Saturday, June 18, 2011

sidetracked: a tip for you

I needed to do a routine task today and as I started to do it
it occurred to me that it might be a great tip to share.
So, here it is.

I've mentioned before that was my dad was a manufacturing jeweler as was my uncle before him.
This is a tip my dad taught me and just about everyone else he knew.

This is the best way to clean your jewelry (except for pearls!).
Handsoap, lotion, dead skin cells and oil can get on your jewelry and then trapped
under diamond mountings and into little crevices and keep your jewelry from sparkling.
The commercial jewelry cleaners you can buy can be harsh.  
Even professional jewelers don't really use those.
My dad used boiling water, baking soda, sometimes ammonia to boil jewelry clean.
Then he polished it with a polishing machine.

You will need: baking soda, a little glass or cup, warm water and dirty jewelry. 

Place at least a tablespoon or two of baking soda in cup.  

I only do a few pieces of jewelry at a time.  If you were doing many pieces,
I would add more baking soda.

Add warm or hot water (from the tap, don't boil) to the baking soda.
You only need enough to cover the baking soda and jewelry plus a bit.

Add your jewelry.

It will become cloudy and start to fizz.  Let it sit for a few minutes.

Then, gently swish or shake the glass a bit to create a little cleaning action.
Then, let it sit a little longer, maybe 5 minutes.
You can actually let it sit as long as you want but if it sits for quite a while,
I occasionally gently swish it as I walk by.  

I"m not gonna lie, it can be a little gross.  If your jewelry is really clogged with
soap and lotion, you can see gunk in the bottom of the glass or sometimes 
floating around when you swish it.
gunk? Is that just a Texas word?  It means gross junk.

Then, rinse the jewelry in water.  Rinse well.
If you are clumsy, please cover your drain so you don't drop your
sparkly clean jewelry down it. 

Ta da!
It's hard to capture sparkly in a photo.

If you want your jewelry extra clean, use a soft toothbrush to gently scrub it.
Let dry on a paper towel.

Note: do not do this with pearls.  You should never clean pearls with anything and 
you should avoid spraying perfume or hairspray or anything else on your pearls.
The natural oils from your skin are actually good for your pearls.

Be gentle when cleaning jewelry.  If you use harsh chemicals or rough scrubbing action,
you can loosen stones and wear down mountings over time.

A little baking soda and water is all you need.

12 comments:

  1. Dude, my mom needs this. I would if I ever wore jewelry, but my mom, definitely. ;)

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  2. I actually researched how to clean jewelry yesterday, so this is very timely and appreciated. I'm off to clean some jewelry!

    Thanks.

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  3. Great tip and I love using natural (and less expensive) products! Thanks for sharing. I'm going to have to try it!

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  4. I will try it. I use windex and a toothbrush weekly. Really makes it sparkle. I'm going to try this too.

    Lori

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  5. Thanks for the great info! Just yesterday my husband told me that my ring looked like it needed a good cleaning, now I know what to do!!
    Thx.
    Jane

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  6. What a great tip! Love that! ~kim

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  7. ah, good old baking soda strikes again! What a good idea, and yes, I would need to make sure my drain is closed, have been there!! :(

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  8. Thanks for sharing. This really works. Yuck! This really works - I can't believe all the gunk on my rings. Thanks for the watering the new plant idea, too. I'm trying to finish a gallon of milk so I can keep my blue berry plant alive in this weather. cjoy

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  9. Thank you so much for sharing this tip! My wedding ring has been yucky for so long! I've tried using jewelry cleaner and a little brush, but it never got totally clean. I look forward to trying this!

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  10. Thanks for the tip Gina! I am going to give it a try to get rid of the gunk!

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  11. Now this is a handy tip! Thanks, Gina! I've used a soft toothbrush and gentle soap before, but never baking soda.

    Cool.

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  12. I really need to try this, but I think my rings are stuck on my fingers forever!

    Hope you had a good 4th!

    Becca

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