Products made from noble metal require care worthy of their status. Over time, they can become dirty, lose their shine, and darken, even though this element practically does not oxidize. But these processes are reversible, and it is quite possible to return them to their former luxurious appearance. This procedure is performed by jewelers, but you can do it yourself at home if you know how to clean gold. A variety of means are used for this, including those found in your home.
What you will learn about the gold cleaning procedure:
- How to clean gold?
- Polishing
- Mechanical cleaning
- How to clean white gold?
- How to clean matte gold?
- How to clean gold jewelry with stones?
- Recipes for solutions for cleaning gold at home
- Ammonia
- Dish detergent
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Features of cleaning gold at home
- What to do to prevent gold from darkening?
Important!
But first you must remember that cleaning gold without stones and with stones are significantly different from each other ! After all, if an ordinary wedding ring can be cleaned with soda and toothpaste, and can also be dipped in boiling water, then a ring with a precious stone requires a more careful attitude.
For example, when cleaning with abrasives, scratches may appear on the smooth surface of the stone, and when in contact with boiling water, the color may change. This means that if you are going to clean a gold ring or earrings with precious stones such as amber, opal, emerald, pearls, then they cannot be mechanically cleaned using chalk, toothpaste and other substances.
The main methods of cleaning gold jewelry - liquid solutions with the addition of active substances: soap, ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, citric acid and others - must be applied carefully to gold jewelry with stones.
After all, if hard precious stones (diamond, beryl, aquamarine, topaz, quartz) react well to contact with ammonia or hydrogen peroxide, then soft stones (turquoise, coral, pearls) cannot be cleaned with either vinegar or ammonia.
You also need to be careful with white gold , which can be damaged by too vigorous cleaning. Therefore, it is also cleaned with liquid soap, ammonia or alcohol.
How to clean gold?
First, you need to understand why such a need arises, because this metal is known for its durability. The fact is that it is soft, so when creating jewelry and other products from it, it is combined with other elements. They increase the hardness of the alloy and its wear resistance, but they also contribute to the appearance of a film on it over time, due to which it becomes duller.
In addition, human body secretions (sweat), chemicals, cosmetics, dust, soot, and external pollution settle on the alloy, causing it to lose its aesthetics.
Therefore, over time, the question arises of how to clean gold, and it is worth considering that this is not a problem.
There are many ways to do this yourself, and the choice depends on several factors. For example, you need to consider whether the decoration has a glossy or matte surface, whether it has stone inserts or not, whether the metal needs to be cleaned white or yellow.
Cleaning gold with soap
Method 1 . This method is the simplest and most easily accessible. To keep your gold jewelry as good as new even after a few years, they need constant care. If you always wash them in soapy water, you won't have to resort to more drastic measures.
To do this, pour hot water into a bowl and add soap or dishwashing liquid. Whip up a rich foam and dip your gold jewelry into it.
After one or two hours, rinse them in clean water and place them on a napkin to dry.
If the jewelry is poorly washed, take a soft toothbrush and lightly scrub the jewelry with it.
Method 2 . Grate the laundry soap and add the same amount of chalk to it. Pour in some hot water to make a thin paste. Rub this mixture onto your decorations. For this purpose, you can use a soft toothbrush. Polish clean jewelry with a soft, dry cloth.
Method 3 . Prepare a small amount of soap shavings. Add to it the same amount of Vaseline, crushed chalk and water. You will get a thick paste. Apply this paste to a soft cloth and clean your gold items. Then wash them well to remove any greasy film and dry them.
How to clean white gold?
How to clean gold correctly
The first step is to determine what exact problem you are facing. It happens with white metal that it takes on a yellow tint. This indicates that the rhodium layer has worn off, in which case cleaning will not help, but, on the contrary, will worsen the situation. To restore the color, this layer must be reapplied, and this will require the use of a rhodium solution. But a jeweler can perform the procedure correctly in a workshop, but at home it is almost impossible.
If the metal darkens, then it is possible that it interacted with acid. In this case, it can be cleaned and polished. For this purpose, the same methods are used as in the case of the need to eliminate contaminants.
