Many of us would agree that jewelry cleaning and care tips are quite helpful to maintaining their value and beauty over time. Yes, you have a part in this, although most pieces of jewelry, especially the highly exceptional ones, promise lifetime quality.
Think about the classic pieces you might have like, for instance, your wedding ring, the Diamond Interwoven Wedding Band from Melanie Casey, or how about anniversary presents like Kay Jewelers’ Diamond Bolo Bracelet? More than just the price or the brand, take time to remember the beautiful memories captured by these pieces. Wouldn’t that make you all the more concerned about keeping them in mint condition?
Jewelry is like part of yourself, and as much as you take time taking care of your body, the same should go with your jewelry. So, if for quite some time you’ve forgotten how to clean and take good care of them, don’t worry because we got you covered. Read on to know the best jewelry cleaning and care tips to keep your prized possessions away from damage and save you from unnecessary costs.
Jewelry Care Instructions
How do you take care of jewelry? Do you keep them on all the time, or do you have a safe place for them when it’s time to go to bed? There is no one best way to take care of your jewelry, yet there are best practices you should try.
Before anything else, you need to understand that different jewelry types require varying degrees of care. Costume jewelry, for instance, also known as fashion jewelry, are made of materials that can easily be bent and tarnished compared to more expensive ones. Most likely, you find your costume jewelry care tips online, or you learn them from your own or others’ experiences.
However, purchasing jewelry from trusted brands like Melanie Casey, Kay Jewelers, and Rogers & Hollands is a whole different ball game, as these vendors provide thorough cleaning and inspection as part of their warranty services. Also, if you check their sites, some even provide information on how to maintain their products.
But there’s good news. Regardless of the type of jewelry you own, there are endless ways to keep them in great shape. Here are the best and proven practices you can do starting today:
Care Tip #1: Know when you should take them off
Why should you wear jewelry? And why should you take them off?
It’s common knowledge that jewelry should not come into contact with any chemical. Thus, you need to remove them before doing any chore or activities that may expose them to chemicals like soap, cleaning materials, lotion, perfumes, and make-up.
Also, make it a habit to remove them before taking a bath, sleeping, swimming, playing sports, carrying objects that may scratch the accessory, or any other activity that might affect the quality.
Care Tip #2: Keep it free of dirt and water
Dirt is a contributing factor to your jewelry’s fast deterioration. While, depending on the material, water can cause rust, cracks, or water stains.
Therefore, when taking off your accessories, practice wiping them to remove water and dirt. Keep your jewelry dry and tarnish-free.
Care Tip #3: Put them on last and remove them first
Concerning care tip #1 and #2, if you want to avoid your jewelry having contact with water and chemicals, it should be the last thing to wear before leaving. Consequently, to prevent them from getting caught on your clothes or breaking, it should likewise be the last thing you take off before everything else.
Care Tip #4: Store them properly and separately
Some jewelry, especially those with stones or of high-value ones, should be kept in safes or jewelry boxes, with soft interior padding and barriers. This will keep them from being in contact with hard surfaces and each other, which may cause scratches or tangle them.
There are a lot of safes and jewelry boxes available in stores or online, including AmazonBasics Security Safe and the Vlando Jewelry Box. If you don’t have them, you can also use anti-tarnish paper strips, such as those that are available at Kernowcraft.
Cleaning Tips for Specific Jewelry
Although there are general ways on how to take care of your jewelry, you should know the specific ways to clean and care for them, depending on their type and the materials used in making them. This is because some jewelry may have been embedded with materials like gemstones, which require more delicate care.
To help you with this, Connoisseurs has come up with a cleaning chart to help you determine what jewelry cleaners to use and which ones are unsafe for particular pieces.
The information above emphasizes the importance of knowing what types of materials you are working on. Especially in terms of cleaning, there are substances and cleaning materials that can only be used on specific jewelry. Otherwise, you might cause more harm and than good.
With this, the next sections will cover specific tips, and jewelry cleaning hacks, particularly when it comes to tarnished jewelry, those with stones, and gold jewelry.
How to Clean Tarnished Jewelry
Some pieces of jewelry tarnish faster than others, especially fashion or costume jewelry, since these are made of materials that just resemble the more expensive types. But even the high-priced pieces can tarnish over time as they come into contact with acidic substances, moisture, air, and oil.
The best way to clean tarnished jewelry is to identify the material. In this section, let’s focus on silver and costume jewelry.
To clean silver jewelry:
You can either make a solution to soak your jewelry in or apply/rub directly on an accessory before wiping.
If you wish to make a soaking solution follow these basic and easy steps:
- Get a bowl then cover its bottom using an aluminum foil.
- Dissolve baking soda and salt in lukewarm water.
- Soak your jewelry in the solution for 2-5 minutes.
- Remove the jewelry and gently wipe the dirt with a clean cloth.
- If there’s still unremoved dirt, you can re-soak it in the solution for another 5 minutes before wiping it dry.
