How to Clean Gold Jewelry

Gold is relatively easy to care for, you won't need expensive removers to make your rings, necklaces, bracelets and other jewelry shine again. What can you use to clean your gold jewelry?

Dish Detergent

Mild dish detergent will remove the dirt and restore the shine of your jewelry. Fill a bowl with warm (but not hot or boiling) water and add a few drops of liquid detergent. Mix gently, you don't need much foam. Place the jewelry pieces in the solution and leave them for about 15 minutes. As they soak, the solution will loosen the dirt.

Then take a soft toothbrush and gently scrub the jewelry. Keep in mind that the brush must have very soft bristles as stiff brushes can scratch the surface. You can use an eyebrow brush instead of a toothbrush to make sure your gold jewelry pieces remain intact.

Rinse the cleaned pieces in warm running water to remove remaining dirt and detergent. The water must not be hot as hot water can make some fragile precious stones crack. Be sure to cover or plug the drain in the sink so that you don't accidentally drop your jewelery down the drain.

Finally, dry the gold pieces with a soft cloth and let them air dry on a towel completely before wearing them again. Wearing wet gold jewelery can lead to skin irritation.

Ammonia

Ammonia is a very effective cleaner. However, every medal has its reverse. Ammonia also is a somewhat corrosive chemical therefore you must not clean your gold jewelery with ammonia too often as it can leave your jewelry pieces tinted or damaged.

To clean gold jewelry with ammonia, fill a small bowl with water and add ammonia. You will need 1 part ammonia to 6 part water. Stir gently until the mixture is even. Place the gold pieces in the solution and leave them to soak for no more than 60 seconds.

Fish all of the jewelery from the solution using a small hand-held kitchen strainer or upend the bowl into a spaghetti strainer in the sink. Rinse the clean jewelery thoroughly under running water leaving it in the strainer so that none of the pieces slip into the drain. Gently dry the pieces with a soft cloth and let them air dry completely.

Toothpaste

Toothpaste is a mild abrasive that will help to loosen up dirt accumulated on gold jewelery without scratching the surface. Mix a couple of tablespoons of water with about an inch of toothpaste. Stir gently to obtain a light paste. Use this mixture and a soft-bristled brush to gently scrub the jewelry pieces or hand polish them with the toothpaste and a soft cloth. Rinse the jewelery in clean running water to remove the remains of dirt and toothpaste.