The Ultimate Beginners Guide To Jewelry Cleaning At Home

Do you remember what your jewelry looked like when it was brand new?

Do you still look at your diamond ring in different lighting to capture the rainbows and brilliance that shoots everywhere around it?

How about all those times you were driving and couldn’t help but take a glance at your ring because the sunlight hit it just right and you drifted over into the other lane?

Nah, those days are long gone.

Well they shouldn’t be, and like a good marriage that has slowly gone a bit ho hum and stale, you can do something to bring back all those thrills!

We endeavor to give you tips on what you can do to bring back all the beauty that your jewelry once had, so that the reasons why you chose the pieces that you did will soon become evident once again.

Let’s roll!

What Causes Jewelry To Tarnish and How To Prevent It

Jewelry tarnish is caused by many things, unless of course you never wear the piece.

When the surfaces of metal come into contact with body oils and other external substances such as makeup, sweat, perfumes, lotions, and deodorants, the tarnish process is well under way.

You can see the evidence of tarnish when you notice it looking slightly dull to totally blackened.

Prevention is a matter of learning about the substances that cause the surfaces of jewelry to begin the corrosion aka tarnishing process and to head it off from the jump.

Here are some suggested ways to get your jewelry to shine like new again:

Jeweler

You can actually take all your fine jewelry to your favorite jewelry store, and if you don’t overwhelm them with too much of it at once, they will bring new life back into your jewelry.

The jewelry store has the tools that the average person simply does not have at home, and all the right types of polishing and buffing wheels.

They have professional sonic cleaners, steam cleaners as well as polishing compounds and powerful machines for removing different types of scratches and metals.

DIY Cleaning At Home

The other thing that you can do is to learn to clean and polish your items at your own home. This ensures that you won’t ever be wearing dingy jewelry again and you will also be able to keep a closer eye on your things to look for wear and tear.

How To Get Your Jewelry To Shine Again

Whether you’re taking your jewelry to a professional for cleaning, or your going to do it yourself, you’re going to want to organize your jewelry because different types of metals and gemstones will require different cleaning solutions and techniques.

So before you get started, do the following:

Group Your Jewelry Together

First you will need to assemble all of your jewelry on a day when you feel inspired to write a list. This list is going to indicate what types of metal you have such as sterling silver, gold or platinum. For brevity sake, we will not be addressing costume jewelry.

Separate Your Jewelry By Type/Gemstone

Next you will want to make notes of the kinds of precious gemstones that are contained in your pieces.

This is because some gemstones cannot be cleaned and/or shined in the same way that other gemstones can.

Examples of these are emeralds, pearls and opals, but more are listed below.

These, while they are beautiful, need special handling so they do not become destroyed.

Examine Your Jewelry For Repairs

After you have made these two lists, you will then be able to examine each piece to determine if any of them might have repair issues.

If you notice any gemstones that are easy to rotate within the prongs or are wiggling a little bit, then set those aside for repair before cleaning.

No point in cleaning these items that will be going out to be repaired when the jeweler will automatically do that for you after the repair process.

Prepare Your Jewelry For Cleaning

Getting your jewelry to be clean and shiny means that you are willing to invest in some cleaning supplies.

Generally, you may want to buy a small home ultrasonic cleaner if you have quite a few pieces that are candidates for immersing in one, but if not, simply buy some soft baby toothbrushes.

Tools You’ll Need For Cleaning Jewelry At Home

If you’re going to clean your jewelry at home, you’ll want to make sure you own the following tools and items for the best results:

Tool	Description
TARN X	This is a sterling silver dip cleaner found at any grocery store.
Polishing Cloth	You can buy the two sewn together cloths that have red rouge on one and yellow for buffing on the other.
Mr. Clean	This is typically used as a household floor cleaner and surface cleaner, but it does wonders to remove oil and grime when diluted with water because it does not have ammonia.
Dremel	Just get the small 20 piece hand Dremel that you would use for little projects. You can also get the wool buffing attachments at the same place.
Jewelers Loupe	This can be purchased on Amazon for around $15 Just get the 10x power one. This is one of the most valuable items that you will own if you have fine jewelry for more reasons than simply cleaning.
Dawn Soap	This will be used to get the initial layer and bulk of the polishing rouge and tripoli off of your items before using the Mr. Clean.
Tripoli and Rouge	These are polishing compounds that you will use with the Dremel tool. The tripoli will remove deep scratches and the rouge will be a final buffing compound.
Ultrasonic Cleaner	Ultrasonic cleaners use a cavitation process with water to vibrate dirt and grime off of items. You can get a small one for your home on Amazon for around $90.This will be very useful to have, but is not necessary if you’re just getting started.

