5 EASY STEPS TO KEEPS YOUR JEWELRY CLEAN AND SHINY
5 EASY STEPS TO KEEPS YOUR JEWELRY CLEAN AND SHINY
Jewelry should sparkle and shine and look new every time you wear it, and let's face it, after some time, everyone’s jewelry needs a good cleaning. If we take a look at our own jewelry that has been with us for a few years now, it must have started looking tarnished or just plain old. Do you know why this happens? Well, it happens due to exposure to dirt, dust, pollution, soap, air, and even moisture, which can rob a piece of jewelry or earrings of their shine. But I have good news for you: it is totally possible to clean your jewelry at home, and you do not have to go to a jeweler every now and then. Restore silver-oxidized earrings and gold necklaces that have become dull and look old to their shiny selves. Make earrings and necklaces with gemstones, diamonds, and pearls for their lustrous selves. When your pretty bling jewelry has lost its bling, try these DIY cleaning methods, and you will definitely get the shine back.
KEEP A CHECK ON YOUR JEWELRY
It is very easy to not realize that your jewelry needs cleaning, either because you keep wearing it all the time and the changes are so minimalistic that you do not notice them or because you have stashed your jewelry away in a box and you do not look at it very often. I suggest that every 8–12 months you take some time out and take a look at your beloved jewelry pieces and assess them objectively. There is a high chance your jewelry might need some glamming up, especially the sterling silver ones, which are most likely going to be tarnished. I know you might feel pretty sad looking at the lovely jewelry being tarnished. I have good news for you. It is very easy to clean most of the jewelry pieces.Let's find out how. How do I clean silver?
The best way to make your silverware look as good as new and to keep it from re-tarnishing very quickly is with good-quality silver polish. Make sure when you purchase this silver polish that it contains ingredients that remove and dissolve tarnish while leaving behind a thin protective coating to prevent any kind of new tarnish from forming. We get two types of silver polish. One is in liquid form, and another is in the form of wet wipes. The liquid polishes can be very tricky and messy as well, especially if you are in a hurry. So I suggest using the polishes that come in wipe form, as it is a very convenient alternative. The wipes, which come in multi-layered cloth and are specially treated with one side to clean out the tarnish and the other side to shine the silver piece, are also a very good option.
DIY SILVER CLEANING HACKS
Not everyone has a silver polish handy. What do you do when you need to clean your silver pieces and you do not have silver polish on hand?Here are some DIY silver cleaning hacks for you. Just know that these home remedies will definitely clean your silver pieces but will not keep them from tarnishing again. Also, the silver expectant always cautions us against excessive rubbing and using these kinds of things to clean our silverware. But if only!
DISH SOAP
Mix a few drops of dishwashing liquid with some warm water. Dip an ultra-soft cloth in this solution and use it to rub off the tarnish from your silver pieces. Once you're done, rinse it thoroughly with cold water and then buff dry it with another ultra-soft cloth.
BAKING SODA HACK
This is very helpful for heavily tarnished silver pieces. Mix three teaspoons of baking soda with one spoonful of water. Make your silver piece wet with some water. Take a lint-free soft cloth and apply the previously made paste to the silver. Slowly and gently remove it all over the piece and into the crevices as well. Keep turning the cloth as it picks up the tarnish. Once you feel the cloth has picked up all the tarnish, rinse it with cold water and immediately buff it dry with a clean, soft cloth.
TOOTHPASTE HACK
Toothpaste has mild abrasives that remove stains from your teeth. The same abrasives remove tarnish stains from silver. Apply a small quantity of white toothpaste (not the gelled one) to the tarnished silver pieces and rub very slowly and gently with your fingers or a soft cloth. Once you are done rubbing the silver piece, wash it under cold water. Do not forget to buff dry the silver piece with a clean, soft, and lint-free cloth.
HOW TO CLEAN GOLD?
Everybody owns that little piece of gold that needs cleaning every now and then. Some of them own even big chunky necklaces, earrings, or even bracelets of gold. All these jewelry pieces need proper maintenance and cleaning from time to time. Take some lukewarm water in a bowl and add a few drops of dishwashing liquid to it. Now you can give your solid gold necklaces, earrings, chains, and bracelets a bath in this solution. You can put smaller jewelry pieces in a strainer before putting them in this solution, so it's easier for you to remove them. Of course, larger pieces can go as they are in the bowl. Let everything soak for about five to six minutes. Swirl the item around after this 6-7 times and take it out. Remove them on a soft, lint-free cloth and gently brush the crevices with a soft toothbrush to remove any kind of dirt trapped in them.
Put all the pieces in a clean bowl filled with water. Let it rest for 5 minutes, then swirl the jewelry 8–10 times and remove it with a soft, clean cloth. Swirling helps all the dirt get out of the crevices as well. Once you remove the jewelry, you will be able to see small dirt particles in the water. Buff-dry everything with a lint-free soft cloth, and your gold pieces are as good as new!
HOW TO CLEAN GEMSTONE
It’s very easy to restore the luster and sparkle of semi-precious and precious stones, like diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds set in gold.
You can use the same method mentioned above for cleaning your precious rings, earrings, and necklaces. But instead of using normal water and dish soap solutions, I would suggest using Seltzer or sparkling water. The carbon dioxide present in this water helps to loosen the dirt and debris settled in the crevices and settings of your jewelry. After you take your jewelry out of this solution, you will be able to see tiny dust particles settled below, and of course, your precious pieces will look squeaky clean, shiny, and new.
You can use a super-soft toothbrush to brush off the dirt from stones and their settings. Dip the toothbrush in clean water to rinse the stone, or you can also place it in the strainer and rinse under running water. Once done, buff it dry with a clean, soft cloth, and admire the sparkle of your jewelry. If you want to clean a ring on the go, you can keep a jewelry cleaning stick in your purse. You can easily find this online and clean your ring with it. In case you do not have anything and still need to clean your ring, take an ear bud, dampen it with a little bit of soap water, and gently rub it on the ring and the stone. Hold your ring steady under running water and buff it dry. Your ring will look as good as new with all the shine and sparkle.
HOW TO CLEAN PEARLS?
Pearls are really porous in nature, and because they are porous, they can easily lose their luster. Whether they are cultured, faux, or real, we have soaked the metal in soapy water up until now, but the same cannot work for pearls, as soaking pearls in a bowl of soapy water will weaken their strings and make them weak. To clean pearls, gently start laying the strand of pearls on a soft, clean cloth. Take a clean and dry make-up brush, dip it in a mixture of warm water mixed with a little shampoo, and gently brush it over each pearl. To finish washing your pearls, take a damp cloth and gently wipe the pearls from the softer side of the cloth. Lay the string of pearls flat on the table and let it air dry. Do not hang the string, or else the pearls will stretch. This is an amazing no-soak treatment that works well with turquoise and opal stones as well, because these stones are also porous in nature. There are also special pearl care kits available online, and they contain a few tissues, sachets of cleaner, and a few cleaning cloths.I hope this blog on how to clean your precious metals and stones was helpful.
