DIY Jewelry Care Hacks: Easy, Breezy Tips for Keeping Your Jewelry Sparkling Using Household Items

One’s love for jewelry may have been differently developed, whether it’s a family heirloom, a token of love, or just a fashion accessory to complete our getup. If you’d like your jewelry to last a little bit longer and remain vibrant, just like on the day you obtained it, then you need to clean and maintain it as such. The best part? This doesn’t have to be through an expensive cleaner or professional services; a few household items will do the trick. Here are some creative and unexpected DIY jewelry care hacks to do it. 

1. Toothpaste for Diamond Sparkle

Believe it or not, your everyday toothpaste can work wonders on diamond jewelry. Toothpaste has mild abrasives that can remove grime and thus restore its sparkle.

How to Use:

1. Dip an old, soft-bristled toothbrush into a very small amount of toothpaste.
2. Gently scrub your diamond jewelry, getting into all the nooks and crannies.
3. Rinse thoroughly with warm water.
4. Pat dry with a soft cloth.

Tip: Avoid using this method on pearls or other soft gemstones, as the abrasives can scratch their surfaces.

2. Baking Soda for a Deep Clean

Baking soda is a multipurpose household cleaner, and lately, it has also been used for jewelry cleaning—it is the best one for cleaning silver pieces.

Instructions:

1. Mix three parts baking soda with one part water to make a paste.
2. Wet a soft cloth or toothbrush in the mixture, and then gently apply the paste to your jewelry.
3. Gently scrub to remove tarnish and grime from the jewelry.
4. Rinse in warm water and dry with a soft cloth.

Tip: For a more thorough clean, place a bowl with aluminum foil, add your jewelry, sprinkle baking soda over it, and pour boiling water over it. Let it sit for a few minutes, then rinse and dry.

3. Vinegar for a Dazzling Shine

Though vinegar is a generic ingredient found in almost everyone’s pantry, it can still be used to clean jewelry, particularly gold and gemstones.

How to Use:

1. In a small bowl, fill white vinegar.
2. Drop your gold jewelry into the bowl and soak for 15-20 minutes.
3. Cleanse gently using a soft toothbrush.
4. Rinse with warm water and dry by patting with a soft cloth.

Tip: The acid in vinegar is too strong for pearls and some other stones. Avoid having these in contact with vinegar.

4. Dish Soap for Everyday Cleaning Day-to-day

Regular dish soap is gentle enough for most jewelry pieces and is excellent for everyday cleaning.

How to Use:

1. Mix a few drops of mild dish soap in a bowl of warm water.
2. Dip your jewelry and leave around for 10-15 minutes.
3. Take a soft-bristled toothbrush and gently scrub off old dirt and grime.
4. Rinse with plenty of warm running water and pat dry with a soft cloth.

Tip: If it has décor, you can use a toothpick to clear out big bits of dirt that may be in really small crevices.

5. Aluminum foil and salt to darken silver

The below is a chemical reaction that occurs to rid tarnish in silver jewelry.

How to Use:

1. Place a lining of aluminum foil in a bowl shiny side up.
2. Put your silver jewelry on the foil.
3. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the jewelry.
4. Cover the jewelry with boiling water in a bowl
5. Let sit for a couple of minutes, then rinse and dry with a soft cloth.

Tip: This works best with heavily tarnished silver.

6. Ketchup for Tarnished Silver

This may sound strange, but the acid in ketchup makes it excellent for cleaning tarnish off silver jewelry.

How to Use:

1. Squeeze a little ketchup on a piece of cloth or a toothbrush.
2. Rub the ketchup onto the silver jewelry, focusing on the places that bear some tarnish.
3. Let it sit for some minutes
4. Rinse in warm water, then dry with a soft cloth.

Note: This method is best avoided on jewelry with small surface details, as the ketchup seeps into very small crevices.

7. Using Beer on Gold Jewelry

Beer: more light beer can be used to take away the dullness from your gold jewelry

How to Use

1. Drip a few drops of beer onto a soft cloth.
2. Using that cloth, gently wipe away your gold jewelry.
3. Using warm water, rinse it out and dry it with a soft cloth.

Note: Never clean gemstones with beer. It will always ruin them.

8. Club Soda for Diamonds and Gemstones

Club soda cleans well diamonds together with tough gemstones and leaves some sparkle to them.

How to Use:

1. Mix a bowl with club soda.
2. Drop your diamond or gemstone jewelry.
3. Leave it to soak overnight.
4. The next morning, rinse with warm water and dry with a soft cloth.

Note: Only use this procedure on the hardest stones like diamonds, rubies, and sapphires.

9. Ammonia for a Super Deep Clean

The ammonia will give the diamonds and other hard stones that really deep clean but not something you want to do too often.

How to Use:

1. Mix one part ammonia with six parts water in a bowl.
2. Drop your jewelry into the solution and let soak no longer than 10 minutes.
3. Clean the jewelry with a soft-bristled toothbrush.
4. Rinse well with warm water and dry with a soft cloth.

Tip: Avoid ammonia on pearls, opals, and such porous stones.

10. Olive Oil and Lemon Juice for Gold and Brass

This, indeed, can revive the golden shine of gold and brass jewelry.

How to Use:

1. Mix equal amounts of olive oil and lemon juice in a bowl.
2. Dip a soft cloth into the mixture and massage on your jewelry.
3. Let it be there for a little while.
4. Rinse with warm water; pat dry with a soft cloth.

Tip: This method is best with plain metal pieces without gemstones.

General Tips to Take Good Care of Jewelry

Other than these cleaning hacks, the following are some general tips that will help you take good care of your jewelry:

Store Properly: 

Keep your jewelry in a dry, cool place. Don’t allow massing of jewelry; it may mar the pieces, so you can use individual spaces or even soft pouches to distinguish them.

Avoid Chemicals: 

Take your jewelry off before swimming or bathing. Most household cleaners need not be worn with jewelry, as many chemicals can damage metals and stones.

Check the jewelry regularly for loose stones, bent prongs, or other signs of wear and tear. Has a professional jeweler been repairing this at some point in time?

These DIY hacks and tips will keep your jewelry clean, well-maintained, and sparkling like new, using things you can easily find at home. Go ahead, then, to shower some extra love and shine on your jewelry and relish the beauty and memories each holds.