Here are the best and safest ways to clean white gold:
- Soap solution. To prepare it, use soap (preferably laundry soap) or shampoo. If it is soap, it is ground on a grater and then combined with water in equal proportions. In the case of shampoo, it is poured into the liquid, the ingredients are also used in equal quantities. Dip a toothbrush in the soapy water and use it to clean the jewelry. Do this with slow, gentle movements so that the toothbrush bristles don't get caught in its curves, especially if it has a stone. After cleaning, it is necessary to rinse the object being treated with distilled water and then wipe it dry with a napkin or soft cloth;
- Baking soda. A paste is prepared from this product, which has an optimal level of abrasiveness to remove dirt and restore shine and a beautiful color to the product. Combine baking soda and distilled water in such quantities to form a mixture that has the consistency of thick homemade sour cream. Use a toothbrush to clean the metal. When the dirt has been removed and the blackening has been eliminated, place the product in a container filled with purified water and rinse it. At the end of the process, wipe it with a dry cloth or napkin.
If you want to disinfect your jewelry, boil it in purified water, but to do this, it must be placed in a fabric bag to prevent scratches. Isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol) is also used for the same purpose, with which the product is wiped with a soft cloth.
Keep in mind what you should not use to clean this metal. This is vinegar, which is an acid, and it can damage it. Ammonia should also be used with caution. It is permissible to apply it to jewelry, but not for a long time.
Cleaning gold jewelry with baking soda
Method 1 . Pour some baking soda onto a plate and add enough hydrogen peroxide to make a paste. Clean the ring with this mixture, and then rinse it in clean water.
Method 2 . Sprinkle the gold jewelry with a thin layer of baking soda. Then pour vinegar and rinse with clean water. This method cannot be applied to gold jewelry with pearls or other precious stones.
Method 3 . Mix table vinegar with soda in a 2:1 ratio and immerse gold jewelry in this liquid for one to two hours. Then rinse with clean water and dry with a soft cloth or special napkin.
Medical gold - what is it?
Medical gold is a high-quality alloy of several metals, the appearance of which has a characteristic noble yellow shine. It may contain silver, zinc, titanium nitride, copper, brass. Their percentage content is strictly fixed, and there may be no gold in its composition at all.
The appearance of products made from medical gold is practically no different visually from expensive jewelry made from real high-grade gold. In terms of performance properties, the alloy composition is ideal in terms of attractive appearance and cost. Jewelry made from medical alloy is absolutely harmless, so even small children can use it.
Cleaning gold jewelry with ammonia
Method 1 . Add a few drops of ammonia to a glass of water and immerse gold jewelry in it. After an hour, take them out and rinse them in clean water. If the jewelry is very dirty, you can add a little liquid soap to this composition.
Method 2 . Pour equal amounts of hydrogen peroxide and ammonia into a glass of water. Add a little washing powder to them. Place gold jewelry there and leave for five minutes. Then remove them from the glass, rinse them in clean water and dry them with a soft cloth.
Method 3 . Pour a glass of water into a small saucepan, bring to a boil and add a tablespoon of ammonia and some liquid detergent, for example, dishwashing detergent. Dip gold jewelry in this water and leave for two hours. Then take them out and rinse in clean water. This method helps clean heavily soiled jewelry.
Method 4 .
Place heavily soiled gold jewelry without stones in a small container and fill it with ammonia. Leave it for several hours without fear of ruining it. Then remove the jewelry from the solution and rinse under running water. Dry.
How to clean matte gold?
Today it has become very popular because jewelry with it has a stylish, noble, elegant appearance. But how to clean gold at home is a task that should be approached responsibly. Otherwise, there is a risk that the coating will be erased.
You should not use aggressive abrasives for this, so resort to gentle methods:
- Ammonia (25%). It has already been discussed above, and in the case of matte precious metal, the use of this substance will also be appropriate. But it needs to be placed in the product not for 10 hours, but for 2-3 hours. After removing the jewelry, it should be rinsed in running water and then wiped dry;
- Lime, salt, soda. In ½ glass of water you need to dilute 1 tsp. lime, stir the ingredients until the mixture is homogeneous. Add ½ tsp to it. salt and soda, stir and leave the composition to infuse for 3 days. Now you can place the gold item in the mixture and let it stay in it for 4 hours. Then it should be washed using running water and wiped with a dry soft cloth.
Cleaning gold with toothpaste or tooth powder
Since these substances are still abrasives, they need to be cleaned very gently, only lightly polishing the product. Diamonds respond very well to such cleaning. To do this, you just need to squeeze a small amount of paste onto a soft toothbrush or cloth and rub the ring with it. You can only use white classic toothpaste without a whitening effect.
