What is the Best Homemade Jewelry Cleaner?
While most jewelry cleaners contain chemicals that could potentially be damaging to gemstones and diamonds, you can create your own DIY cleaner using items found around the home. Just ensure any gemstone or diamond pieces have secure settings before starting to clean them.
Use mild dish soap and warm water. Place your jewelry into the soapy water, and scrub using a soft-bristled toothbrush.
Dish Soap and Warm Water
Jewelry can be delicate and costly, so taking good care in its upkeep is important. Luckily, there are numerous easy and economical solutions available to keep it looking its best; some even only take minutes and ingredients found around your house! Additionally, homemade cleaners are much better for the environment than commercial jewelry cleaners.
White vinegar is one of the most commonly used jewelry cleaners, as it can be combined with baking soda and lemon essential oil to produce an effective jewelry cleaning solution that’s gentle on metals and gemstones while costing pennies to create and containing no harsh chemicals.
At-home jewelry cleaning with dish soap and warm water is another effective and safe method. This mixture works especially well when dealing with pieces composed of less precious metals like brass and copper; additionally it works great to revive costume jewelry that tends to tarnish quickly. Simply soak your jewelry for several minutes in this solution before rinsing it off under cool running water afterwards.
Hot water can be an efficient and cost-effective jewelry cleaner for hard metals like sterling silver. It works by melting away dirt and grime that accumulates on jewelry pieces, making them easier to wipe away with a cloth later. Place the jewelry into a heatproof bowl, add boiling water gradually until your jewelry soaks for 10 minutes, rinse it out under running water before drying with a lint-free cloth afterwards.
Ammonia can also serve as a cheap, homemade jewelry cleaner for precious stones like diamonds. Ammonia can easily be found at grocery stores, making this solution accessible and safe to use on most forms of jewelry; making this an affordable alternative to professional cleaners.
If you don’t have any homemade jewelry cleaner on hand, an effective and safe method for cleaning most types of jewelry – but not suitable for delicate materials like pearls or soft gemstones – would be to rub your piece of jewelry with toothpaste. This approach should work fine.
Glass Cleaner
One simple and cost-effective method of cleaning jewelry is using glass cleaner. After spraying them, simply scrub or wipe down with a soft cloth for optimal results. This jewelry cleaning hack works great on pieces made out of precious metals such as gold, platinum or silver; however it should not be applied directly onto pieces with soft gemstones or pearls because chemicals from cleaner may harm them over time.
Use of a toothbrush can also be an excellent jewelry cleaning technique, with its small bristles easily reaching those hard-to-reach corners and crevices. Best of all, this method doesn’t involve chemicals and is safe for most jewelry pieces – and can even remove grease build-up caused by wearing them during the day!
Alternatively, mix baking soda and white vinegar in a bowl, let your jewelry soak for several minutes, before gently scrubbing it before rinsing it and drying with a towel afterwards – this simple yet effective solution will restore its luster!
This jewelry cleaning hack is one of the simplest and cost-effective. All it requires are four ingredients that are likely already found in your home: salt, baking soda, water and aluminum foil. Baking soda combined with water creates an effervescent heartburn tablet effect which attacks any tarnish on jewelry pieces quickly – simply place them into a bowl filled with the active ingredient, let it soak for several minutes then rinse and dry afterwards!
Though these DIY techniques for jewelry cleaning are helpful, it is still wise to have your valuable gems professionally cleaned by a jeweler at least twice annually for optimal care. A professional can identify cracks or inclusions which need repair as well as identify any additional protection measures needed for each piece. It is always better to play it safe; simply call up your favorite jeweler.
Toothbrush
A toothbrush is one of the best homemade jewelry cleaners you can use to remove dirt from jewelry. This cleaning hack works particularly well on tarnished silver jewelry, while you can also use it on gemstones such as diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds. To use one this way: begin by mixing some mild dish soap in some lukewarm water; soak your jewelry for several minutes then gently brushing away dirt with soft bristled toothbrush before rinsing and drying off with lint-free cloth after that step.
Add baking soda and vinegar in equal parts, mixing until they fizz to create a paste you can apply to your jewelry. Let this mixture sit for approximately 30 minutes, before using soft-bristled tooth brush (old toothbrush works great too) to scrub into any nooks and crannies before rinsing under warm water and drying with a lint-free towel.
Homemade jewelry cleaners with isopropyl alcohol can also help disinfect your jewelry, providing it is safely placed into a small bowl filled with the alcohol and your jewelry is immersed. Leave to soak for several minutes, before rinsing off thoroughly – this method works great on gold jewelry as well as metals but may damage more fragile gemstones such as pearls.
If your solid gold ring has become tarnished, try dunking it in some light beer (lager or pilsner). This homemade jewelry cleaner hack works great for many types of gold jewellery and the beer will add a stunning shine! Remember to rinse off afterward to get rid of any extra beer residue. For other forms of jewellery like sterling silver rings with precious gemstones attached such as earrings or pendants; drop some toothpaste onto a soft-bristled toothbrush to polish and shine it up; this method also works wonder for dainty rings without precious gemstones attached; especially good results can be achieved in rings that do not feature precious gemstones such as those without precious gemstones in their design!
Ammonia
When your favorite pieces of jewelry become dull and discolored, restoring their shine is easy. A homemade ammonia solution can quickly revive them to their former glory; just be mindful that some gemstones or pearls could be damaged and that some metals, such as copper and brass, could corrode if exposed too long to this chemical solution.
Use a solution composed of one part water and one part plain non-sudsy ammonia to clean jewelry in 30 minutes, placing your pieces into the solution for best results. Remove and brush gently using soft cloth or cotton swab – silver tarnish should disappear instantly while keeping in mind some fine jewelry has darkened accents which may be disturbed with too much pressure from brushing.
Vinegar is another popular natural jewelry cleaner, as the acid in it works quickly to loosen dirt and grime, leaving most fine jewelry sparkling once again. But be mindful when using vinegar – some materials, such as leather, fabrics, plated metals or porous stones like pearls may be damaged by its acid.
Mild soap is another effective homemade jewelry cleaner that can restore luster to most metal jewelry pieces. Castile soap or other mild soaps such as Dove will remove grease, lotions and body oils from its surface while cleaning any fine piece made of real gold, silver or platinum; however this method does not work for fashion or costume jewelry.
Baking soda and effervescent heartburn tablets make effective jewelry cleaners due to a chemical reaction when mixed with water that quickly removes build-up on jewelry pieces. Simply place your jewelry into a bowl, let it soak for a few minutes, and wipe clean afterwards with a cloth – however this method should only be used on gold or silver rings without crystalline gemstones as this may damage pearls.
Window cleaner can also be a powerful way to quickly refresh jewelry, thanks to its solvent properties that break down mineral deposits and oxidation. Just follow the directions on the bottle when using window cleaner on jewelry – don’t just pour directly onto it; soak your jewelry instead in small amounts of solution for 30 minutes first, soaking may not do enough if your piece requires deeper cleaning; in that case use a soft bristled toothbrush instead to scrub all surfaces and get into any nooks and crannies where necessary.