How to clean gold at home: effective methods

Even if a woman (and a man too) has only one wedding ring, he still needs to have a bath day periodically. Or at least clean it.

Everyone washes their face several times a day, but they forget about the ring or chain. But microbes and dust accumulate on them, and the gold itself fades over time, becoming covered with microcracks and stains.

Of course, if you have a whole box of gold jewelry, and some of it is even exclusive, then it is best to turn to specialists for help. This is especially true for those jewelry that consists not only of gold, but also ennobled with precious stones, pearls, or very expensive, carved, with many small links.

Professionals will expertly clean gold jewelry, which will become as good as new after cleaning.

You can also purchase a special product at a jewelry store that is designed for cleaning gold jewelry. Most likely, you will be offered jewelry cosmetics from. But if you still decide to clean gold items yourself, then at least buy special wipes for polishing gold items in the store. Their price is reasonable. After all, those rags that you have at home may simply not be suitable for this job.

And for those who still want to clean gold jewelry themselves, below are methods for cleaning gold jewelry and recommendations on how best to do it.

Important!

But first you must remember that cleaning gold without stones and with stones are significantly different from each other ! After all, if an ordinary wedding ring can be cleaned with soda and toothpaste, and can also be dipped in boiling water, then a ring with a precious stone requires a more careful attitude.

For example, when cleaning with abrasives, scratches may appear on the smooth surface of the stone, and when in contact with boiling water, the color may change. This means that if you are going to clean a gold ring or earrings with precious stones such as amber, opal, emerald, pearls, then they cannot be mechanically cleaned using chalk, toothpaste and other substances.

The main methods of cleaning gold jewelry - liquid solutions with the addition of active substances: soap, ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, citric acid and others - must be applied carefully to gold jewelry with stones.

After all, if hard precious stones (diamond, beryl, aquamarine, topaz, quartz) react well to contact with ammonia or hydrogen peroxide, then soft stones (turquoise, coral, pearls) cannot be cleaned with either vinegar or ammonia.

You also need to be careful with white gold , which can be damaged by too vigorous cleaning. Therefore, it is also cleaned with liquid soap, ammonia or alcohol.

If rings with stones

Earrings or rings with inserts made of various stones are cleaned more gently and delicately, most often without ammonia or toothpaste. The exceptions are diamond, aquamarine, quartz and jewelry with cubic zirconia. Do not use hot water or boiling water - this will cause the stone to change color.

Alcohol

Description. This method will degrease the surface of the stone and make it sparkle with renewed vigor. Effective in the case of ruby, lapis lazuli, opal.

What you will need:

two flannel napkins;
cologne or alcohol solution.

Sequencing

Moisten the flannel generously in an alcohol solution or cologne and wipe all darkened areas to remove dirt and stains.
Take a second napkin and wipe the product dry.

To clean jewelry with stones, ear sticks are used, which allow you to work on hard-to-reach places. If the stones are glued to the jewelry, it should not be immersed in water or cleaning solutions.

Soap with salt

Description. Softer stones (pearls, turquoise, amber, emerald or coral) do not tolerate cleaning with chalk, vinegar, or lemon. Then how can you clean gold with stones of this kind? You just need to soak the jewelry in a rich soap solution.

What you will need:

a teaspoon of liquid soap;
water – 50 ml;
a pinch of salt.

Sequencing

Prepare a soap solution, beat it into thick foam, add salt.
Place all jewelry that needs to be washed from darkening into the solution.
Leave for a couple of hours.
Then rinse the gold with clean water and lay it on a cloth to dry.

When processing products with inserts, do not use “too popular” means such as treating with lipstick or soaking in Coca-Cola. This is the case when it is better not to experiment.

Cleaning gold with soap

Method 1 . This method is the simplest and most easily accessible. To keep your gold jewelry as good as new even after a few years, they need constant care. If you always wash them in soapy water, you won't have to resort to more drastic measures.

To do this, pour hot water into a bowl and add soap or dishwashing liquid. Whip up a rich foam and dip your gold jewelry into it.

After one or two hours, rinse them in clean water and place them on a napkin to dry.

If the jewelry is poorly washed, take a soft toothbrush and lightly scrub the jewelry with it.

Method 2 . Grate the laundry soap and add the same amount of chalk to it. Pour in some hot water to make a thin paste. Rub this mixture onto your decorations. For this purpose, you can use a soft toothbrush. Polish clean jewelry with a soft, dry cloth.