Tooth powder can be diluted with lemon juice. After cleaning, the ring is washed in clean water and dried on a rag or paper napkin.
How to properly clean?
Cleaning gold at home is not very difficult, since there are a large number of options available, but it is worth considering the fact that it is better to select an individual method for each type of product. The thing is that the presence of impurities in the alloy composition can be subject to oxidation, which can lead to a worse result. How to clean gold so that it shines again and how to do it correctly?
Here are some main aspects:
- You need to clean gold with stones very carefully. The whole point is that some may not be harmed by water and the presence of a cleaning agent, while others may be quite the opposite. For example, pearls, turquoise and corals should never be cleaned with a solution that contains ammonia. As for rubies, lapis lazuli and opals, stains can be removed using a solution of plain water and baby soap.
- Cleaning white gold at home requires great care. This precaution is due to the fact that if you do not know the real composition of this metal, the jewelry can be damaged. Nickel is more unstable in relation to platinum, so such a product can be negatively affected by aggressive cleaning agents.
It is recommended to clean gold with diamonds and cubic zirconia using ammonia. To do this, take a glass of water, add a small amount of ammonia and soak the jewelry in it for half an hour. After that, use a cotton swab to wipe hard-to-reach places and rinse well with water. It definitely needs to be dried.
In addition, a ring with a diamond can be cleaned with a toothbrush, but it must have soft bristles. It needs to be moistened in soapy water and lightly rubbed over the decoration.
But as for the question of how to clean gold with ammonia, where there is a soft stone (amber, pearls, opal, turquoise), then using it, vinegar or other products containing alkalis is strictly prohibited. It is best to use medical alcohol for this, diluted 1:1 with water or a regular soap solution, but you still cannot leave them in such an environment for a long time.
Cleaning gold jewelry with chemical reagents
Method 1 . If you accidentally dropped iodine onto the ring, you can clean it in this way: put one teaspoon of hyposulfite in a glass of water and stir. Immerse the ring in this solution for fifteen minutes. Then rinse and wipe dry.
Method 2 is suitable for cleaning matte gold. Mix 8 parts bleaching lime, 7 parts bicarbonate of salt and 2 parts table salt in a bowl. Add 1/3 cup of distilled water. Place the decoration in the mixture for a few minutes. Then take them out, wash them with alcohol and leave them on sawdust or a paper towel to dry.
Method 3 . Mix 16 parts chalk, 4 parts white lead, 6.5 parts clay, 0.5 parts bloodstone, 1.5 parts magnesia. Use this powder to clean your gold jewelry.
Method 4 . Mix 80 g of iron oxide (kolkotara) and 30 parts of ammonia. Clean your jewelry with this mixture.
Method 5 . If stains appear on the gold ring, they can be removed with a borax solution. To do this, moisten a cloth with the solution and wipe the ring.
How to clean gold at home - methods
We will tell you in detail how to clean gold at home. Today, quite a large number of people can buy gold jewelry for themselves. Gold, more rarely than before, is perceived as a symbol of luxury and enormous wealth.
This is explained by the fact that gold items have become more accessible, and people of almost all social groups can purchase them, and not just members of the nobility, as was the case in past centuries. Gold belongs to the group of noble metals.
But over time, all sorts of contaminants may appear on the gold surface, which must be removed in a timely manner.
Any dirt, even invisible to the naked eye, will inevitably make the gold duller. Due to contamination, the gold metal will not be able to shine as before.
In this regard, any person who owns gold products should be familiar with the rules for proper cleaning of this noble metal.
How to clean gold at home - methods
The basic rule of skillful gold cleaning is that during this process the surface of the metal should not be in danger of being damaged. If you are very concerned about the quality of your gold jewelry, then you can take it to a specialist to clean it.
But the vast majority of people prefer to clean gold at home. Moreover, this event does not entail any special difficulties. When cleaning gold metal at home, it is important to use only non-abrasive materials. If the contamination on the general surface does not seem significant to you, then an ordinary soap solution will help remove it. Submerge the items in soapy water and simply leave them there for a few hours. Then, using a sponge or soft toothbrush, try to remove visible plaque or individual areas of dirt. The jewelry must then be thoroughly dried.
Given that after such cleansing the dirt is not completely removed, you can try using stronger agents to achieve the desired effect.
