How to clean silver, gold and gold-plated jewelry – a practical guide

Silver, gold and gold-plated jewelry can look like new for years – just take care of them properly. Fortunately, cleaning your jewelery yourself is simple, and the beauty treatments can be done at home. Below you will find some practical tips that will allow you to learn how to clean silver, gold and gold-plated jewelry.

How to clean jewelry?

Jewelry made of precious metals is characterized not only by a beautiful appearance, but also delicacy. That is why cleaning silver, gold or gilded silver requires care and proper preparation. In the case of jewelry that requires more thorough cleaning, we should pay attention to the level of delicacy of our ornaments – do they have attached elements that can fall off? Are they enriched with gemstones, the color of which may fade due to contact with a given chemical? Are they decorated with organic materials – e.g. pearls, amber or glued elements that may get damaged? In the case of the metal itself, we can gently clean the jewelry with home methods, but in the case of decorations, we can damage them – then it is best to go to a professional goldsmith’s workshop.

How to take care of jewelry?

If we want our jewelery to look beautiful for a long time, we should take care of it properly. From storage to wearing it, caring for your jewelry is extremely important. Silver and gold-plated silver are best stored in string bags that limit access to moisture. As a result, the jewelry does not darken over time.

Factors that have a bad effect on silver and gold-plated jewelry:

Perfume: Avoid contact between perfume and jewelry. Under no circumstances should you spray perfume on any jewelry you have previously applied to your body! Unfortunately, many people forget about it. Moisture: jewelry should not be soaked, nor should you bathe in it or wash your hands with rings on them. The place where we store jewelry should also be dry.

By avoiding these two factors, we can easily extend the beautiful appearance of jewelry.

Silver cleaning

Silver jewelry is one of the most common buyers’ choices – mostly because of its beautiful, mirror color. Unfortunately, this metal, especially when not used, darkens quickly and loses its shine. This is due to its chemical properties – sulfur compounds that exist in the air react with silver, which causes the formation of a dark deposit on its surface. How to clean silver with home methods so as not to damage your favorite jewelry? There are several ways.

How to clean silver at home?

Toothpaste
Cleaning silver with toothpaste is one of the easiest home methods. However, it is important that the paste does not contain, for example, whitening microgranules. You should reach for the simplest, white paste, clean your jewelry gently with a brush, and then rinse it under running water.

Cigarette ash
Another home-made method is to mix cigarette ash with water – with the pulp made this way, use a brush to gently clean the jewelery and then rinse it with water.

Washing
Jewelry can be washed together with underwear at a temperature of approx. 30-40 degrees C. Before turning on the washing machine, however, make sure that the silver has been properly secured (eg by putting it in stockings or tights).

Vinegar and baking soda
A hot bath is another way to clean silver. We can soak silver jewelery in a chemical bath for about 15 minutes (always wear protective gloves!). Ingredients needed for a bath: 3 liters of water, 5 tablespoons of vinegar and 4 tablespoons of baking soda. Rinse “bathed” decorations with cold water and dry with a soft cloth.

Water from under… potatoes
Silver jewelery can also be cleaned with water in which the potatoes in their shell were previously boiled. After the bath, the jewelery should be polished.

And how to clean silver in a more conventional way?
We can reach for specialist preparations, such as a special silver cleaning liquid (eg Argentum, about PLN 8), an ultrasonic cleaner or special cloths for cleaning silver (eg Connoisseurs, about PLN 20).

Gold cleaning
Gold products can boast much greater resistance than silver jewelry, but they also lose their original shine after some time. However, we should remember that gold is very susceptible to scratching – so delicacy is advisable.

How to clean gold with home methods?
Dish soap
Add a few drops of washing-up liquid to a bowl filled with hot soda water and leave the jewelry in it for 15 minutes. Then gently brush the gold with a brush and polish it.

Onion juice
You can coat the jewelry with onion juice (or put it in a jar filled with warm water with the addition of baking soda and soap flakes). Take out the cleaned gold jewelery, rinse it with warm water and polish it with a delicate cloth.

Toothpaste
As in the case of silver, we can also clean gold jewelery with a classic toothpaste. When choosing a paste and a brush, we should pay special attention to the lack of micro-granules and the degree of softness of the bristles so as not to scratch the gold.

Cleaning gilded silver
Gilding is the surface coating of the product with a layer of gold, the natural process is rubbing off the top layer. Gold-plated silver is exposed to abrasion after some time. Depending on the use, gilding may last from several months to several years. It should be cared for in a special way. Protect against moisture, remove when bathing and washing hands. Protect against moisture, remove when bathing and washing hands.

To prevent change, we should keep gold-plated jewelery in a dry place in a special container or wrap individual elements with tissue paper (or a delicate material such as silk). We can clean gold-plated silver in the same way as gold and silver, but there are several alternative, home methods that we can also use in this case. If the layer wears out badly, the gilding process can be repeated.

How to clean gold-plated silver?
Lemon and salt
Moisten a soft cloth with salt solution and juice from
lemon. The preparation prepared in this way should be gently wiped (once)
gold-plated jewelry.

Alcohol
Gilded jewelery can be wiped with the chamois cloth that was used earlier
was soaked in salicylic spirit. In the case of gold-plated jewelry, we should avoid completely dipping ornaments in prepared mixtures. A single, gentle wipe with a soaked cotton ball or cotton cloth is recommended. Excessive rubbing may wear off the top layer of gold. However, it should be remembered that even worn gilded jewelry can be saved – just take it to a goldsmith’s workshop, where it will be refreshed in a professional manner.

WARNING
The above methods are just an example of how you can clean jewelry at home. The best and most reliable solution is to go to a goldsmith’s shop for a professional jewelery cleaning treatment. None of the home methods can guarantee a long-lasting and specialized effect that we will achieve in the plant. There is also a risk of our favorite ornaments being destroyed or their condition at home deteriorating. In addition, water and cosmetics have a bad effect on jewelry, so it is recommended not to store (especially) silver, gold or gilt silver in the bathroom.