Over time, gold jewelry can lose its luster: the metal darkens, tarnishes. Therefore, in order for gold to always look like new, effectively glittering in the light, it is necessary to periodically clean it.
This can be done by giving jewelry to jewelers, and you can resort to your own strength and clean the gold at home.
Gold is capable of losing its former novelty due to the impurities that make up its composition, and it is they who become dull. But their presence in the metal is also important, impurities give it strength. Well, to maintain the original appearance of the decoration is capable of every owner, especially since it does not make much effort.
Ways to clean yellow gold at home
Jewelry is made from different types of gold, which differ from each other in shades. Yellow gold is the most popular type.
To clean the yellow gold, you can buy a special tool that is in jewelry stores. And you can use cheap means, the result after which is no worse.
These include: peroxide, ammonia, salt, even the usual dishwashing detergent. How to clean the yellow gold at home with the help of these simple tools, we will tell further.
Hydrogen peroxide
Peeling yellow gold with peroxide is pretty simple. For this you need:
- a glass of ordinary water;
- 50 ml of hydrogen peroxide;
- ammonia - 1 tsp;
- liquid soap - 1 tsp.
All components are mixed, and immersed in the resulting solution gold. Leave it for 20 minutes, then take it out and rinse it in clean water, then dry it. Gold will be cleaned and will return the old look.
Ammonia
Ammonia or ammonia is also an excellent cleaner. To clean the yellow gold from them, it is necessary:
- take warm water with a volume of 200 ml;
- half a teaspoon of 10% ammonia;
- a little (you can have a teaspoon) of shampoo or liquid soap.
All the listed components are mixed and gold is placed in the mixture obtained.
But first, you need to know that jewelry with precious stones can not be subjected to such cleaning.
To achieve the best effect, it is worth leaving gold in the solution for a couple of hours. After, get and wipe with a dry cloth.
Dishwashing Detergent
Such a detergent familiar to everyone is capable of washing not only dishes, but also gold jewelry. For this you need: Dissolve a few drops of detergent in 200 ml of cold water; pour the soap solution into a small saucepan (or other refractory dishes), place the decorations there and boil for 10 minutes.
After this time, get the jewelry and dry it well.
Salt
Something that, and salt in the kitchen can be found at all. Moreover, it can not only salt the food, but also clean the gold. Just do not rub the gold with salt, as its grains can scratch the surface of the jewelry. Proper use of salt looks like this:
- In a salt solution consisting of 150 ml of hot water and 60 grams of salt, gold products are placed overnight.
- In the morning they are taken out, washed under cold water and dried with a towel.
Foil
Cleaning of yellow gold is possible with the help of foil. All that is required for this method: foil, water and soda.
To do this, 50 grams of soda dissolved in 500 ml of hot water. The foil is lined on the bottom of a deep container, gold jewelry is placed on it and poured with soda solution. Leave everything for 10 hours (preferably overnight), and then washed under cold water and wiped dry.
What if nothing helped?
It may happen that the listed methods of gold purification were not effective. The reason for this may be old-fashioned dirt, deep dark spots. In this case, you have to resort to mechanical cleaning.
In order to avoid scuffs and scratches on gold, you should not use abrasives, there are more sparing.
These include specially designed paste for cleaning gold. You can find them on the Internet, and the cost does not exceed 500 rubles.
It is simple to use them: the paste is applied on a toothbrush with soft bristles, and the decoration is cleaned with smooth movements. After that, the remains of the paste are cleaned with a cloth, the surface of the gold is rubbed with alcohol (to remove the fat layer). Wash with water and wipe.
Folk remedies for cleaning gold
Popular methods are applicable in many areas of our lives, and the cleaning of gold is no exception. The following means of popular preference apply:
- Onion juice or vinegar.
It is necessary to soak a napkin in onion juice or vinegar, wipe gold products with it and leave for 2 hours. After rinse with water and dry.
- Such a subject of female cosmetics, as lipstick, is also able to deal with the pollution of gold jewelry. All thanks to titanium dioxide, which is a component of lipstick, and at the same time an excellent cleaning agent.
To clean the gold with lipstick it is necessary to lubricate a cotton disc with it and wipe the jewelry with it. This method is especially suitable for jewelry without stones.
- In addition to salt, sugar is also used to purify yellow gold. It is necessary to dissolve a teaspoon of sugar in a glass of warm water and place gold jewelry there. Leave on for 3 hours, and wipe dry.
- No less effective in cleaning gold will be a mixture of petroleum jelly, crumbly chalk, grated soap and water. All components are mixed in equal proportions and polished with a mixture of jewelry.
- A good result can be achieved with the help of mustard powder. In use, it is simple: pour a handful of mustard on a rag and wipe gold products.
Cleaning white gold at home
Ways of cleaning yellow gold are not acceptable for white gold jewelry. The surface of white gold is easier to scratch, so cleaning should be careful.