Method 3 . Prepare a small amount of soap shavings. Add to it the same amount of Vaseline, crushed chalk and water. You will get a thick paste. Apply this paste to a soft cloth and clean your gold items. Then wash them well to remove any greasy film and dry them.

Why does gold turn black on the human body?

Gold turns black for the following reasons:

Cosmetics, detergents. They contain various compounds, the contact of which with metal leads to darkening of the metal. Most often, rings darken because women wash dishes and use creams.
Iodine is a product in great demand in Russia. Before treating the skin with an antiseptic, women remove their rings, but in the pool they swim in jewelry. Iodine compounds are also contained in water, contact with which leads to the formation of stains on the surface of the product.
Discharge – sweat and oil are released through the skin pores. Particles stick to fabric, objects, and any surfaces. Jewelry with traces of sweat attracts dust and dirt. This leads to the formation of plaque and even a film on the surface of the product.

Cleaning gold jewelry with baking soda

Method 1 . Pour some baking soda onto a plate and add enough hydrogen peroxide to make a paste. Clean the ring with this mixture, and then rinse it in clean water.

Method 2 . Sprinkle the gold jewelry with a thin layer of baking soda. Then pour vinegar and rinse with clean water. This method cannot be applied to gold jewelry with pearls or other precious stones.

Method 3 . Mix table vinegar with soda in a 2:1 ratio and immerse gold jewelry in this liquid for one to two hours. Then rinse with clean water and dry with a soft cloth or special napkin.

Purchased professional products

Modern manufacturers offer a wide variety of professional products designed for cleaning gold jewelry. Among them are the following:

Microfiber cloths. They have a special impregnation that helps remove black spots and dirt. The use of wipes is for cleaning, polishing and adding shine.
Gold care products in the form of paste or gel. Their use protects the surface from staining for a long time.
Balms. Cleaning gold jewelry using products of this type helps remove small scratches from their surface, as well as add shine.
Solutions. One of them is Aladdin solution. The kit includes a container with solution, a soft brush, tweezers and a napkin. The amount of solution is enough to perform 5–8 cleanings.

Cleaning gold jewelry with ammonia

Method 1 . Add a few drops of ammonia to a glass of water and immerse gold jewelry in it. After an hour, take them out and rinse them in clean water. If the jewelry is very dirty, you can add a little liquid soap to this composition.

Method 2 . Pour equal amounts of hydrogen peroxide and ammonia into a glass of water. Add a little washing powder to them. Place gold jewelry there and leave for five minutes. Then remove them from the glass, rinse them in clean water and dry them with a soft cloth.

Method 3 . Pour a glass of water into a small saucepan, bring to a boil and add a tablespoon of ammonia and some liquid detergent, for example, dishwashing detergent. Dip gold jewelry in this water and leave for two hours. Then take them out and rinse in clean water. This method helps clean heavily soiled jewelry.

Method 4 . Place heavily soiled gold jewelry without stones in a small container and fill it with ammonia. Leave it for several hours without fear of ruining it. Then remove the jewelry from the solution and rinse under running water. Dry.

How to clean gold

There are several methods for cleaning gold jewelry at home:

Soak. Jewelry must be placed in a special liquid, which can be made from what you have in your kitchen, bathroom or medicine cabinet. After a certain time, the plaque can be removed with a simple soft cloth.
Polishing with improvised materials. Suitable if you need to restore a breathtaking shine to a product.
Mechanical cleaning. Applicable if contaminants have not responded to previous methods. Use with caution to avoid damaging the surface of your treasured piece of jewelry.

Soak

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Salt . Dissolve 3 tablespoons of table salt in a glass of hot water. Place the jewelry there overnight and rinse it in running water in the morning.
Dishwashing liquid . Mix a teaspoon of liquid detergent in a glass of water, add gold and place in a water bath. Boil the jewelry for a few minutes, then rinse off any remaining soap with water and wipe dry with a soft cloth.
Ammonia + washing powder . Dilute a teaspoon of ammonia and a tablespoon of powder in a glass of water and boil. Place the jewelry in the hot solution for 2 hours, and then wipe it with a cloth.
Liquid soap + hydrogen peroxide . Mix a teaspoon of soap and 2 tablespoons of peroxide with a glass of warm water. Place the gold in the solution for 20 minutes.
Soda + foil . Dissolve 2-3 tablespoons of baking soda in a glass of hot water and pour into a container with a sheet of foil at the bottom. Place the jewelry there overnight, and in the morning, rinse it under the tap and dry it with a towel.

