How to effectively clean gold jewelry without having to spend money and which of course you can do at home? When the gold luster starts to fade, usually what we often do is bring the gold jewelry we have to a gold shop to be cleaned or re-plated so that the gold shine can return to normal. But you have to spend enough money on it!
Actually, you don’t always have to do that. Because you can do it yourself at home and for sure you don’t have to pay a lot of money. Maybe not as practical as when you take it to a gold shop, because you just have to sit back and spend the money afterward. But do you realize that it will be more troublesome than doing it yourself at home? Time for mileage, have to queue, spend money too, what else is it raining, not to mention meeting pickpockets for example, so it’s getting more and more troublesome right?
So for that, here we will provide some tips to make your jewelry sparkle again, which of course you can do at home in an easy way and without spending a lot of money. Actually, how to clean gold yourself at home is very easy to do, it’s just that we haven’t imagined it. Gold is not like silver jewelry which can fade or become dull over time. The dullness of real gold jewelry is usually more due to the accumulation of dirt and dust due to normal use.
You can restore the shine to rings, bracelets, necklaces and other gold jewelry with several methods you can do at home.
1. Toothpaste
This is the most common and easiest way to do it. Just take toothpaste using an old toothbrush, then rub it on your gold. Whether it’s rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets or so on. Toothpaste is not only good for maintaining dental hygiene and making teeth more radiant. But also powerful enough to keep the shine of all kinds of jewelry, except pearls.
Toothpaste as a mild abrasive can also be used to loosen the accumulated dirt that sticks to your Gold jewelry so that the jewelry can shine back to its original state.
- Mix 1 inch (2.5 cm) of toothpaste with a little water so that the paste is not too thick.
- Then rub the surface of the gold jewelry with a soft brush using a paste that has been mixed with water, so that it can clean all parts of the gold jewelry surface including crevices that are difficult to reach.
- After that, rinse thoroughly with water and dry using a soft cloth or cloth.
This method is effective for cleaning gold jewelry that uses gemstone accessories that are affixed with glue (as in most jewelry earrings or pendants) because there is no need for soaking. As we know, the soaking process (especially using warm water) can loosen the glue so that it can cause the gemstones on the Gold jewelry to come off.
2. Tamarind Water
The content that has tamarind will be able to make the dirt that sticks to the jewelry will be easier to lift or easily come off your jewelry. Soak your jewelry in tamarind water for about 6 hours, then rinse with plain water. Then dry with a clean cloth.
3 Use Tea Water
Maybe not many people know, if tea water is also very effective when used to clean jewelry or to restore the shine of your jewelry. Prepare tea water without sugar. Only then soak the jewelry in tea water for at least 1 hour. Then clean with a brush and rinse. For more effective results take longer soaking.
4. Hot water
This one method is probably the easiest way to do it. And this method is perfect for cleaning jewelry that doesn’t have stones or gems. It is enough to put the jewelry in a suitable container, then pour hot water into it. Let the water cool, then wipe it off and then rinse.
5. Dishwashing Soap
Dish washing soap contains surfactants, which are active ingredients that function to reduce the surface tension of the water so that it can release dirt on the surface of the material being washed.
In addition, dish soap also contains a Builder which functions to increase the washing efficiency of Surfactants by deactivating the minerals that cause water hardness.
Pour a few drops of liquid dish soap in a bowl of warm water. Stir and soak for 15 minutes. After cleaning with a small brush before rinsing and drying. clean using a soft brush to remove dirt on each side and crevice of the Gold jewelry. The softer the brush, the better so it doesn’t leave scratch marks on your gold jewelery.
6. Cleaning gold jewelry with ammonia
The process of cleaning gold with ammonia is known to be effective in cleaning Gold jewelry and restoring its shine back to normal. However, the use of Ammonia to clean Gold jewelry should not be done too often, because after all Ammonia is corrosive, so excessive use will erode the surface of the Gold jewelry. And remember, the use of ammonia is also not recommended for cleaning gold containing platinum or pearls.
Mix liquid ammonia with water in a bowl. Use a 1: 6 ratio, which is 1 part Ammonia mixed with 6 parts water. After that you can soak the Gold jewelry in the solution you made, and let it sit for 1 minute. Remember, don’t take too long because Ammonia is corrosive, so it’s best not to soak the Gold jewelry for longer than recommended. After removing Gold jewelry from soaking, you can immediately rinse it with clean water, and then dry it using a soft cloth or cloth.
It is better if the process is carried out above, so that the liquid does not come into contact with the skin or hands. To avoid skin irritation such as hives, especially on sensitive skin. You can use certain tools to remove gold jewelry from the liquid ammonia used.
