How to clean gold plated jewelry
Often when we have jewelry, it gets dirty and we want to clean it, but we don’t know what equipment we need to prepare and how to clean it without damaging our beloved gold jewelry. This article will guide on those matters and explain the differences between commercial and homemade cleaning solutions for jewelry.
Necessary Items for Homemade Cleaning
Dish soap: but only a tiny amount, 2-3 drops mixed with warm water to reduce the acidity of the dish soap. Remember that dish soap is acidic and can corrode the gold plating or Gold Vermeil on jewelry, causing more damage.
Gentle formula soap or soap for children: those with sensitive skin, because regular soap has a pH of 7 which is alkaline. Children’s soap has a pH of 5.5-6.5, which is closest to neutral. Highly recommended to check the soap before using.
Soft-bristle toothbrush : for gentle scrubbing/cleaning. Always keep in mind that using a stiff brush is like using a bathroom scrub brush on your skin – it will cause abrasions. Cleaning gold jewelry is like cleaning your skin.
Warm water : Often when wearing silver jewelry, our sweat comes into contact with it, causing grease buildup. Using cold water won’t remove the grease, and hot water can cause peeling. Warm water is the best option for rinsing and mixing with other cleaning components.
2 small bowls: for soaking and cleaning jewelry. and add warm water To clean jewelry after scrubbing away dirt and dishwashing liquid or Gold cleaning solution that is stuck to the jewelry.
Gold cleaning solution
The difference between homemade and specialized commercial gold cleaning solutions lies in the chemicals used. The specialized solutions have calculated and controlled chemical formulas made specifically for cleaning gold safely. This allows you to use them with peace of mind, simply by following the usage instructions for each brand.
While with homemade methods, you have to calculate the proper proportions yourself, which may result in using too much of certain ingredients at times. On the other hand, the commercial solutions are pre-formulated with the right balance, making them more convenient and safer to use.
Cleaning Method
- Mix soap or dish soap with warm water in the small bowl you prepared.
- Soak your jewelry in the prepared solution for 5-10 minutes to allow the solution to react with the dirt and oils so they can be scrubbed off easily.
- Gently scrub the jewelry with a soft brush. Don’t apply too much pressure as this may cause the gold plating to chip off. Lightly wipe and clean in gentle motions.
- After cleaning, rinse the jewelry in a separate bowl of plain warm water to remove any remaining solution residue. Then dry it thoroughly, as leaving it wet can cause water stains on the jewelry.
If the gold plating gets damaged after cleaning
If the gold plating has chipped or peeled off, there’s likely nothing you can do at home to fix it yourself (it would be easier if you can take the jewelry to get it re-plated professionally). However, if you want to attempt re-plating it yourself at home, I can provide those instructions in the future. Note: that taking it to a professional is more convenient and easier.
How to keep jewelry shiny for a long time
Break habits
Often we tend to do things according to what we normally do without thinking anything. For example, normally we would wash our hands, we often forget to wash it, sometimes wearing a watch, we also wash without taking it off, forgetting to take it off. Jewelry is the same, causing jewelry to come into contact with water and causing jewelry to have the opportunity to become tarnished because in some places, regular tap water contains chemicals. I would like to take myself as an example “in Thailand, because Wholesale925silver is in Thailand, tap water contains chlorine and even more so after the COVID outbreak, it turned out that apart from us washing our hands with tap water, we also accidentally wash our hands with alcohol service points in various places, causing the jewelry to be exposed to alcohol, causing it to become tarnished.’
Proper Storage
It’s not just about breaking habits, but properly storing jewelry is equally important. This helps protect jewelry from air, chemicals, temperature, and impacts. You should not store jewelry mixed with other hard or sharp objects, as this can scratch and damage the pieces. You wouldn’t want your beloved jewelry to get scratched by items in a drawer or jewelry box. Not only would the jewelry piece get scratched, but it could also scratch other pieces. Keep jewelry separated in a jewelry box or ziplock bags. After wearing your jewelry all day, wipe it clean and store it properly. This practice will help your jewelry last much longer
In the end
In this article, we’ve explained methods for cleaning and storing your jewelry. By adjusting some habits and using common household items, you can care for your pieces for a long time. And if the gold plating gets damaged, you can have it re-plated by a professional jeweler, allowing you to keep enjoying your jewelry like new in the future. More articles with additional tips will be coming, so if you want more jewelry care advice, be sure to follow the Wholesale925silver blog.
We hope this article has helped address your concerns. Thank you.