Once you’ve gathered all your supplies, you’re ready to start cleaning! Here are the steps:

How To Clean Silver, Gold, and Platinum Jewelry At Home

Now it’s time to get to work and clean your jewelry. Here are instructions for each type of metal and gemstone:

Cleaning Sterling Silver

This is the easiest to clean since there are so many products on the market made specifically for this. You will want to start with TarnX, which can be found in any grocery store that has a cleaning aisle. Simply dip your

Special attention is needed if you have:

• Turquoise
• Tourmaline
• Peridot
• Pearls
• Malachite
• Lapis lazuli
• Emerald
• Coral
• Amber

These cannot be dipped in silver cleaner nor put into an ultrasonic cleaner.

They have too many natural inclusions or layers that will cause them to degrade. We will touch on the steps for these gemstones that are set in silver shortly.

All other sterling silver with or without other types of stones:

1. Pour TarnX into a small deep plastic container that has a lid. It will smell like rotten eggs.
2. Wearing thin exam gloves, dip the piece of jewelry for three seconds. Not minutes, seconds. Longer is not better because it will leave a heavy white haze all over your silver that will require further polishing to remove.
3. Quickly rinse under running water or in a bowl.
4. Dry.
5. Use the Dremel tool and the polishing rouge. Apply the rouge onto the small wool buffer on lowest speed.(Tripoli is not needed with silver items).Sterling silver is quite soft, so a medium or higher speed is not necessary.
6. Once you have covered the silver with rouge and polished it, use a little Dawn soap in hot water to remove the rouge from the item. Just wash it with your fingers, rubbing all the compound off of it.
7. Dry with a cloth, then examine. (Repeat on areas that you may have missed or that need further polishing).
8. Put item into a Mr. Clean bath to soak. You will use 1 part Mr. Clean with 5 parts of water. Leave items in there for about 5 minutes or so. (You may put sterling silver into the ultrasonic cleaner for 5 minutes also as long as the items do not have any of the delicate stones mentioned. However, you will have to change the water completely if you want to then use the ultrasonic for gold or platinum. See note at bottom of article for why).
9. Get out the soft toothbrush and use it to clean crevices that were difficult to reach.
10. Rinse well and then dry.
11. Use the yellow part of the polishing cloth to go back over the silver until bright and shiny.

Cleaning Sterling Silver That Has Delicate Gemstones

You may follow all the steps above except DO NOT dip these pieces into the TarnX. Dipping them will immediately degrade the surfaces of the gems and will be very noticeable.

Do not get the polishing rouge on the gems!

This compound is abrasive enough to dull the gem finish.

Do not put these into the ultrasonic cleaner, the cavitation process will crack or destroy the gems.

Cleaning Gold & Platinum

The difference between cleaning gold and platinum is that you will be using the ultrasonic cleaner if you have one, and you will NOT be using TarnX.

Ultrasonic cleaners will vibrate away all the oil, grime and lotions that are stuck deep into jewelry.

You will also be using the Tripoli compound along with following up with the rouge polish.

Caution!

Use the exact same technique as you would for the sterling silver jewelry, keeping in mind to avoid using any polishing compounds or ultrasonic cleaner on delicate gemstones in the list we stated above.

1. Gold and Platinum jewelry that does not have the delicate gemstone in our list should be put into the sonic cleaner as a first step.
2. The ultrasonic cleaner should be filled with one part Mr. Clean to 5 parts of water.
3. Heat the ultrasonic cleaner to 115 degrees or thereabout. It should not be any hotter than you can withstand on your own hands. We do not boil jewelry!
4. After placing the jewelry in the ultrasonic cleaner, turn on for 5 minutes.
5. Look with the loupe to see if there is any obvious muck still lurking in prongs or crevices. If so, repeat for another 5 minutes.
6. Remove jewelry and rinse in clean water and dry.
7. Proceed to polishing with the Dremel, only this time, start with applying Tripoli compound on the first wool buffer pad. This compound will remove scratches and even small dents quite well. Use the lowest speed.
8. Using your loupe, look for scratches and dents periodically so you can remove them.
9. After you are satisfied with removing obvious scratches, use the Dawn soap with water to wash the compound off with your fingers.
10. Rinse with clean water.
11. Dry.
12. Follow up with polishing rouge on a different wool polishing pad. Do not use the same wool bit for both the Tripoli and the rouge. Tripoli is abrasive and will scratch the surface while the rouge is the final buffing.
13. Continue using steps 6 through 8 above as you did with the sterling silver.

