How to clean jewelry and restore its shine and newness: a few simple tips
Content:
Jewelry items are usually made from inexpensive materials. The surface of such jewelry is often imitated to resemble precious metals: silver or gold. But costume jewelry loses its presentable appearance much faster than products made from natural materials. It may lose its original color and turn black. Fortunately, there are time-tested, affordable means that will make your favorite accessories look aesthetically pleasing and attractive again.
Why did gold jewelry turn dark?
There are various reasons why gold jewelry has darkened. Such accessories are made from metal alloys that oxidize when interacting with other substances. After contact with chlorinated or sea water, darkening appears on gold-plated accessories and they lose their original brightness.
The appearance of products may also deteriorate upon contact with eau de parfum and household chemicals.Therefore, it is worth periodically cleaning the products (and you should not forget about the stones, which can also become dull). In addition, it is recommended to remove jewelry before cleaning.
How to clean jewelry: basic rules
When caring for jewelry, be sure to take into account what material it is made of. Coated accessories can be cleaned with products that do not contain abrasive particles.
Do not allow copper products to come into contact with water. Vinegar should be used to clean accessories made from this material.
Artificial stones should simply be wiped with a piece of dry cloth. It is recommended to simply wash jewelry with plastic parts in clean water without using any chemicals.
Each material needs special care. At the same time, there are several general rules that must be followed by people who decide to thoroughly clean their jewelry:
- It is not recommended to immerse jewelry in soapy water for a long time;
- It is recommended to clean accessories only with a soft cloth and gentle chemicals;
- To care for cheap, low-quality accessories, you should not use products containing alcohol. It is much better to clean with a solution made from water and ammonia, baking soda.
You should only polish your jewelry if absolutely necessary. This should not be done often. Otherwise, abrasions may appear on the surface of the accessories.
How to clean jewelry from darkening
A solution designed for cleaning jewelry is easy to prepare at home. There are many effective ways to eliminate darkening.
Special paste
If you are afraid of ruining your jewelry with the products you prepare yourself, purchase a special set in the appropriate department of the jewelry store. Its composition includes:
- special paste;
- a small piece of cloth intended for wiping jewelry.
Soap solution
The main ingredient of such a solution is a small amount of liquid soap or shower foam. Household chemicals are added to water and a small amount of glycerin is dissolved in it. After this, the object with darkening is placed in water for 10 minutes, turning it over periodically. After this time, you need to thoroughly rinse the accessory and dry the jewelry with a towel.
Products that have a bleaching effect are absolutely not suitable for cleaning jewelry from darkening. Otherwise, accessories may lose their natural shine.
Tooth powder and chalk
A mixture of tooth powder and chalk is also ideal for removing dark spots on jewelry. To prepare it you will need:
- 1 tablespoon of tooth powder;
- crushed chalk (about 10 grams).
The above ingredients are combined with 150 ml of water. The resulting mixture is stirred until the consistency of a thick paste. Then this product is applied to the jewelry with a comfortable brush with fine bristles. After this, you need to clean the accessories, wash them with enough water, and dry them with a soft cloth.
Toothpaste
You can use toothpaste to care for silver jewelry. This product is also excellent for cleaning gold-plated accessories.
To renew your favorite jewelry, you need to apply a small amount of toothpaste to a small brush and thoroughly clean the darkened areas with it.After this, you need to thoroughly rinse the accessory and wipe it dry.
Soda
You can use baking soda to care for silver-plated accessories. The product does a good job of removing stains from the surface of such jewelry. But the positive effect is not in all cases noticeable from the first use. If there are any dark spots on the surface of the accessories, you should use baking soda again after a short time.
If you want your old jewelry to please your eyes for a long time, prepare this effective remedy:
- You need to mix a little soda with 10 ml of water.
- The resulting mass of porridge-like consistency is used to treat areas with darkening and left for 30 minutes.
- After this, the jewelry is thoroughly washed and carefully wiped with a dry cloth.
