You can use toothpaste to clean some cheap jewelry for a quick shine, but it's risky as its abrasives can cause micro-scratches and damage finishes, especially on plated items, pearls, or opals. A safer, often better method for costume jewelry is warm water with a drop of dish soap and a soft toothbrush, followed by thorough rinsing and drying, to gently remove grime without the harsh chemicals or micro-abrasives.
The answer includes a long list of common household items that can do more harm than good. Avoid using bleach, ammonia, toothpaste, baking soda, vinegar, and abrasive materials like scouring pads—these can scratch metals, wear down finishes, and discolor gems.
Mild Soap and Water Solution
This gentle mixture is a simple and safe way to clean most artificial jewellery, especially small pieces like earrings. Add a few drops of mild liquid soap to lukewarm water.
Understand that while toothpaste can be great for cleaning silver jewellery, it can also damage certain types of silver, too, so please proceed with caution. Avoid using toothpaste on sterling silver or highly polished silver.
It is a common myth that toothpaste is a good way to clean your jewellery. This is actually false. Toothpaste can damage your diamonds, gemstones, gold and silver. Toothpaste is abrasive and has a hardness of around 3/4 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness.
Toothpaste and an old toothbrush or Q-tip.
This is a great option because the slightly gritty texture of the toothpaste works hard to remove even the toughest dirt. Rinse with cool water and buff dry with a clean cloth.
Clean gold jewellery using warm, soapy water and a soft brush, avoiding harsh chemicals and abrasive materials. Professional cleaning every 6-12 months maintains shine and identifies potential issues. Ultrasonic cleaners work well for most gold pieces, but avoid them for delicate stones or vintage settings.
Jewellery Polishing Cloths: Use a jewellery polishing cloth designed for artificial jewellery. Gently rub the cloth over the surface to remove tarnish and enhance shine. Home Remedies: Make a paste using baking soda and water. Apply it with a soft cloth, rub gently, rinse with water, and dry thoroughly.
The household cleaners that cause the most damage to jewelry are bleach, detergents, solvents, and chlorine. We all know chlorine is in swimming pools and hot tubs, but it's also in laundry detergent and tap water.
If you'd like to disinfect your jewelry, you can use regular household isopropyl alcohol or hydrogen peroxide, as long as the jewelry is solid gold or platinum and is only set with diamond, ruby, or sapphire. Take care with any other kind of stones and use a gentler form of cleaning.
Baking soda, foil and salt also work to clean tarnished jewelry. Line a bowl with a sheet of aluminum foil with the shiny side up. Add the tarnished jewelry, as well as one cup of warm water, one tablespoon of salt, and one tablespoon of baking soda. Once the jewelry is clean, rinse and buff with a dry cloth.
How to Remove Tarnish from Gold Plating and Silver: Create a paste using baking soda and salt mixed with water for a gentle yet effective cleaning solution. Apply it to the tarnished areas and use a soft cloth to polish. Afterward, rinse and completely dry the jewelry.
Let the toothpaste sit for about 2 to 3 minutes for stubborn stains. This will give the ingredients in the toothpaste to work on tough tarnish.
Although perfect for your teeth, toothpaste is not the best cleaning product for most types of jewelry. Cleaning your jewelry with toothpaste can do more harm than good. Toothpaste is abrasive, meaning it can scratch the gold and loosen the stones. And don't forget, toothpaste is corrosive to metal.
4 Things You Should Never Use To Clean Jewelry
Ultrasonic Cleaners: Deep Cleaning for Stubborn Dirt
These machines use high-frequency sound waves to create microscopic bubbles in a liquid cleaning solution. As these bubbles collapse, they generate gentle yet powerful vibrations that dislodge dirt, grime, and oils from even the tiniest crevices of your jewelry.
Don't use Windex, vinegar, baking soda, or peroxide.
The ammonia in Windex can damage precious metals over time. Vinegar is too acidic and can damage jewelry, too. Baking soda won't remove grease or grime, and worse, it can scratch softer metals and get stuck in small spaces.