Polishing

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Velvet or felt rag . An old, proven method. Just take a piece of suitable material and sit comfortably in front of your favorite TV series: polishing can take quite a lot of time.
Eraser . A soft white eraser will not only add shine to the gold, but will also remove light deposits.
Vinegar . Soak a cloth in table vinegar and gently wipe the jewelry.
Lipstick . An interesting way for girls. Apply lipstick (preferably colorless) to a piece of cloth and rub it over the tarnished gold.
Beer and egg white . And this is more suitable for brutal men. Mix a little foam with the protein, soak a cloth in the solution and rub the jewelry.
Onion juice . The principle is the same: soak a cloth in the juice and polish your favorite gold items. Do not forget to thoroughly rinse and dry your jewelry at the end of the procedure.

Mechanical cleaning

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Of course, you can buy a special paste at a jewelry store. But if you want to effectively clean gold without leaving home, you can easily prepare something similar from scrap materials.

Remember: you should not use aggressive abrasives such as soda or sandpaper to clean jewelry; there is a high risk of damaging the surface of the precious metal. Therefore, we will use softer and more delicate mixtures.

Dentifrice . A little powder, an old toothbrush and a little patience will remove old plaque from gold.
Toothpaste + Vaseline . Works just as well as tooth powder, but more gently and gently.
Chalk + laundry soap . Pound the chalk (ordinary white one from the children's art set will do) into powder and mix in equal proportions with grated soap. Mix until you get a smooth paste and then rub the jewelry using a piece of cloth. To avoid streaks, be sure to rinse the gold under running water.
Chalk + ammonia . Grind the chalk and mix with ammonia until a thick mass is obtained. Clean the gold thoroughly with a toothbrush or cloth, then rinse and dry.

Cleaning gold with toothpaste or tooth powder

Since these substances are still abrasives, they need to be cleaned very gently, only lightly polishing the product. Diamonds respond very well to such cleaning. To do this, you just need to squeeze a small amount of paste onto a soft toothbrush or cloth and rub the ring with it. You can only use white classic toothpaste without a whitening effect.

Tooth powder can be diluted with lemon juice. After cleaning, the ring is washed in clean water and dried on a rag or paper napkin.

How to clean expensive jewelry

Although there are many cleaning methods available, there are also some that should not be used. Among them are the following:

Jewelry inlaid with stones cannot be cleaned with a vinegar solution or any acid.
Do not use a hard brush for cleaning.
Alcohol or liquids containing alcohol should not come into contact with the surface of soft stones.
When cleaning white gold, do not use toothpaste or tooth powder.

Before you clean gold at home to make it shine, you should study the properties of the metal, and if there are stones, their characteristics. Only in this case can the attractive appearance and shine be restored without damaging the product.

Cleaning gold jewelry with chemical reagents

Method 1 . If you accidentally dropped iodine onto the ring, you can clean it in this way: put one teaspoon of hyposulfite in a glass of water and stir. Immerse the ring in this solution for fifteen minutes. Then rinse and wipe dry.

Method 2 is suitable for cleaning matte gold. Mix 8 parts bleaching lime, 7 parts bicarbonate of salt and 2 parts table salt in a bowl. Add 1/3 cup of distilled water. Place the decoration in the mixture for a few minutes. Then take them out, wash them with alcohol and leave them on sawdust or a paper towel to dry.

Method 3 . Mix 16 parts chalk, 4 parts white lead, 6.5 parts clay, 0.5 parts bloodstone, 1.5 parts magnesia. Use this powder to clean your gold jewelry.

Method 4 . Mix 80 g of iron oxide (kolkotara) and 30 parts of ammonia. Clean your jewelry with this mixture.

Method 5 . If stains appear on the gold ring, they can be removed with a borax solution. To do this, moisten a cloth with the solution and wipe the ring.

Types and causes of pollution

The main reason affecting the contamination of gold products is the presence of impurities in each alloy (silver, copper, etc.). However, there are a number of other factors:

prolonged contact with skin leads to oxidation of the precious metal;
components contained in decorative cosmetics, perfumes and creams leave marks on jewelry;
dirt and street dust quickly “stick” to gold items;
Increased sweating also negatively affects the appearance of jewelry.

Loss of appearance of a gold-containing product most often manifests itself in two forms: oxidation of the metal or its contamination.

Care and storage rules

In order for jewelry to please its owner for a long time, it is necessary to properly care for and store it. Advice from jewelers will help.

