Guide to Cleaning Jewellery at Home
Whether it’s your beloved diamond ring or jewels that are personal gifts from a loved one or simple everyday rings, earpieces, and chains, the maintenance, and care of your jewellery is often a difficult but important task. It can be upsetting to see your most valuable treasures get ruined.
Like everything else, jewellery can also get dirty. Clothes can be washed with detergent. The house can be cleaned by using several cleaning supplies. However, there doesn’t seem to be any quick-fix product to go buy for jewellery cleaning. Should you get your jeweled accessories cleaned by an expert or buy an expensive cleaning kit then?
No! We’ve got you covered. We’ll be explaining all the various strategies you can apply to clean and care for your jewellery by yourself effortlessly!
Maintenance & Safety of your Jewellery
The first step to the care of jewellery is to always keep it safe and secure from possible damage. These few preventive steps ensure that minimal harm is inflicted upon your prized jewels so that just a subtle amount of cleaning is required later on.
Jewellery used occasionally can be neglected and get ruined by being left out in the open where the metal can come into contact with air. The first thing one can do to prevent your jewellery from getting ruined is storing it away when you’re not wearing or using it. Not only just storing it away though, storing it specifically in an airtight jar or bag. This will prevent your jewel accessories from being oxidized and thus its color will remain as fresh as the original.
Jeweled accessories can also get ruined by sweat. Avoid wearing pendants, rings, and ear hoops during runs, yoga, and at the gym. The sweat from your body can seep into your accessories and change the coloring of the bejeweled pieces. It might blend in with other substances like perfumes, balms, and creams and result in further defects.
A Few Guidelines Prior To Cleansing Your Jewellery
Here are a few guidelines and considerations to think about prior to getting started with your cleaning journey with jeweled accessories.
Which materials are the accessories made of?
Pendants, rings and bangles are made of many varied metals. These different metals will have different characteristics that make the cleansing process specific to their needs. A silver ring may be more prone to getting damaged than a gold chain. Thus it needs to be polished more regularly and be taken care of more carefully.
Is the jewellery for everyday use or rare events?
The usage of jewellery also comes into play in deciding which route of cleansing and polishing to choose. A diamond ring that is a wedding ring is likely to get exposed to a range of variables throughout daily use and so it may need to be cleaned regularly. An emerald amulet that is hardly taken out of its box and is only used occasionally is likely to need less rigorous cleaning.
The Procedure of Cleansing and Polishing Your Jewellery By Yourself
Dirt, bacteria, and grime can catch on to all kinds of jewellery. Exposure to air may also taint and damage particular kinds of metals. Your accessories like pendant, rings and earnings can be cleansed and polished at home conveniently and efficiently. Here are a variety of approaches you can take to cleanse your jewellery by yourself without the need for an expensive jewellery cleaner or professional help.
Utilize Ammonia
There is no need to buy expensive products to cleanse your jewellery. A combination of a few regular household items can go a long way. One approach to cleansing your jewellery and achieving a polished look is by using an amalgamation of ammonia, warm water, and dish soap. This combination can be used on various accessories that have strong and hard stones like diamond rings.
Dip or lightly soak the jewel into the concoction of water plus ammonia, water, and dish soap and then softly rub on the stones until you are satisfied with their appearance. Finish by rinsing off the solution in water and drying it off.
Utilize Dishwashing Liquid
Household dishwashing liquid can come in handy when polishing your jewellery. Add and stir some dishwashing liquid into some boiling water. Dip and soak your jewellery into the combination and wait a little while. After about fifteen minutes use the bristles of a brush to wipe away the grime or dirt that was stuck in your jewels. Wash off the extra and dry later.
Utilize Vinegar
Vinegar acts as an amazing natural polisher for gold jewellery specifically. Place your gold jewels into a cup or bowl of vinegar and let it soak inside the liquid for a duration of roughly fifteen to twenty minutes. As usual, end the process by washing with water and letting it dry.
Utilize Baking Soda
Line a bowl with aluminum foil, add water and bring it to a boil then add some baking soda to the substance. This trick is specifically beneficial for silver jewellery. Put the silver piece into the solution for a short few minutes, roughly about three or so. The dirt will leave the jeweled pieces itself and go into the water. Wash out the accessories and dry with a smooth fabric. The baking soda works amazingly to help counter the effects of oxidation and discoloration and rejuvenate the beauty of your jewellery piece.
COVID-19 Specific Jewellery Care
During COVID times it has become increasingly critical to care for and cleanse your accessories as it can be a hotspot for germs. There’s no need to weaken your immunity game when you’re trying to look fabulous wearing your precious accessories when you can use these tricks and hacks to help polish and sanitize your accessories.
Washing your hands is essential in this pandemic. However, remember that the virus can be on and stay on surfaces like metals for a long time. Particles of the virus can get under the nooks and crannies of your jewellery items.
This is why you should often sanitize your accessories particularly earrings and bracelets whilst keeping up with the handwashing to optimize your safety. Remember to thoroughly clean out the nooks and crannies where possible particles may be hiding.
Final Thoughts
That’s it for our manual on how to cleanse and polish your jewellery effortlessly and efficiently by yourself without the need for professional help. Stay clean, safe, and stylish!