How to clean gold with ammonia
Many people have probably heard that gold items can be cleaned with ammonia. However, such cleansing should be carried out competently. In particular, you should soak a piece of soft cloth in ammonia and rub the product with it. Then be sure to rinse the gold surface in warm water.
The result may be even better if you mix ammonia with soaked chalk. After this, the gold must also be washed in soapy water. Using similar methods it is possible to carry out chemical and mechanical cleaning of gold metal.
You must understand, however, that gold metal is extremely rare in its pure form. Most often, gold items are made from various alloys. It is the impurities of other metals that can oxidize gold. Oxidation on a gold surface can manifest itself as a cluster of small spots. For these reasons, in jewelry stores, sellers often offer customers a special cleaning paste along with gold items. Its composition is somewhat similar to that of regular toothpaste. But based on the latter, it is also possible to make an ideal means for purifying gold at home. It will have enough effect so that gold jewelry can once again shine with its natural shine.
How to clean gold with paste
To make such a product, take equal quantities of Vaseline, soap shavings, water and powdered chalk. The consistency of the paste should be quite thick. Mix all of the above substances well and apply the paste to the gold surface.
Next, rub the gold with a piece of soft material. After this, all you have to do is rinse the jewelry to remove the greasy film, and then dry it. There are quite a few folk methods that allow you to thoroughly clean gold products.
How to Clean Gold with Lipstick
Your gold jewelry will regain its former shine and shine if you use lipstick to cleanse it. The fact is that this decorative cosmetic product contains titanium dioxide. It is precisely this substance that perfectly removes any black formations from the gold surface.
You can first apply lipstick to a cotton pad, and then carefully wipe the golden surface.
Sometimes stains similar to iodine appear on the gold surface. They are also quite easy to remove. It is enough just to place the gold jewelry in the hyposulfite liquid for about a third of an hour. This liquid is mainly used when printing photographs. The solution can be purchased in stores for amateur photographers.
How to Clean Gold with Vinegar and Onions
You can clean the gold surface at home using table vinegar or onion. These products will also be good helpers in removing tarnish from gold items. After cleaning, do not forget to rinse and dry the gold items thoroughly. Regular proper cleaning of gold will allow it to always shine like new.
How to clean gold with borax solution
It is also possible to use special chemicals to purify gold. They will be able to well dissolve the fat on the surface of the gold product and the sulfur compounds present on it. If the contamination on the gold exceeds its free surface, then use a borax solution to clean it.
A piece of silk should be moistened generously in this solution. Then make light movements, as if you want to polish the product. After the procedure, rinse the jewelry in water and rub it with a dry cloth until it shines.
Methods for cleaning gold at home
If the gold surface is predominantly matte, then such a solution will be useful for cleaning. Grind the lime in a porcelain bowl. Add water to it to form a liquid mass. Add baking soda, table salt and more water to the solution. The mixture must be stirred extremely thoroughly. Next, let it sit for at least a week. Place the gold items in a bowl and fill with the prepared mixture. When they have been in it for a while, they can be rinsed with wine alcohol. After purification, the gold must be dried in sawdust.
If it is extremely important for you that gold can retain its matte structure, then clean it using chemical methods. If you clean matte gold with powder, it will no longer be of the same quality as it was before cleaning.
There are several more recommendations on how to clean gold at home. For example, you can dilute granulated sugar in warm water. Place the items in this solution and leave them there overnight. This will not remove severe contamination from gold. But the jewelry will definitely gain shine.
Ordinary washing powder can be an assistant in purifying gold. One spoon of it is dissolved in a glass of water, and the jewelry is kept in this solution for about half an hour.
If the contamination is excessively strong, prepare the following composition. Dilute a spoonful of baking soda with washing powder. Add to them one ampoule of ammonia and hydrogen peroxide. Mix everything well and dip the gold items into the solution. Then they just need to be washed in plain water and simply dried.
In cases where gold jewelry is supplemented with inserts made of precious metals, then additional requirements are imposed on cleaning.
How to clean gold with stones
There are a number of stones that can hardly tolerate high humidity. These include pearls, opal, amber, moonstone, malachite and turquoise. If you need to clean a ring or a ring with one of these stones, use an ear cotton swab. First soak it in cologne.
Next, begin to very carefully clean the stone, moving from bottom to top. Never clean the settings of rings or rings using sharp objects. Otherwise, you will simply scratch the gold surface. If grease stains appear on jewelry over time, then use alcohol to remove it.
