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Are your gold earrings looking dull? Or your favorite silver necklace has tarnished. Learning how to clean your jewelry at home will ensure it always sparkles and shines like it was meant to. It will also help prevent damage and keep your pieces in the best possible condition.
Cleaning your jewelry at home isn’t difficult — and you don’t need a fancy cleaner. But there are a few missteps that can do more harm than good. To ensure that you clean your jewelry at home safely and effectively, we consulted a few jewelry experts for their best tips.
SKIP AHEAD What causes jewelry to get dirty? | How to clean your jewelry | 5 highly rated jewelry cleaners | How to avoid damaging your jewelry while cleaning it
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What causes jewelry to get dirty?
It makes sense that you’d need to wash your clothes after wearing them — after all, you sweat and spill things. But what gets jewelry dirty? A lot of things, actually. “The most common things are your own body oils and the soaps and lotions that come in contact with your jewelry,” says Julia Parsons, CEO and founder of Incredible Rising, a jewelry brand for women celebrating success milestones. “Both can create a dull, cloudy look to your jewelry and make it sparkle less.”
Other common things that can dirty up your jewelry include makeup, perfume and hair products, says Mike Cooke, founder of Sterling Forever. For example, if you spray perfume while wearing a necklace, the particles can stick to your jewelry. “Environmental factors like dust, dirt and pollution and engaging in activities like gardening and swimming can also introduce grime and tarnish,” adds Cooke.
How to clean your jewelry
If your jewelry looks dull or dirty, it’s time to clean it at home. But there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to jewelry — how you clean your pieces depends on the type of items you have. More specifically, the type of metal your jewelry is made from makes a difference in how it gets dirty and how you should clean it. Here’s an easy breakdown from our experts to follow:
- Solid gold: “This metal doesn’t tarnish and all you really need to use to clean it is water and a mild dish soap,” says Parsons. While gold is durable, Cooke and Parsons warn you to be careful. “Use a very soft toothbrush to gently clean your piece with soap and then rinse it with water and pat dry.”
- Silver: Unlike gold, silver does tarnish — this means it will visibly look dull or like there is a layer of dirt caked on thanks to oxidation. Because of this, you need to use a silver polish and a cloth to polish it and make it shine again, says Parsons.
- Gold- or silver-plated: This type of jewelry is an inexpensive metal base coated in a thin layer of silver or gold. You can use the same approach for gold that you do for gold-plated items and the same technique for silver-plated that you do for silver. The only difference? Because this jewelry isn’t solid silver or gold, it can more easily chip the plating. To avoid this, avoid over-cleaning or using abrasive products or cloth, says Cooke.
- Diamonds and other gems: It’s best to consult a jeweler before cleaning a precious gem, as different types require different care. It is generally safe to soak diamonds in warm water and a few drops of gentle dish soap for five to ten minutes before rinsing them off says Cooke. However, more porous stones like opals and pearls should not be submerged.
5 highly rated jewelry cleaners
How to avoid damaging your jewelry when cleaning it
The tips above will help make cleaning your jewelry at home as foolproof as possible. Along with following those cleaning basics, our experts agreed there are a few tips you can use to avoid potential damage. Check them out below:
- Skip harsh materials: Ragged clothes, chemical-laden cleaners, firm toothbrushes? It’s best to skip these items, as they can damage or scratch your jewelry, says Parsons. You can rely on gentle dish soap and water to clean most of your jewelry except for silver. And if you use a toothbrush to scrub, make sure it is one with soft bristles, Parsons adds.
- Be extra careful around stones: Stone settings and thinner areas — like near a clasp — and be extra delicate, so use even more care around these parts, says Parsons. And if you have a loose or chipped stone, it’s better to leave the cleaning to a jeweler. Or, even better, have your piece repaired first.
- When in doubt, seek out a pro: Speaking of pros, if you aren’t sure how you should clean a piece, you should take it to a jeweler to have them clean it. Porous stones like opals, pearls, lapis and emeralds are sensitive to heat, water and certain chemicals and can be easily damaged, says Parsons. A professional can clean them carefully to avoid anything happening to those stones.
- Skip unconventional cleaners: Perhaps you’ve heard that ketchup or toothpaste make good jewelry cleaners. “It’s thought that the mild acidity in ketchup can remove build-up or tarnish on silvers,” says Cooke. Similarly, toothpaste is thought to have a slightly abrasive consistency to rub away grime. But Cooke says avoiding these is safest, as they can scratch or damage metals and gems.
Meet our experts
At NBC Select, we work with experts with specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and experience. We also ensure all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and without undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.
- Julia Parsons is the CEO and founder of Incredible Rising, a jewelry brand for women celebrating success milestones.
- Mike Cooke is the founder of Sterling Forever, a jewelry brand offering stylish and on-trend pieces.
Why trust NBC Select?
Bethany Heitman is a contributor at NBC Select and a journalist who regularly covers beauty, home and lifestyle. For this story, she interviewed experts on how to clean your jewelry.
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