In order to clean your ring, you will need to be aware of the metal type. Each metal reacts uniquely with certain chemicals, and you don't want to risk rubbing your ring raw. You can remove light grime by wiping the ring with your finger, a soft cloth, and warm, filtered water. You can use jewelry-specific cleaning products to remove heavier stains, and you can gently brush your ring with toothpaste for a cheap home solution. You can remove tarnish by soaking your ring in water and ammonia. If your ring is especially intricate or valuable, consider taking it to a jeweler to have it professionally cleaned.
[Edit]Steps
[Edit]Knowing Your Metal
- Identify the ring's metal. You may know that the ring is yellow gold, white gold, silver, or brass. However, you may not know the type of metal if you haven't bought the ring yourself. Take the ring to a jeweler, and he or she should be able to tell you how to clean the specific metals and gems that make up your ring.
- Clean different metals with the right products. Each metal reacts uniquely with various chemicals. It is important that you treat each metal with care to ensure that it lasts a long time.[1]
- Clean gold with a soft cloth and a commercial gold cleaner. Avoid soap and chlorine.[2]
- Silver usually needs a clean cloth and some water. You can also buy special silver cleaners.
- Diamonds need a special cleaning solution. Visit a jeweler or search online for diamond-specific cleaning products.[3]
- For cheap rings—the kind you might buy in a dollar store—use only your fingers to scrape off the grime.
[Edit]Cleaning Rings with Toothpaste
- Find some cheap toothpaste. Make sure that the toothpaste contains baking soda and fluoride. The higher the concentration of Tin (II) fluoride, the better it is for metals. Tin (II) fluoride is used to strengthen both metals and tooth enamel. The cheaper the brand of the toothpaste, the better it will work.
- Squeeze the toothpaste onto a toothbrush along with a small amount (2-3 drops) of water. Use a clean toothbrush, and do not use the toothbrush on your teeth afterward. Gently rub the toothpaste into the jewelry as though you were brushing your teeth. If it gets gummy, add more water.
- Make sure to clean between any cracks or ridges in your ring. Use the toothbrush like you would use it on your teeth, brushing gently, firmly, and thoroughly.
- You should clean your ring every few weeks to months, depending on how often you wear it. Consider dedicating a toothbrush to ring-cleaning, and do not use it for anything else.
- Let the toothpaste chemicals act on the ring. After a little while, rinse the jewelry and watch it shine! You can use oils or anti-oxidizing agents (citric acids, no-ox, tarn-x, etc.) to promote and prolong the shine. If you need heavy-duty cleaning, use denture bonding agents like Fix-O-Dent, which will practically sandblast your jewelry if you brush them lightly into the material.
[Edit]Other Methods
- Try rinsing with water. If your ring is stained with dirt, dead skin, blood, lotion, food, or other grime, try rinsing it with water before you use more abrasive cleaning agents. Fill a bowl with clean, filtered water, and rub the ring gently between your fingers as you hold it in the water. Let your ring dry in the sun.
- Don't use any towels or napkins to try to clean your ring, since it could scratch the surface or ruin any stones present. Don't pat it dry with a 100% cotton cloth.
- It's important to use thoroughly filtered water in this process. Try putting a magnet in a flour sifter, then running your tap water through that before using it to clean your ring. This will eliminate any metals containing magnetic properties—these metals are the ones that could ruin silver, gold, or other precious metals.
- If your ring seems particularly dirty, you can add a few drops of dish soap into the water and mix it in before cleaning.[4]
- Use a Q-Tip. If your ring isn't too dirty, you can swab off the grime with a cotton bud or Q-Tip. Dip the ring in lukewarm water and wipe the dirty spots. Let your ring air-dry. Do not try to scrub your ring, as this may cause damage.[5]
- Use a precious metal cleanser. Buy a cleaning product from the store that has the specified precious metals in your ring on the label—it should be easy to find. Look for a cleaner that comes with a cloth for application. Never use any regular house cleaner in order to clean rings, especially if your ring is made with any precious metals. Use a cleaner, not a polishing element, which serves a different purpose altogether.[6]
- Soak the ring in water and ammonia. To loosen dirt and grime, let the ring sit for 20 minutes in a solution of one cup warm water and 1/4 cup ammonia.[7]
- Rinse the ring in soapy water.
- Scrub the ring.
- Rinse in warm water and leave to dry.
- Follow these steps to rid your ring of tarnish:[8]
- Wrap the inside of a bowl with aluminum foil.
- Mix one cup warm water and one tablespoon baking soda in the foil.
- Place your ring in the water-soda mix, making sure it touches the foil.
- Leave your ring in the mixture for 10-30 minutes, or until it is free of tarnish.
- Varnish gold and silver rings with nail polish. Brush a coat of clear nail polish onto the ring so that the coat of gold or silver doesn't wear off, and so that rust doesn't grow on it. If your ring leaves green or colored marks on your finger, coat the inside with a light layer of nail polish to prevent staining.
- Consider taking your ring to a jeweler. If the ring is very important to you (e.g. a wedding ring or a class ring), consider taking it to a jeweler to be professionally polished. Most stores will provide a free cleaning or give you a solution and polishing cloth to use.[9]
- A jeweler can test for the presence of precious metals, as well as the quality of those metals. This information will help the jeweler decide which cleaning agents are safe to use.
- This is especially important for engraved rings. Cleaning a ring with engravings on it could potentially wipe off the inscription or design. If your ring has important engravings on it, take it to a jeweler.
- Clean your ring with alcohol swabs. Make sure not to scrub too hard. If the grime doesn't come off when you wipe it, you may need to try a heavier-duty solution.
- Use an ultrasonic cleaner. Ultrasonic cleaning machines can clean jewelry in a matter of minutes using high-frequency sound. You can find these machines in a variety of models and prices. They can be a convenient way to quickly clean your jewelry at home. However, ultrasonic cleaners can damage some jewelry.[10]
- Your local jeweler can tell you if an ultrasonic cleaning machine is right for your jewelry and recommend an appropriate model.
[Edit]Video
[Edit]Warnings
- Be careful with engraved rings. Cleaning a ring with engravings on it could potentially wipe off the inscription or design.
- Do not leave your ring in water for longer than the recommended cleaning times. If your ring spends too much time underwater, it runs the risk of rusting.
- Don't press too hard, and do not use especially abrasive cleaning agents if you aren't sure that they're safe to use with the metal.
[Edit]Related wikiHows
[Edit]References
[Edit]Quick Summary
- ↑ [v161110_b02]. 13 September 2019.
- ↑ https://info.jewelersmutual.com/the-jewelry-box/how-to-clean-gold-jewelry-the-right-way
- ↑ https://www.gia.edu/gia-news-research-secrets-keep-diamond-sparkling
- ↑ [v161110_b02]. 13 September 2019.
- ↑ https://lavalier.com/what-can-i-use-to-clean-my-jewelry/
- ↑ [v161110_b02]. 13 September 2019.
- ↑ https://www.racked.com/2015/5/8/8539887/how-to-clean-jewelry
- ↑ https://www.onecklace.com/tips/how-to-clean-silver-jewelry-10-diy-methods/
- ↑ [v161110_b02]. 13 September 2019.
- ↑ http://www.4facets.com/jacare_cleaning.html
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