How To Clean and Polish Gemstones At Home

It should be noted that cutting and polishing gemstones is a science and an art that requires special equipment that most people aren’t going to want, or have.

It is best to have your stones cleaned and polished by a professional if you are not confident in your skills.

For this section, we are only going to be referring to cleaning up your gemstones with common household items.

Cleaning Diamonds

Diamonds are the hardest gemstone, but they can also be the most delicate if they are fracture filled. You will want to avoid using harsh chemicals or cleaners on them as it could damage the stone.

If your diamonds aren’t fracture filled, the ultrasonic cleaner will work just fine on them.

1. Fill the ultrasonic cleaner with a solution of 1 part Mr. Clean and 5 parts water.
2. Add your diamonds to the basket, making sure they are not touching each other or any other jewelry as this could cause scratching.
3. Turn on the machine and let it run for about three minutes before checking to see if the diamonds are clean.
4. If they need more time, let them go for another minute or two.
5. Once they are done, remove them from the basket and rinse in water.
6. Dry with a soft cloth.

Cleaning Ruby, Opal, Emeralds, etc.

Rubies, emeralds, etc. are a whole different story when it comes to cleaning.

You have to be careful as many of these stones are will crack or explode if you put them into an ultrasonic cleaner, so it is best to avoid that all together.

The safest way to clean these stones is with a soft toothbrush and soapy water.

1. Make a solution of 1 part Mr. Clean and 5 parts water.
2. Dip the toothbrush into the solution and then start scrubbing the dirt and grime off of your gemstone.
3. Once the stone is clean, rinse it off in water and dry with a soft cloth.

Cleaning Pearls

Pearls are even more different than colored gemstones, because they are the only gemstone that is organic. This means that they are made by a living creature, and as such, are very delicate. Here are the rules for cleaning pearls:

• Pearls must be cleaned by a very slightly damp warm wash cloth.
• Do not soak pearls in water or in anything at all. Reason: the holes that were drilled to string or mount them will allow water to penetrate through the holes and will cause them to swell and then peel or break.
• Just wipe them with a wash cloth that is slightly damp. Dry. That’s it.
• If you have a pearl ring or earrings, you may hand polish the metal with the polishing cloths only. Use the red cloth, follow with the yellow cloth.
• Do not rub the pearls with the polishing cloths or compounds.

Warning: What Not To Do When Cleaning Jewelry

Never use agents such as toothpaste, baking soda, vinegar or witch hazel. These either are too abrasive, acidic or can have chemicals that can damage gemstones. When in doubt, DON’T.

When using an ultrasonic cleaner, clean silver separately, or clean gold separately.

Do not put different types of metals into the same water.

You must change out the water in the ultrasonic because silver ions will become loose and will float in the water and attach themselves to your gold, and will darken and discolor the gold.

If this happens, simply dip the gold into TarnX for three seconds to remove the darkened silver film and rinse immediately.

FAQs on Cleaning Jewelry At Home

Is Vinegar Good For Cleaning Jewelry?

Vinegar is not good for cleaning jewelry. It is too acidic and can damage the metal and gemstones.

Is Toothpaste Good To Clean Jewelry?

Toothpaste is not good to clean jewelry. Because toothpaste is filled with abrasive compounds for polishing teeth, it can damage the metal and gemstones of your jewelry.

What Is The Best Jewelry Cleaner?

We believe that the best jewelry cleaner is a solution of Mr. Clean diluted in water, an ultrasonic, and a Dremel with polishing compound.

Is It OK To Boil Jewelry?

While it may be tempting to boil off tough grease or grime, the extreme heat can cause damage to the metal and gemstones. We do not recommend boiling jewelry.

How Does Aluminum Foil Clean Jewelry?

Aluminum foil works as a jewelry cleaner because it is slightly abrasive and can help to remove dirt and grime. It also creates a kind of electrical charge that helps to loosen up dirt and grime.

However, aluminum foil is not recommended for use on delicate or soft stones such as pearls or opals – nor do we ever use it with gold or silver.

Final Thoughts

Keeping your jewelry clean and shiny is not as complicated as you might think once you have already done a piece and have all the products assembled at home that are needed.

Most of the cost will be the initial purchase of the Dremel, the ultrasonic cleaner, the wool pads for the Dremel, and the polishing Tripoli and Rouge.

These can all be purchased online.

Because you are keeping your own jewelry clean, you can also be keeping an eye on them with your loupe to watch for issues with prongs or clasps, and can then take them for repair to avoid losing stones.