Soda
Carbonated water has also managed to establish itself as an effective means for cleaning surfaces made from a variety of materials. Therefore, Coca-Cola is actively used to remove dark spots on the surface of jewelry.
Jewelry is cleaned with sparkling water in the following sequence:
- A little sparkling water is poured into a separate pan.
- Jewelry is placed in this container.
- Place the pan over medium heat and boil its contents for about 10 minutes.
- After this, allow the jewelry to cool, carefully wash it, and dry it with a soft towel.
Ammonia
This product perfectly restores the shine and color of jewelry without damaging its surface. You just need to moisten a small piece of cloth with ammonia. The jewelry is wiped well with ammonia, and then carefully rubbed with a dry cloth.
Garlic
This vegetable perfectly removes darkening from objects that contain copper.To prepare an effective remedy, you will need 2 cloves of the vegetable. First, the garlic is grated. Then you need to put it through a garlic press. Add a pinch of salt to the resulting mass. Then you need to apply the garlic mixture to the decoration and hold it for 10 minutes, gently wipe the darkened areas. After this time, the jewelry is immersed in a soap solution, washed thoroughly, and dried.
Vinegar
9% vinegar can be used to clean copper and crystal objects. This product is added to a small amount of finely ground salt. Saturate a piece of cloth with the resulting liquid and carefully clean the problem areas. After this, you need to rinse off the vinegar solution under running water and wipe the jewelry dry.
Milk serum
Serum is also used to remove darkening from inexpensive jewelry. You need to take 0.25 liters of this product. Add 2 teaspoons of salt to the whey. The resulting solution is soaked into the fabric used to wipe the jewelry. Then this product must be rinsed off and the accessories wiped dry.
How to clean sprayed products?
Items made to look like silver or gold are more difficult to clean than items without plating. Such accessories darken quite quickly. As a result, only gentle products should be used to clean silver-plated and gold-plated surfaces. The best choice for caring for such jewelry is to use vinegar or soap solution.
To remove stains from gold or silver accessories with ammonia, you should prepare an alcohol solution:
- You need to add 10 ml of alcohol to 950 ml of water.
- The jewelry is placed in a previously prepared solution, left in this liquid for several minutes, and wiped dry with a small clean cloth.
You can also use this method of cleaning decorative jewelry:
- It is necessary to moisten a towel in vinegar (wine).
- Then you need to thoroughly wipe the darkened areas.
- The jewelry is washed and dried.
Important! To clean sprayed accessories, you should use a piece of natural suede. It needs to be used to wipe the surface of the jewelry after treating it with a special solution. Pastes made from salt or baking soda are not suitable for this purpose. Such products leave unsightly scratches on the surface of accessories.
How to care for jewelry
It is not recommended to treat artificial stones on accessories with products containing acids, abrasives or bleaches. You should refrain from cleaning this area of the jewelry with special solutions if there are small chips or cracks on the stone.
Currently, there are a large number of wooden products on sale. Do not use water-based products to clean them. Exposure to moisture can cause wooden objects to swell. Therefore, they should be cleaned exclusively using the dry method, using flannel cloth.
Storage rules
Costume jewelry is considered quite “capricious” in terms of care. Removing dark spots from problem areas is much more difficult than preventing their appearance.
In order for your jewelry to please you with its ideal appearance for as long as possible, you need to properly store the following jewelry:
- accessories should be kept in a dry place, protected from sunlight;
- It is not recommended to store jewelry in a room with high humidity;
- all accessories should be kept not in one box, but separately from each other;
- Avoid contact with perfume or cream on jewelry;
- jewelry should be removed before taking a shower or washing dishes;
- You should try to remove fresh, small stains immediately with a dry cloth-based napkin.
You can remove stains from your favorite expensive jewelry without resorting to the use of expensive professional products. But at the same time, you must strictly adhere to the recommendations for processing products. As you know, each material has its own characteristics of interaction with cleaning substances.