On the other hand, if you prefer a rubbing solution, you can still use baking soda (three parts baking soda and one part water). Wet your jewelry and apply the mixture using a soft cloth to get rid of the tarnish. Rinse thoroughly and leave to dry with a piece of cloth.
An alternative would be toothpaste, but remember, you should use the white one. The procedure is the same as with the baking soda mixture. Rinse with warm water and dry it using a soft cloth.
Take note, however, that for both mixtures, you should gently rub the piece, but this should not be done often.
Read this article to familiarize yourself more with silvers.
To clean costume or fashion jewelry:
- Mix water and a few drops of dish soap.
- Get a cloth, dab it into the solution, and gently wipe the jewelry.
- Rinse using a dampened cloth (tap water).
- Dry it and ensure that the jewelry is moisture-free.
To clean jewelry with stones:
So, how to clean jewelry with stones? In reality, cleaning jewelry with stones is almost similar to those in the previous section. The only difference is that you should aware of the variety of gemstone properties.
Jewelry with stones like diamonds, rubies, and emeralds are best cleaned using solutions for soaking or brushing. Also, most of these respond well just with warm water and mild detergent. However, not all gemstones should be immersed in solutions.
Only nonporous stones like diamonds should be soaked on cleaning solutions. For more information, you can check the International Gem Society to know about the sensitivities of your jewelry’s stones.
Now, let’s focus on one of the most common stones—diamonds. Say you are looking for ways on how to clean your Rogers & Hollands’ Diamond Anniversary Band, your Kay Jewelers’ Diamond Bracelet, or some of the other emerging brands in the market. The following are simple cleaning techniques you can consider:
Cleaning Tip #1 Clean using Alka Seltzer.
Place your jewelry in a container.
- With room-temperature water, fill the container (preferably one cup).
- Add Alka Seltzer.
- Let your diamond soak in the solution for a couple of minutes.
- Remove the piece then dry it thoroughly with a cloth.
Cleaning Tip #2 Clean using an ammonia-based cleaner.
Note: Other than what is recommended here, some suggest using one part water and one part ammonia for the cleaning solution. Yet, this might be too strong or toxic for some jewelry.
- Get a container and pour one part ammonia.
- Mix it with six parts of lukewarm water.
- Soak your piece for 10-20 minutes.
- Remove the jewelry, use a soft toothbrush to remove excess dirt, and dip the jewelry in the solution again before drying.
- Rinse with cool water or dry using a soft towel/cloth.
How to Clean Gold Jewelry
If you want to clean your WeddingBands.com 14K Gold 8mm Comfort Fit Plain Wedding Band or just any of your other gold jewelries, the materials you need are only readily available at the comfort of your own homes.
You can also use ammonia and baking soda like the ones already mentioned. But let’s focus on the more common materials: dish soap and vinegar. This goes best for plain gold jewelry.
Cleaning Tip #1: Clean using liquid detergent or dish soap.
Put your piece in a container filled with warm water.
- Mix in a few drops of liquid detergent or dish soap.
- Soak jewelry for 5-10 minutes.
- Take the piece out and using a soft brush, go over the crevices.
- Rinse well and dry using a soft cloth.
Clean Tip #2: Clean using vinegar.
- Pour vinegar into the container enough to cover the jewelry. (Use white vinegar).
- For 15-20 minutes, soak your jewelry. But every couple of minutes, change its position or move it around.
- Take the jewelry out and using a soft brush, gently scrub it.
- Rinse well with plain water and dry using a soft cloth.
What is the Best Homemade Jewelry Cleaner?
As you may have observed, the most common homemade jewelry cleaning solution is made up of common household materials. These are cheap and easily available but are proven by many to be effective.
Aside from the featured cleaning solutions here, there are various DIY tutorials you can find online that use materials you wouldn’t even think are applicable to jewelry. For example, you can beer or ketchup to clean your valuable possessions. As weird as it may be, this article from Reader’s Digest covers 12 household items that can be used as jewelry cleaners.
Additionally, there are solvents and cleaners that you can purchase at stores or online. However, according to Insider, these are not always needed, especially since many are alcohol-based. So, if you don’t want to put your jewelry’s quality at risk, it’s better to stick with the homemade alternatives.
The question is, among the various options available, which is the best one? Well, even known brands like Melanie Casey approves this combination. The best and simplest cleaning solution that works on most jewelry is still warm water and gentle soap, used with a soft toothbrush.
Food for thought
Overall, the process of cleaning and taking care of your jewelry need not be that complicated. It will just need a little effort on your end to ensure that you keep your pieces in great condition, whether you want to keep it yourself or sell them online.
In fact, if you’ll prefer the homemade jewelry cleaning agents to those readily available on the market, you’ll be left with a lot of inexpensive options.
With this, we hope you got some useful jewelry cleaning and care tips that you can apply anytime. That said, all you need is to find time to maintain your jewelry. Remember, each of the piece you own is an extension and reflection of who you are. Invest in your jewelry and take care of them as you would yourself.