But stones in rings and other items can be held on with special glue. In this case, it is better to refrain from immersing jewelry in water. Fat film can be removed from jewelry using gasoline.
How to clean white gold
Today, jewelry made of white gold, which is an alloy of nickel, copper, palladium and, in fact, gold metal, is popular. White gold also needs to be cleaned properly to avoid damaging its shiny surface. Most often, white gold jewelry is coated with a layer of rhodium on top. This item is worth more than the price of a lotot, as it is very rare. Over time, the rhodium on the surface of white gold can wear off. Therefore, white gold should be cleaned only with a delicate cloth.
A solution of water and ammonia in equal parts is optimal for cleaning white gold. To clean white gold from heavy stains, you can add a little shampoo to the solution.
Never leave white gold wet. This has an extremely negative effect on the metal. If you need to clean white gold from dirty deposits or grease, then it is better to use a twenty-five percent ammonia solution.
We advised how to clean gold at home, try to tidy up your gold jewelry!
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Cleaning Solution Recipes
The remedies listed above are ineffective on their own. Therefore, various cleaning solutions are prepared from them, which do an excellent job of removing contaminants due to the chemical reaction that occurs between them. Find out how to make them yourself from the recipes below.
Important: individual solutions are selected for each type of gold (white, yellow, red). The presence of precious stones in the decoration should also be taken into account.
Sodas
You can also clean gold at home using regular soda. Moreover, you can prepare several solutions from it:
- Dissolve 1.5 tbsp in a glass of boiling water. spoons of soda. Then take a small saucepan and place foil on the bottom. Place the gold jewelry that needs cleaning on top of it and fill it with the prepared solution. The cleaning process can last from 8 to 12 hours. Finally, they need to be removed, washed and dried or dried.
- Prepared from soda, water and dishwashing detergent. It refines gold much faster than the first. Its exposure time is only half an hour. The proportions for the solution are as follows:
- 200 g water;
- 1-1.5 tbsp. spoons of soda;
- 0.5 teaspoon of dishwashing detergent.
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In addition to the products listed, you will also need a metal saucepan and a kitchen towel or cloth napkin. To begin, place the prepared material on the bottom of the pan. Then place gold jewelry on top of it and fill it with the prepared mixture. This solution can be used in two ways. One of them is to heat the mixture together with the decorations dipped into it, and the second is to leave it until it cools completely.
Saline
You can clean yellow gold yourself with almost any product you have on hand. To do this, you can even use such a simple ingredient as ordinary table salt, from which you need to prepare a solution. With its help you can wash off any, even the most stubborn stains. It turns out as a result of dissolving 2-3 tbsp. spoons in half a glass of boiling water. To remove dirt from gold items, they need to be soaked in the solution for one night. The next morning the jewelry is removed, washed and dried.
Acetic
Don't know how to quickly clean gold jewelry? Use 9% vinegar, which will help restore your favorite products to their former shine in the shortest possible time. To do this, take a narrow glass or ceramic dish, place the decoration in it, fill it with 9% vinegar and leave for half an hour. After this time, the gold should be lightly rubbed with a soft toothbrush, especially in hard-to-reach places. Next, it is rinsed and dried.
Important to know: The answer to the question of how to clean gold directly depends on its type. For example, the above method is suitable for cleaning yellow and red gold jewelry, but is not suitable for jewelry set with gemstones.
Solutions of ammonia
Solutions made from ammonia have good cleaning properties. Knowing the recipes for their preparation, you will no longer think about how to clean dirty jewelry.
The first recipe is suitable for cleaning white gold jewelry. To prepare it you will need 1 tbsp. a spoonful of any detergent (washing powder, liquid soap, etc.), 100 g of boiling water and the same amount of ammonia. Take a narrow cup and pour water into it first, and then the product you are using. After thoroughly mixing the resulting mixture, mix it with ammonia. Then dip the gold jewelry into the resulting solution. The exposure time of the mixture on the decoration varies around 1-1.5 hours, after which they need to be rinsed and dried.
In the second recipe, in addition to ammonia, water, hydrogen peroxide and liquid soap are used. For 200 g of water you need 30 ml of 3% hydrogen peroxide, a teaspoon of ammonia and ½ teaspoon of liquid soap. The cleaning solution is prepared by dissolving all ingredients in room temperature water. This solution can be an excellent answer to the question of how to clean gold at home quickly, because it removes dirt in just 10-15 minutes of exposure.