Keep rings, earrings, crosses, chains and other jewelry away from chlorine and water to prevent oxidation.
Each individual piece of jewelry must be stored in an individual box or casket with dividers.
You should not wear white gold jewelry on a regular basis, especially if it is created using rhodium.
During contact with water, it is better to remove jewelry.
You should avoid situations in which the product is injured (cutting, cleaning around the house, etc.).

Methods for cleaning heavy contaminants

Products with stones can only be cleaned using gentle methods, without acids or abrasives. It is better not to immerse them in liquid at all, but to spread them with a cleaning paste or wipe them with soapy water.
You should not clean jewelry made of different metals together (for example, gold and silver), as they may turn white.
Be careful with citric acid, vinegar, and dry soda. They can only be used on products in good condition. If there are scratches, damage or stones, these substances are dangerous to use.

A solution of ordinary salt will work well to remove light deposits on gold jewelry.

If the surface is matte

Matte jewelry is becoming more popular every day. Nevertheless, caring for them also requires delicacy.

All kinds of brushes, fabrics with a rough surface, as well as aggressive abrasives should not be used. This will ruin the matte surface.

It is better to resort to these means:

Ammonia. Place the jewelry in an ammonia solution for 1.5-2 hours. After the expiration date, rinse and dry.
Salt and soda. Take lime (1 teaspoon) and dilute it in water. Add half a teaspoon of baking soda and a pinch of salt. Let it brew for 3-4 days. Then place the jewelry in the liquid for 3-4 hours. As always, rinse and dry.

These methods must be effective. But it’s still better to give the matte item to professionals.

Cleaning with apple cider vinegar

You will need:

apple cider vinegar - 1 glass;
table salt - ¼ cup;
flour - ¼ cup;
Toothbrush.

Process:

fill a small bowl with half a cup of apple cider vinegar;
Place the product in a cup and leave it there for 15-20 minutes. If the product is large, make sure that the vinegar covers it completely;
Combine salt, flour and remaining vinegar to form a mixture with the consistency of paste or sour cream. If necessary, add more flour;
take a toothbrush with soft bristles and dip it in the resulting paste;
remove the product from the vinegar and carefully clean it with a brush;
rinse the gold in cold water;
repeat the procedure with the brush again;
rinse the product again with cold water;
Wipe the gold with any lint-free cloth.

The item should be like new.

If gold is white

White gold is an item with the addition of an unusual mixture of nickel and copper.

The exterior of such jewelry is coated with rhodium, which is highly sensitive to any external influences.

White gold is highly sensitive to external influences. That is why standard methods are inappropriate here. Better yet, use:

Ammonia. Mix 2 tbsp. spoons of alcohol with 1 teaspoon of any detergent. Dilute in warm water until completely dissolved. Dip the item into the resulting mixture and keep it there for no more than 50 minutes. Then rinse and dry.
Beer and yolk. Take the yolk of one egg and 2 tbsp. spoons of light beer. Stir and apply to the object to be cleaned using a cloth. Polish carefully, rinse and dry.

It is important to note that all kinds of pastes cannot be used in this case.

Is it possible to clean gold with vinegar?

Gold jewelry tends to lose its natural shine over time. This will happen even if they are constantly in the box.

The gold is sent to a jewelry salon for cleaning or you can clean it yourself. For this purpose, a remedy that is always available in the house is suitable - vinegar. Apple juice is considered safe. Thanks to its mild acids, it gently cleans the most finicky metals.

However, most jewelers and consultants recommend using only professional cleaning methods. This is because using vinegar incorrectly will harm the jewelry, especially if it has embedded stones.

Find out how to test gold for authenticity with vinegar so as not to harm the product.

What reaction occurs between vinegar and gold

Real gold does not react chemically with acids, including vinegar. This ensures that your product remains not only clean, but also without any changes.

Add soda

Baking soda is perhaps a universal cleaning agent for any metal and more. After the procedure described below, the jewelry will be unrecognizable - it will become exactly the same as when purchased - smooth and shining.

Necessary:

vinegar 9%;
water;
baking soda.

The process itself:

Take the gold item you want to clean and wet it with water. Then dip it in baking soda and add a little vinegar (about 2-3 drops). Gently go over the top with a soft, lint-free cloth.

Again, if the jewelry is inlaid with stones, especially pearls, it is better not to resort to this method. Otherwise, there is a risk of damaging their surface.