How to clean gold at home

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Lifehacker has already talked about how to clean your favorite silver jewelry. Now is the time to refine the darkened and tarnished gold items with and without stones.

How to clean gold

There are several methods for cleaning gold jewelry at home:

1. Soak. The jewelry should be placed in a special liquid, which can be made from what you have in your kitchen, bathroom, or medicine cabinet. After a certain time, the plaque can be removed with a simple soft cloth.
2. Polishing with scrap materials. Suitable if you need to return a breathtaking shine to the product.
3. Mechanical cleaning. Applicable if the pollution did not give in to the previous methods. Use with care so as not to damage the surface of your precious jewelry.

Soak

1. Salt … Dissolve 3 tablespoons of table salt in a glass of hot water. Put jewelry there overnight, and in the morning rinse in running water.
2. Dishwashing liquid … In a glass of water, stir a teaspoon of liquid detergent, add gold and place in a water bath. Boil the jewelry for a few minutes, and then wash off the remaining soap with water and wipe dry with a soft cloth.
3. Ammonia + washing powder … Dissolve a teaspoon of ammonia and a tablespoon of powder in a glass of water and boil. Place the jewelry in a hot solution for 2 hours, and then wipe them with a cloth.
4. Liquid soap + hydrogen peroxide … Mix a teaspoon of soap and 2 tablespoons of peroxide with a glass of warm water. Put the gold in the solution for 20 minutes.
5. Soda + foil … Dissolve 2-3 tablespoons of baking soda in a glass of hot water and pour into a container with a sheet of foil at the bottom. Place the jewelry there overnight, and in the morning rinse them under the tap and dry with a towel.

Polishing

1. Velvet or felt cloth … The old, proven way. Just take a piece of suitable cloth and get comfortable in front of your favorite TV show: polishing can take a lot of time.
2. Eraser … A soft white eraser will not only add shine to the gold, but also remove light deposits.
3. Vinegar … Soak a cloth napkin in the vinegar and gently process the jewelry.
4. Lipstick … A fun way for girls. Apply lipstick (preferably colorless) to a piece of cloth and rub it over the tarnished gold.
5. Beer and egg white … And this is more suitable for brutal men. Stir in some of the foam with the protein, soak a cloth in the solution, and rub the jewelry.
6. Onion juice … The principle is the same: soak a cloth in juice and polish your favorite gold items. Do not forget to rinse and dry the jewelry thoroughly at the end of the procedure.

Mechanical cleaning

Of course, you can buy a special paste from a jewelry store. But if you want to effectively clean gold without leaving your home, it is easy to prepare such one from scrap materials.

Remember: you should not use aggressive abrasives such as soda or sandpaper to clean jewelry, there is a great risk of damaging the surface of the precious metal. Therefore, we will use softer and more delicate mixtures.

1. Dentifrice … A little powder, an old toothbrush and a little patience will remove old plaque from the gold.
2. Toothpaste + Vaseline … Works as well as toothpaste, but is more neat and gentle.
3. Chalk + laundry soap … Pound the crayon (the usual white one from the children's art kit will do) into a powder and mix in equal proportions with grated soap. Stir until a smooth paste is obtained, then rub the decorations with a piece of cloth. To avoid streaking, be sure to rinse the gold with running water.
4. Chalk + ammonia … Grind the chalk and mix with ammonia until a thick mass is obtained. Brush the gold thoroughly with a toothbrush or cloth, and then rinse and dry.

How to clean gold jewelry with stones

Be especially careful with such jewelry. Remember that some gemstones require special care. For example, opal, turquoise or malachite can be scratched with abrasives, so forget about tooth powder, soda, or salt. Ruby, pomegranate and topaz are sensitive to high temperatures and cannot be washed with hot water. And amber, pearls, coral or ivory do not like acids, alkalis and solvents very much - it is better to entrust cleaning to specialists.

If you are confident in your abilities, use the following methods for cleaning gold jewelry with stones:

1. Alcohol … Moisten a cotton swab with an alcohol-based liquid (strong alcohol, cologne, or alcohol lotion will work). Rub the jewelry gently to remove grease and other dirt.
2. Petrol … Moisten it with an unnecessary soft toothbrush and process the gold piece. Fine bristles are great for removing dirt from hard-to-reach areas.

How to clean white gold

White gold differs from ordinary gold in that silver, palladium or nickel are added to it to obtain a light shade, and on top it is often rhodium-plated. It protects the jewelry and gives it a white sheen.

For such products, harsh methods will not work, but the following will be useful:

1. Ammonia + hydrogen peroxide … Mix both liquids in a container in a ratio of 1: 2. Put the gold in the resulting solution for half an hour, and then rinse in running water and wipe dry with a towel.
2. Sugar … Dissolve 2 tablespoons of sugar in a glass of water. Soak jewelry in a sweet solution for 10-12 hours: this will restore their former shine.

How to clean matte gold

Jewelry is made matte using a special polishing method. Therefore, polishing materials are not used to clean such products, but only visible plaque is removed. To clean matte gold, it is enough to soak it in a 25% ammonia solution for a couple of hours, and then rinse it in running water and wipe it dry with a cloth.

What to do to keep gold from darkening

1. Store jewelry out of direct sunlight.
2. Remove rings and bracelets before cleaning, going to the bathhouse or sauna, and when wiping off nail polish.
3. Wipe dry gold items if they have been exposed to moisture.

Did these tips help you? Tell us in the comments about your experience in cleaning gold at home.