How can white gold be cleaned at home?
- To clean white gold should be used only soft tissue. The fact is that the surface of jewelry made of this type of gold is covered with rhodium. This is a rare and very valuable (more expensive than gold) platinum group metal. But the problem is that he is able to quickly wear off, so in order to prevent this, you should choose rags with a soft nap.
- However, for the purification of white gold, a solution prepared from water and ammonia will be suitable. Precious jewelry should be kept for an hour in this solution, and then wipe well. It is better not to leave moisture on white gold, as this may affect the metal.
- As mentioned above, white gold is most prone to scratches, compared to yellow. Therefore, it is not possible to use powdered agents and pastes for its cleaning.
- There is a popular method that removes dirt from white gold well. The recipe is simple: 2 tablespoons of beer mixed with one egg yolk, mixed. This mixture is applied to a soft cloth and rub gold jewelry.
Cleaning gold jewelery with precious stones
To clean the dirt and darkening of gold jewelry with inlays of precious stones, you should not use the above methods, they will not work.
So, here's how to clean the gold with stones at home:
- Dirt from the stones is well cleaned with cotton swabs, soaked with cologne, and the frame can be rubbed with a soft toothbrush dipped in soapy water;
- Before cleaning, pay attention to how stones are attached to the jewelry. If they are glued, cleaning with water will not work. You can use alcohol solution, it is good to clean the fat spots. After, you need to wipe the decoration with a damp cloth and dry well.
- Jewelery with diamond inserts can be cleaned with ammonia. To do this, the product is placed in the prepared solution (6 drops of ammonia and 200 ml of water) for 30 minutes. After time, rub the decoration with a cotton swab and get wet with paper to remove residual moisture.
- Apply for cleaning such products gasoline. Toothbrush with soft bristles moistened in gasoline and gently wipe the decoration.
Gems are classified by hardness coefficient. Knowing how much a stone has, you can easily choose the appropriate way to clean it.
Turquoise, malachite, opal, apatite are soft stones. They do not tolerate long-term contact with moisture.
In order to clean the jewelry well and not harm the precious inserts, you should use the usual soap solution. Rinse the jewelry in it for a few minutes and then wipe dry with a cloth.
Vinegar and ammonia are really effective means to combat pollution on jewelry.
But, if the product contains precious stones of organic nature, such as amber, pearls or coral, then you should not use vinegar and ammonia in any case, otherwise damage to the stones cannot be avoided.
The following methods should be used to clean them:
- diluted alcohol solution in a ratio of 1: 1 (alcohol and water);
- a soap solution is used to clean the pearls (it is better to use shampoo). A soft brush is dipped into it and rubbed with pearls, then it is allowed to dry naturally. The gold cut is simply rubbed with a cloth, without touching the stone;
- coral and amber can be cleaned with suede or flannel fabric.
A quick method of cleaning the gold chain at home
Gold chain is a very popular piece of jewelry. However, over time, it is prone to darkening and accumulation of dirt from dust and sebum. So how do you quickly clean the gold chain at home?
To quickly return to its former color and shine, you should use the following cleaning methods:
- Prepare a solution of warm water and shavings of household soap (as an analogue can serve as a detergent and ordinary detergent for dishes). In this solution, place the gold chain for a couple of hours. After, a toothbrush with hard bristles must be carefully cleaned the chain. After cleaning, rinse the jewelry with plain water and place on a towel to dry completely.
- To remove old stains, repeat the above procedure several times or use deep cleaning. This will require ammonia (25%). In the capacity of the stack chain and pour ammonia, leaving a couple of hours. After washed with water and dried.
- No less effect can be achieved with the use of a mixture of chalk, liquid paraffin, soap and water. Everything is mixed in equal amounts. In the resulting solution moisten cloth and carefully wipe the entire chain. Then rinsed in clear water and dried. The chain will regain its primitive brilliance.
Careful care of gold with the help of professional tools
You can rely on specially developed means for cleaning gold. You can buy them and jewelry stores and online stores.
In order to give your jewelry a pristine look, you can acquire your own arsenal of professional tools, which include:
- solution;
- cleaning paste;
- spray;
- wet and dry wipes;
It is worth choosing the means based on what kind of gold jewelry is made, whether precious stones are present.
How to clean the gold at home and avoid mistakes
All of these methods of purification of gold can harm it if used incorrectly. The most common mistakes made in self-cleaning at home:
- rub the ornament with a stiff brush using abrasive agent;
- clean gems and gold with one tool;
- leave jewelry with stones in water solutions for a long time.
Remove contamination from gold products should be carefully, carefully selecting the appropriate detergent. If the jewelry has dark spots and old dirt, it is better not to pursue gold yourself, but to trust a specialist.
How to clean the gold, you can learn from the following video.
