Surprisingly, hand sanitizer works perfectly as a silver polisher. Unlike the soaking methods, you will need to do the scrubbing (or rubbing in this case). Grab a small clean cloth and squirt in a few drops of hand sanitizer and polish your silver clean.
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.
Hand sanitizer will take the tarnish off of even the oldest silver you have. Just grab a soft cloth, squirt a few drops of sanitizer on it and go to town! Rub away the tarnish, and rinse with warm water.
With sterling silver, you have to be especially cautious of alcohol-free hand sanitizers. Instead of alcohol as a base ingredient, these sanitizers contain chlorine-based chemicals and listed ingredients that I cannot pronounce. Chlorine chemicals can tarnish and permanently damage your favorite sterling silver pieces.
Cleaning silver with rubbing alcohol is a great method to treat smudges, mild spotting, or tarnished metal. Mix four parts water with one part rubbing alcohol in a clean bowl or plastic container.
Clean Silver with Dish Soap and Water
The key to cleaning silver without damaging it is to avoid abrasion. Cleaning silver with harsh abrasive products like chlorine bleach, or storing it using rubber bands and newspaper, is a no-no.
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.
Alcohol-Free Hand Sanitizers
Free chlorine radical is very reactive and could cause tarnishing of jewelry. This is especially important if you wear a ring made from sterling silver, as chlorine-based compounds are much more likely to tarnish sterling silver.
Hand sanitizer and hand soap often contain alcohol, which can damage gemstones. If your ring is set with an organic gemstone, like opals, pearls, or coral, take it off before using hand sanitizer.
Whether it be alcohol or non-alcohol based hand sanitizer, both can cause irreversible damage to your ring. Repeated use of alcohol based hand sanitizer can diminish the brilliance of your stones and metal shine, and loosen your engagement ring prongs. It can also cause buildup between your stones and metal.
Another great way to clean your sterling silver jewelry is with Windex. Yes… Windex. You can either spray the Windex directly on the item to be cleaned or on a soft-bristled toothbrush or soft cloth.
"The best option is to remove your ring, apply hand sanitizer, let it dry, and then put your ring back on." If you can't remove your ring, we recommend wearing gloves when doing any household cleaning.
Vinegar. If your sterling silver jewelry or silverware has lost its shine and luster, try soaking it in a solution of ½ cup of white vinegar and 2 tablespoons of baking soda. Allow it to sit for two or three hours, and then remove it and rinse with cold water.
Apply a small amount of hand soap (Dawn is our favorite) to a clean sponge or soft cleaning cloth. Gently wash the item clean. To keep the silver intact, do not apply force or do heavy scrubbing. Remember, silver is delicate and doesn't take much effort to truly clean.
From rubbing alcohol to vodka, keep it away from your jewelry. Alcohol can dry out the natural oils in gemstones like opals and emeralds, which again, can cause them to crack.
Yes, products like hand sanitizers can be used while wearing our jewelry. Since gold and platinum are fine metals, they are hard surfaces and can be treated as such. But just rubbing hand sanitizer on your hands will not sanitize the jewelry itself - germs can stay hidden within the inside surfaces.
Use dish soap and warm water for most metals, gems, and crystals. “Most jewelry, whether it's a diamond or rose quartz, can be safely cleaned with dish soap and warm water,” said McKenzie Santimer, museum manager and designer at the Gemological Institute of America.
A: Hand sanitizer is made up of rubbing alcohol and will not hurt diamonds or damage the integrity, value, or brilliance of your stone. However, excessive and repeated exposure to cleaning agents or hand sanitizer can make the finish on white gold wear a little faster.
Yes! To clean your jewelry using isopropyl rubbing alcohol, fill a small bowl with it—just enough to fully cover the piece you wish you clean. Leave the jewelry to soak in the bowl for a few minutes. Alcohol dries completely clear on metal surfaces so there is no need to rinse it off with water.
For silverware, jewelry, and other small silver items, soak them in a glass bowl with a half-cup of distilled white vinegar and two tablespoons of baking soda. Let the silver soak for three hours, rinse the items, and dry and polish them with a microfiber cloth.
Another thing to consider is the chemicals in your soaps, shower gels, shampoos and other cleaning products. Sterling silver is a delicate metal and any strongly perfumed or fragranced shower products may be too harsh for your jewellery.
Combine half a cup of white vinegar and two tablespoons of baking soda in a glass. Put your sterling silver piece inside the mix and allow it to sit for three hours. Then rinse and buff dry.
How often should you clean silver? Polishing silver once a year should be enough to keep it in good condition. But, if once a year doesn't satisfy your cleaning compulsion, an easy way to maintain the shine of your silver is to wash it with good old water. You can safely do this as often as 2–6 times in a year.
The copper reacts to moisture and sulfur in the air, causing the sterling silver tarnish. Silver tarnishes faster in areas with high humidity and air pollution. Chemicals like hairspray, perfume, deodorant, body lotion, bleach, etc., can speed up the tarnishing process.
Keep It Away From Moisture
You should never leave any sterling silver jewelry sitting in the bathroom where it can be exposed to humidity and moisture from a shower. You should also limit the number of times you wear sterling silver jewelry into a pool, hot tub, or other bodies of water.