How to Care for Gold Jewelry

Although jewelry made from gold is often the best choice for strength and durability, there are still precautions and cleaning tips that you need to adhere to in order to keep your gold jewelry looking beautiful and lustrous.

Everyday activities such as applying make-up, using hand sanitizer or lotions and hair care products can dull gold jewelry leaving them dingy and coated with a cloudy film. You can easily avoid the constant trips to the jeweler with simple at home cleaning tips.

To remove everyday residue from gold jewelry, you can simply use a cleaning solution of warm water, non-detergent soap and a soft brush. A soft bristle tooth brush or an eye brow brush works great for this purpose. To remove heavier buildup on your gold jewelry you can use warm water with a few drops of ammonia. Simply let your gold jewelry rest in the mixture, rinse clean and let air dry.

Grease accumulation caused by cooking or the oils from your skin on gold jewelry is another common problem with an easy cure. Simply place your gold jewelry in a rubbing alcohol solution of half part warm water and half part rubbing alcohol to dissolve grease and oil quickly from gold jewelry. Let jewelry stand in the mixture for a few minutes, rinse clean with warm water and then air dry.

An ultrasonic cleaner can also be purchased for at-home use. An ultrasonic cleaner uses ultrasonic waves to clean your jewelry. A cleaning solution specialized for this unit will need to be purchased in correlation with the cleaner.

Chlorine found in swimming pools, hot tubs and many home cleaning solutions can cause abrasions, permanent loss of luster and damage to your gold jewelry. It is imperative to remove your gold jewelry before swimming or heavy household cleaning.