How to clean gold earrings

Gold pleases us with its durability and beauty. It comes in different colors - yellow, red, pink, white. All types require care and regular cleaning, otherwise the gold will look like a cheap, oxidized metal.

Gold earrings with stones are especially good. They frame our face and complement the image, making it more feminine and elegant. But not everyone knows how to properly care for and how to clean gold. They are afraid of scratching or spoiling the stone, and besides, earrings with stones have more nuances regarding cleaning. Contaminants get on the inside of the stone and in the narrow bends of the fastening.

How to clean gold earrings

The earrings are all different, there are models with and without stones, in yellow and white gold, with fixed stones and with glued ones, studs and pendants. And the methods for cleaning them will differ.

IMPORTANT! Not all earrings can be cleaned at home to perfect condition. Convex patterns, openwork patterns and other irregularities require special jewelry tools.

People have come up with dozens of recipes, some effective and safe, others not suitable for every decoration. And jewelry stores have long been selling a special cleaning product for gold that can be used at home. You can take them to a workshop, where an experienced master will clean them. But both methods have a disadvantage - you have to pay for them. In addition, you need to not only know how to clean earrings, but also how to properly care for them.

Gold Care Basics

To reduce the need for dry cleaning, you need to properly care for your earrings. By following the operating rules, you will extend the life of the product, and you will have to clean it less often.

Rules of care:

• remove earrings before swimming, especially if they have stones. Remaining foam will get into narrow parts and bends and will accumulate there, creating a plaque. Once on the stone, the foam will settle as a coating on its back, and when the stone has accumulated, it will no longer shine without careful cleaning;
• Wipe the areas in contact with the skin with alcohol every day, especially the pin. When worn, sweat and cosmetics get on them, which leave a residue and a favorable environment for the growth of bacteria;

IMPORTANT! Do not wipe gold with nail polish remover, otherwise it may darken.

• In the bathhouse and solarium, remove earrings and other jewelry. This has less to do with their cleanliness than it does with your safety;
• Wipe gold only with soft fabrics - flannel, suede, velvet. Hard fabrics may scratch it;
• Clean your gold regularly. Accumulated dirt and dark deposits spoil the appearance of jewelry. It’s worse when bacteria develop in the dirt and cause inflammation upon contact with the body;
• Do not wet earrings with glued stones, they may get lost.

IMPORTANT! The white gold alloy contains nickel and copper; the products are coated with rhodium, which causes the surface to quickly wear off. Do not use abrasive powder, brush or hard cloth for cleaning.

A couple of cleaning recipes

ADVICE! Hyposulfite pharmaceutical liquid will remove iodine stains.

Soap solution

Soapy water is used to wash gold rather than clean it. Try this method, you may not need further cleaning:

1. Mix water and soap.
2. Heat the mixture to 50-60 degrees.
3. Place the earrings there and leave for 2 hours.
4. Rinse and brush with a soft brush, or an old toothbrush.
5. Wipe with a napkin.

If the earrings are updated, the job is done. The contaminants remain - proceed to more serious methods.

Hydrogen peroxide, ammonia

 

In addition to peroxide, you will need ammonia, water and soap. The solution cleans products from stubborn dirt due to the reaction of the main components. So let's get started:

1. Pour 200-250 ml of water into a container. Use enamel cookware to prevent it from reacting with the cleaning agent.
2. Mix it with 3 teaspoons of ammonia + 2 tbsp. spoons of peroxide + a couple of drops of soap.
3. Place the earrings in the solution and wait 60-120 minutes. During this time, all reactions will pass.
4. Rinse and dry.

Tooth powder, paste

This is a good alternative to products where abrasive particles scratch gold. Tooth powder gently cleanses and serves as a replacement for jewelry paste. Ideal for White Gold with Diamonds:

1. Add water to 3-4 tablespoons of tooth powder to form a paste.
2. Apply the paste to a soft brush or cotton pad and clean the earring.
3. Rinse and wipe dry.

Features of cleaning products with stones

The fastening of stones varies, and so do the stones.It can be secured in a foot or other metal fasteners, or maybe glued. Jewelry workshops use a special glue that holds the stone firmly, but you still need to be careful. We don't know what kind of jewelry glue was used, so harsh cleaning products may dissolve it.

There are nuances with stone in a metal fastening. It may become cloudy when cleaning as described above. Therefore, soak a cotton swab in the cleaning product and use it to treat the earrings with stones. You can take a piece of cotton wool, a cotton pad or a soft cloth, but a stick is more convenient.

IMPORTANT! If your earrings have stones, do not clean them with vinegar. The stone may become cloudy. Replace it with onion juice, it will help clean the jewelry and will not spoil the shine of the stone.

Soak the stick in the product and wipe the earring. Pay special attention to the area behind the stone - dirt and remnants of soap, shower gel or shampoo accumulate there if you do not remove the jewelry while bathing. Carefully wipe the part that is inserted into the earlobe - sweat and sebum accumulate there. If you don't clean this area regularly, your ears will respond with inflammation and pain.

The product and the cleaning itself also depend on the stone:

• Turquoise cannot be wetted or cleaned using traditional methods. Buy jewelry cleaning paste or take it to a workshop;
• wash pearls with soapy water and wipe with a soft cloth;
• Swarovski crystals - do not get them wet, wipe with suede, felt or flannel cloth;
• Clean hard stones - diamond, quartz, topaz with ammonia and a soft bristle brush.

ADVICE! If the product has thin curves where a cotton swab cannot reach or the stone is very small, wrap a thin layer of cotton wool around a toothpick.This way you will clean the dirt and you won’t have to resort to hard brushes.