To do this, the first step is to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water. Next, submerge the earrings in a solution of rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide for 5 minutes. After removing them from the solution, allow them to air dry on a clean paper towel.
Rubbing alcohol is a great way to help bring the sparkle back to your jewellery. But usually, your earrings won't even need that much cleaning in the front. Some warm water and washing-up liquid should do the trick nicely.
How to sterilise earrings (the thorough method) Put some rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide in the bottom of a glass. Submerge the earrings and leave them for ten minutes. Wipe them down with a cotton pad or microfibre cloth, then rinse.
Mix two tablespoons of mild dishwashing liquid with one quart of warm (not hot) water. Soak your jewelry for 10 to 20 minutes to soften residue and dirt. Gently brush with a soft-bristled brush. Afterward, rinse with clean water and pat dry with a clean cloth.
Rubbing alcohol is one of the lesser-known silver cleaning solutions. It can be used to remove spots, smudges, or tarnishing. This is also a great way to disinfect sterling silver body jewelry.
Rubbing alcohol can work wonders, but bleach can literally destroy jewelry so avoid it at all costs. Using warm water is the best bet when cleaning your own jewelry. However, water can cause reaction with the cleaning fluids resulting in discoloration and Sterling Silver is especially susceptible to this problem.
If you have any jewelry that's made from a real precious metal such as silver or gold, you can clean it safely with alcohol. As long as your jewelry is made from these metals, the jewelry won't be damaged, whatever its karat or quality.
Soak the earrings in warm soapy water: This is the easiest way to remove dirt and oils from your earrings. Use a gentle, mild soap and allow them to soak for about 10 minutes before wiping them off with a damp cloth. 2. Use rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide: These liquids kill bacteria and remove odours.
"Earring posts can accumulate retained skin oils that help yeast, fungus, and bacteria overgrow," explains Ciraldo. You might think a simple shampoo in the shower is enough to wash away that gunk, but even leftover hair products can build up around the earring post and accumulate in and around that tiny earring hole.
It is like our skin's built-in lotion, and when this oil gets left behind to build up and blend with those dead skin cells, it becomes an excellent place for bacteria to hang out — which can get gross when left pressed against the skin and the earring back.
"Take some cotton wool, dip it in salt water and rub it over the post," she says, "This will disinfect it from anything that you don't want to be putting back in your ear."
Spoiler alert: It's probably (a lot) more often than you already do. Piercing experience manager at Banter by Piercing Pagoda Tim Bovasso tells InStyle that, ideally, you should clean any earrings you wear daily not just once a day, but twice a day — once in the morning and once at night.
Is hand sanitizer safe for jewelry? Generally speaking, hand sanitizer is safe for all hard stones and precious metals such as silver, platinum, titanium and other plated rings.
To do this, the first step is to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water. Next, submerge the earrings in a solution of rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide for 5 minutes. After removing them from the solution, allow them to air dry on a clean paper towel.
Drop your ring into a shot glass filled with a clear hard alcohol like vodka or gin. Allow the ring to soak for several hours.
While you might be wondering if it's okay to clean an ear piercing with rubbing alcohol, it's actually recommended. Dip a cotton ball, pad or swab in rubbing alcohol before carefully cleaning the skin around your piercing twice a day. This will help keep germs at bay and prevent scabbing.
DO NOT pick the crusties off—that's just introducing your dirty hands to a healing piercing and can increase your risk of infection. The best way to clean them is to soak the piercing in warm saline solution, softening the crusties which then come off easily.
Ear cheese is a totally natural part of having pierced ears. It builds up for the same reason that any kind of dead skin builds up; your body needs to replace skin cells constantly, and some cells get left behind.
Crustiness, on the other hand, is the buildup of seepage that results from the body trying to heal the piercing as it would any other wound. Typically these are light or near-colorless and should reduce as the piercing, and healing process, matures.
A gorgeous pair of earrings is a great accessory—but what's the deal with the holes in your ears smelling like rotten cheese? Turns out it's a mix of skin cells and natural oils getting clogged all up in there. Um, gross. Luckily, there's a super easy way to prevent—or get rid of—that funky smell if you notice it.
The black stuff is normal. It's actually just dead skin cells. When a piercing hole is made and the earring is put it, the ear will be trying to heal itself for a long time. Even if you've had piercings for a long time, they will always closed up eventually because the cells are always trying to regenerate themselves.
Do not use baking soda (it can scratch), toothpaste (it can scratch too), or commercial jewelry cleaners because they can damage gold.
The main difference between isopropyl alcohol and rubbing alcohol is the concentration. The concentration of isopropyl alcohol is 100%, while the concentration of rubbing alcohol is less because of the addition of water. Otherwise, the two liquids have similar properties. They are antibacterial and antiseptic.
For a quick cleaning solution for gold and diamond jewelry, try a little isopropyl alcohol. You can fill a small container with some alcohol and drop your jewelry directly into the solution. Let it soak briefly and then remove the item. The nice thing about alcohol is that it will dry clear.