How To Clean Your Jewelry At Home

It's hard to believe with how cold it's been, but if you'll take a look at any fashion magazine (always a great indicator of reality...) you'll realize spring is already here. And you know what comes with spring? Spring cleaning madness! So in anticipation of that plus being inspired by the approaching Oscars this Sunday, I decided to dedicate this post to getting your jewelry shiny and clean.

There are so many myths and urban legends about cleaning your jewelry - and I'm here to set them straight. So just to be clear, we're talking about gold and silver jewelry as well as gold filled and gold plated pieces, which are also called fashion jewelry.

Cleaning Fashion Jewelry

Yes, you can actually wear your jewelry throughout the day and even sleep in them if you're comfortable with that. The worst enemy of your beloved jewelry pieces isn't water (so feel free to take a shower or do the dishes with your rings...) but actually alcohol, sulfur and chlorine. That means you shouldn't swim or go into the sea or the swimming pool with your jewelry on and it's also better not to spray your perfume (or any perfumed cosmetics) directly on your jewelry - but you can wear your favorite bracelet a few seconds after applying perfume. Humidity is a big no-no when it comes to fashion jewelry, so try not to leave your baubles in the bathroom or in the humid porch... Keeping your jewelry in a box will also be helpful in avoiding scratches and blackening due to the humidity in the air. Also, try dividing the silver jewelry from the fashion jewelry to avoid blackening.

Cleaning Silver Jewelry

You can easily take care of silver jewelry with a jewelry cleaning cloth, which is pretty inexpensive. But if you prefer the homemade approach, here are 2 great ways to take care of your silver trinkets:

• In case the jewelry piece isn't inlaid, you can gently scrub it with a soft tooth brush and tooth paste - make sure it's not the whitening kind.
• Mix some water with laundry detergent in a bowl and let your jewelry rest in it for 10 minutes. Then dry carefully with a soft towel and you're ready to go.

Cleaning Gold Jewelry

Gold is the noblest metal and it certainly stands up to its name by being the easiest to care for - you can pretty much do anything and everything with your gold jewelry, even swim in the salty sea. Just make sure you don't loose your ring in the water! (I'm pretty sure hat happened to Kim Kardashian once...).
To clean your gold baubles, just scrub them gently with a soft rag and make sure not to leave any scratches.

And of course, you can always leave a comment here or write to me on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook and I'd love to help you with any jewelry question!