As Additional Tips
** In order to maintain the luster of Gold or always look shiny from time to time, you should clean your Gold jewelry at least six times a year, using the method we have described above. This applies if Gold jewelery is worn every day (every time).
** Note from the point of view of use, be careful with cosmetics, perfumes, and creams or liquids that can cause chemical effects, such as oxidation.
** If it must be stored as an investment, it is recommended that Gold jewelry (especially 24 carat pure gold) should be stored separately from other accessories and wrapped in soft cloth to avoid scratches from jewelry or other objects around it.
To Identify Real Gold or Fake Gold
Knowing the difference between real gold or fake gold is something that everyone who wants to invest in gold or simply use as jewelry should know. Do not let the gold we have is fake gold. Fake gold is gold with a very low grade, such as the gold content is 10 carats or less. We definitely want to know whether the gold we are going to buy or the gold we already have is real gold or not?
If you want to check whether the gold is genuine or fake without having to pay or directly you can do it yourself at home or wherever you are, as follows.
1. See the gold features visually
The easiest way to check if gold is real or fake is to look at the visual features. Observe certain signs that are characteristic of pure gold. Usually in precious metals or gold jewelry there is a stamp that indicates the level of gold, for example in a fineness of 1-999 or 0.1-0.999 or in carats of 10K, 14K, 18K, 22K or 24K. If the writing is too small, use a magnifying glass to make it easier to see. But not all of them have a stamp, for example old models. (Sometimes fake gold can have the rust stamp on it to make it look real.)
2. Check the color change
Rub with your finger on certain parts or look for the parts that get rubbing often, for example around the edges of precious metals or gold coins. Fake gold will reveal a different color of the metal underneath so that the gold color is non-uniform and radiating.
3. Feel the Weight
You can see that the gold is soft but heavy in other words even though it is soft, real gold has a dense and heavy material. If the gold bullion or coin feels light, then it could be fake gold and when fake gold is dropped there will be a loud sound different from real gold which will sound soft.
4. Smell Gold
Real gold when kissed does not smell fishy. So you can test the purity of the jewelry by smelling it.
5. Bite it
Bite into your gold with moderate pressure. Check if the gold has a bite mark. In theory, if the gold is real it will show scratches on the teeth, the marks will get deeper if the gold is 24 carat pure. This method of biting is certainly not the recommended test, because besides being able to damage the teeth it can damage the physical condition of the gold. And of course the counterfeiters could still use the gold-plated tin which was also “soft” enough to bite.
6. Using magnets
This is an easy test, although it does not determine with certainty that gold is genuine, as many other non-magnetic metals can be used as counterfeit gold. At least we know that our gold is not iron metal coated with gold. Using a strong magnet, hold the magnet and point it at the gold. Gold is not a magnetic metal, so if the gold we are testing is attracted to the magnet and sticks to it, we can be sure that the gold is fake.
7. Scratch it on ceramic or paper
This is also one easy way to tell if gold is real or fake. But keep in mind to test this there is a risk that the tested gold precious metal will be scratched. You can use plain ceramic plates or floor tiles. After rubbing it forms a black layer then it is pyrite which is coated with gold on the top or just pyrite and vice versa if after rubbing it forms a yellow color then it is gold. Pyrite is a compound of iron with sulfur with a yellow color and has a luster like gold, pyrite has the chemical formula FeS2.
Apart from ceramics, you can also use paper to test the gold’s authenticity. As a comparison, try scratching coins on paper, with coins scratched on the paper will leave black streaks, whereas if the gold is real there will be no scratches at all.
8. Test gold with Nitric Acid
Another term is “acid test” and is a pretty good way of testing gold for authenticity. But this test carries a safety risk with acidic liquids, so be very careful. The acid used to carry out this test is a dangerous chemical, because it can cause burns. If not for business, it’s best if this acid test is left to gold jewelers only. Here are the steps:
- Place the gold on the stainless steel container
- Give the gold one drop of nitric acid and watch the reaction
- The green reaction indicates the ferrous metal is gold plated
- A gold reaction indicates a gold plated brass metal
- The milky color reaction indicates a gold-plated silver metal
- If there is no reaction it is likely real gold.
At least from now on you already know a little bit to distinguish which gold is real or fake. And certainly it will make you not gullible. Because right now there are many people who take advantage of your ignorance to launch the action. Still be careful … !!
Those are some tips that we can share. Hopefully it can be useful for those of you who read it.
For those of you who like jewelry collections made of gold from now on, you no longer need to bother selling your gold that has faded (because it is often used) and then buy a new one, in the following ways. Or for those of you who feel you have fond memories of one of the jewels you have, whether it’s a gift from your spouse, parents or close friends, of course from now on you can keep it sparkling as beautiful as its memories by practicing some of the methods above. Thank you!
