How to Clean, Polish and Restore Gold Jewellery at Home? [DIY]

If you notice your once shiny gold jewellery has become a bit dull, it’s time to clean and polish it. You can ask your local jeweller to do it in exchange for some money, but you can also do it yourself using common household ingredients and tools lying around the house. In fact, cleaning and polishing gold jewellery isn’t difficult, and you can achieve the same result if a jeweller cleans them with an ultrasonic cleaner or other specialised supplies and equipment.

In this article, we will discuss how to clean and polish gold jewellery to restore the original shine.

Cleaning Gold Jewellery

Gold jewellery isn’t only an investment. Wedding rings, bracelets, necklaces and earrings have special meaning for us. Therefore, it’s important to keep them clean and polished and maintain them regularly just like taking care of other things we have in our houses.

There are a few tried & tested DIY methods to clean and polish gold jewellery and restore their shine. Therefore, you can do it easily at home once or twice a year or before a special occasion or posh party.

Read More: How to Clean & Polish Silverware?

With Baby Shampoo

Baby shampoo is a good cleaning product for cleaning gold jewellery simply because it has less abrasive or strong cleaning chemical agents that might damage the gold over time.

To clean gold jewellery pieces with baby shampoo, follow these steps:

Add some baby shampoo to a bowl of warm water and mix until the solution is soapy and foamy.
Soak the gold pieces in the solution and leave it for a few minutes. This gives the solution time to penetrate the tiny gaps of gold pieces and loosen the dirt and grime.
Scrub the gold jewellery with a soft bristle brush. It’s best to use a soft toothbrush.
Rinse after cleaning, dry and polish the piece with a clean microfibre cloth.

With Dish Soap

Another effective and safe way to clean and polish gold jewellery is dish soap or dish detergent.

To do this, simply follow these steps:

Add just a few drops of dish soap to a bowl filled with warm water. You can also add a few drops of ammonia for a cleaner and shinier result but this is optional.
Soak the gold pieces in the solution for a few minutes.
Scrub the gold pieces with a soft brush until all residue and grime are wiped off.
After cleaning, soak the pieces in clean warm water to rinse.
Dry the gold jewellery with a dry microfibre cloth gently. You can also air dry them since gold doesn’t rust like other metals.

With Vinegar

Cleaning and polishing gold with vinegar is easy and quick. However, it is recommended not to clean gold jewellery with vinegar more than once or twice a year. Frequency exposure to a weak acid like vinegar can make the gold jewellery permanently dull.

To clean gold with vinegar, just soak a clean microfibre cloth in white vinegar and gently clean the gold pieces with it.

With Salt

Salt is a good cleaning agent for soft and brittle materials like gold. Dissolve 3 to 5 teaspoons of salt in a cup of warm water. Place the gold jewellery in the solution and leave it overnight. After half a day, take the gold pieces out, rinse them with clean warm water and dry them with a clean microfibre cloth.

With Sugar

The sugar solution is also a good cleaning agent for gold pieces, especially those with flat and plane surfaces like gold rings, gold coins and bracelets.

To do this, simply add up to 3 teaspoons of sugar to a cup of hot water. Wait for the solution to get warm. Soak the gold piece inside the cup and leave it overnight. The sugar solution turns acidic after a while and cleans all dirt and grime off the gold jewellery.

Cleaning Gold Plated Jewellery

While cleaning and polishing gold jewellery is easy and fairly straightforward, cleaning gold-plated jewellery is a bit tricky. You have to take extra care when cleaning gold-plated gold pieces as the place may come off over time and require you to re-plate the jewellery again.

The best method for cleaning gold-plated jewellery is cleaning with baby shampoo and dish soap (without adding ammonia). Also, when brushing with a soft brush and drying with a microfibre cloth, take extra care and do it very gently.

Tips for Cleaning Jewellery with Gem Pieces

You should be more careful when cleaning gold jewellery with gem pieces. Whether it’s a hard gem piece or a soft gem piece, they are more prone to scratches and damage.

Therefore, to clean gold pieces with gemstones like pearls, opals and emeralds you should not use strong detergents or, in case of cleaning with dish soap, add ammonia. Even jewellers don’t use ultrasonic baths or strong gold cleaning and polishing solutions when they want to clean gem-set pieces.

It is best to ask your local jeweller about how to clean such gold jewellery at home.

Remove Scratches from Gold

If you notice scratches after cleaning and polishing a gold piece, you can follow these steps to remove them from the gold and restore the gold jewellery at home:

Make a mixture of water and ammonia. The best ratio is 1 part ammonia to 6 part water. Use personal protective equipment like gloves, mask and safety glasses when handling ammonia.
Soak the gold piece in the solution for up to 1 minute. Don’t leave them in the solution for longer. Most scratches will be removed at this stage.
Take the gold piece and start drying it gently with a paper towel. After drying with paper towels, use a damp microfibre cloth to clean the gold piece.
Let it air dry completely before storing or wearing the jewellery.

What to Avoid When Cleaning Gold Jewellery

There are certain things you shouldn’t do and certain cleaning solutions you shouldn’t use when cleaning a gold jewellery piece.

Don’t use strong detergents or soaps with unknown ingredients and chemicals. Some chemicals are abrasive and may damage gold jewellery.
Don’t use chlorine or bleach for cleaning gold pieces.
Use ammonia only in very small concentrations, unless you want to remove scratches off the gold pieces. In that case, don’t leave gold pieces in the ammonia solution for more than 1 minute.
Never use boiling or hot water to clean gold jewellery or dip them in high-temperature water.
Gold is a soft and brittle metal. Therefore, never scrub them hard when cleaning or drying gold pieces.
Always use soft and non-abrasive scrubbers, brushes or microfibres when cleaning, polishing and drying gold jewellery.

Also, consider the following to better protect your precious gold jewellery:

Remove gold jewellery before taking a shower.
Don’t wear gold jewellery during strenuous activities to prevent swat from slowly eating up the gold pieces.
be careful with your movement to not bump gold jewellery like gold rings and bracelets and damage them.
Avoid wearing gold jewellery when you apply lotions or sunscreen on your skin.

Conclusion

Gold jewellery isn’t only an investment. They have deeper and special meaning for many of us. Therefore, it is important to take good care of them by cleaning and polishing them once or twice a year. In this article, we explore effective and safe ways to clean and polish gold jewellery, gem-set pieces and gold-plated jewellery. We also discussed how to remove scratches off the surface of gold pieces and what to avoid when cleaning or using gold jewellery.

The information provided in this article can help you correctly and safely clean, polish and protect your precious gold jewellery and restore their shine.

How to Clean & Polish Gold Jewellery and Restore The Shine?