This is a post I have been meaning to write for a really long time...I have no excuses for not doing it until now, except that motherhood has turned me into a flakey blogger.  (Blame it on the hormones...)

Over the past few years a lot of people have asked me how they should care for their jewelry.  There are plenty of jewelry cleaning solutions, devices and more out there to help care for your baubles, but I have found that some household cleaners work just as well, if not better.  So today I thought I'd break down a few of my favorite techniques for cleaning costume and fine jewelry at home.  

{All you need is a little elbow grease and a few basic home cleaning supplies to make your baubles shine like new!}

The tool kit:

Liquid Dishwashing detergent

Glass cleaner

Small soft toothbrush

Baking soda

Powdered laundry detergent

Aluminum Foil

Polishing cloth

Magnifiying Glass

A can of compressed air

{The How to}

Diamonds, emeralds, sapphires (the fancy stuff): add a couple of drops of mild dishwashing liquid or woolite to one or two cups of water.  Swish them around for a few seconds and then use a small toothbrush with extra soft bristles to loosen an debris or dirt stuck in crevices.  Give them a good rinse in warm water and pat them dry with a soft cloth.  

*For an extra clean, replace the plain water with club soda or sodium free seltzer water.  The fizz is said to help break up the gunk and dirt better than just plain water.  

*For a quick touch up: give a spritz of glass cleaner and polish with a soft cloth...This is especially great for rings.  It makes them shine like new.

Pearls:  I like to use a polishing cloth and gently polish each pearl to avoid damaging the stones or the strand.  If they are particularly dirty, dip a baby toothbrush in the liquid dish soap solution used above and gently scrub each pearl and then buff dry.  Never fully submerge a strand of knotted pearls in water as it will stretch the cord.

{This is also a great technique for turquoise, coral and other very porous stones...Over saturating a soft stone can change the color or damage the texture.}

Jewelry with glued in gemstones: Use a similar technique with the toothbrush and dishwashing liquid.  Give a gentle scrub and polish dry.  You can also use a can of compressed air to blow out any dust or debris that may have settled in the crevices.  

Silver: Line a bowl with aluminum foil, add warm water and a bit of bleach free powdered laundry detergent (don't use liquid).  Soak your jewelry for about a minute.  This is a super fancy process known as ion-exchange...look it up if you don't believe me, but it really works! Rinse well and pat dry.  

{You can also use this for your silverware and serving pieces in a large casserole dish.  You may have to leave a little longer and give them a little shake to get the process to work everywhere.}

-OR-

Remove tarnish with a paste made from three tablespoons of baking soda and one tablespoon of water.  Work the paste into the crevices of the jewelry with a soft lint free cloth (no paper towels!) and polish.  Rinse and buff dry.  

Tips:

Don't use paper towels.  They can leave lint behind.

A soft eyebrow brush or a natural paint brush can work just as well as a toothbrush.  Just make sure they are new!  

For cleaning tips check out the following resources: 

Cleaning Guidelines for Semi-precious stones

Vintage and Estate Jewelry Cleaning

And Poof!  You're a jewelry cleaning pro!  

What??? You're not feeling the whole do it yourself thing?  

Send your dirty and dusty gems to me for a full clean, polish and repair.  I am always happy to give your jewels--whether they are mine or not--a refresh.  Just click on the button below to contact me.  Leave a brief description of the jewelry and I will happily get back to you with a quote for the job. 

xo...

ki

P.S....Do you have any cleaning tips you'd like to share???  Tell me about it!  No tips??? Then just say hi!  I love to hear from you!!!! xoxo