indescribable joy from the radiance and shine that no one can fail to notice.
Best regards, Alexey (Red Stone)
How to clean silver jewelry
Silver jewelry darkens quite often, especially for people whose work involves nervous or physical stress.
The point here is not about possible diseases, as is commonly believed, everything is much simpler. These people sweat more often and more, which leads to an inevitable chemical reaction that occurs between the jewelry, sweat and air. As a result, a dark coating forms on the product.
Well, now it’s time to find out how to get rid of it.
- You can clean silver using ammonia.
To do this, you need to take it in the amount of 2 tbsp. l and mix in 1 liter of warm water, add a few (4-5) drops of hydrogen peroxide to this solution. We dip the silver items in the liquid, leave them for a couple of hours, then take them out, rinse and wipe thoroughly with a dry cloth. If the standard of silver items is higher than 625, then it is better not to use this method. - The next way to clean jewelry involves using aluminum foil.
It needs to be folded so that a “hole” is formed, into which the silver is placed, and 2 tsp is poured on top. salt and add a small amount of water. The self-cleaning process lasts from 5 to 10 minutes. - Another method using foil. In this version, it is torn into pieces and placed in an enamel bowl or in a heat-resistant glass container. Sprinkle on top of 1 tbsp. l. soda per 1 liter. water, place decorations and pour boiling water over it. Wait 5 minutes. This method is effective.
- Here's how to clean silver jewelry with citric acid
. To do this, take 1 sachet of citric acid and pour it into a bowl of very hot water. Place silver jewelry in this liquid for 20-30 minutes, and then wipe it with a toothbrush to achieve greater effect. - Cleaning silver items with a brush can be used in conjunction with tooth powder or toothpaste.
- Another common method for cleaning silver is to wash it in vinegar water.
Take 6-8% vinegar, which is diluted with warm (40-60 degrees) water. The jewelry is first dipped into the solution and then wiped with a cloth or brush.
