6 Simple Methods For How To Clean Tarnished Jewelry

You wear your favorite piece of jewelry every single day. You wear it to work, out with your friends, you wear it on special occasions, or just on a regular day. No matter what outfit you wear, that special piece always adds something a little extra to your overall look. You love that piece of jewelry. But, over time, your favorite piece of jewelry will probably become discolored, appear dull or even have some scratches and nicks in its surface.

What can you do?

Though this process, called tarnishing, is natural for your jewelry items, it can definitely be sad when your favorite piece of jewelry is looking like it might need to be replaced. Fortunately, there are a lot of DIY home cleaning methods for jewelry, so you don’t have to plan that jewelry funeral just yet. All you have to do is know the right way to clean tarnished jewelry. With this guide, you can discover all the methods for how to clean tarnished jewelry! Spruce up your bling with these easy-to-follow and reliable jewelry cleaning methods!

If you’re looking to clean a jewelry item of a specific kind of metal, check out our Complete Guide: How To Clean Jewelry for more detailed information.   

How To Clean Tarnished Jewelry At Home

What Does Tarnish Mean?

Before you being cleaning, you might be curious: what even is tarnish? What does tarnish mean? It can be helpful to know exactly what tarnish is in order to remove tarnish from jewelry.

What Causes Jewelry To Tarnish?

Tarnish occurs on a jewelry item when the metal comes into contact with certain outside substances, such as body oils, sulfur, sweat, makeup and other cosmetics. There are varying degrees of tarnish that can occur on your jewelry item, which can determine which method you choose to clean tarnished jewelry. Just like you need to clean up after a long day, so does your jewelry! There are a couple different causes for jewelry to tarnish:

Abrasion - Metallic abrasion of jewelry items occurs when cosmetic products (e.g. makeup, perfumes, lotions that are usually applied to the skin) comes into contact with the metal jewelry item. Cosmetics often contain chemical compounds (e.g. titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, calamine and ferric oxide) that are harder than the metal within the jewelry. When cosmetics and metal jewelry come into contact with one another, tiny particles of metal (which appear as black dust) rubs off and falls on absorbent material, such as skin or clothing. It looks like a black smudge. To avoid this, avoid cosmetics with the aforementioned chemical compounds and remember to remove all of your jewelry items when applying cosmetics. Make sure your skin is dry before you put on your jewelry items.

Corrosion - Discoloration of jewelry items can also be caused by corrosion of the jewelry metals. For instance, pure gold (i.e. 24K) will not corrode, but it is far too soft to actually form into a jewelry item. Therefore, pure gold must be alloyed with other base metals (e.g. silver or copper) to make it harder and more suitable for everyday use. If a jewelry item is corroding, it is the base metal, and not the pure gold, that is corroding.

Exposure to Air - Sterling silver jewelry has a greater tendency to tarnish than jewelry items made of other kinds of metals. The tarnish on sterling silver items is usually caused by contact with sulphur compounds. Hydrogen sulfide gas in the air is the main cause of tarnishing, and is particularly present in strong-smelling pollution and foods such as eggs, onions and fish. People with particularly moist skin tend to see more green stains on their skin from their sterling silver jewelry.

Dermatitis + Exposure to Other Elements - When other elements (e.g. soap, detergent, cosmetic creams, medications, antibiotics or polish) build up between the jewelry item and the skin, dermatitis can occur. A burning sensation and redness of the skin occurs when dermatitis happens. To prevent this from happening, remove all jewelry before using any of these products, clean your jewelry items frequently, and make sure you skin is completely dry before putting your jewelry on. In some cases, the jewelry wearer’s basic body chemistry reacts to alloys in the jewelry and causes tarnishing. A possible solution to this is to wear jewelry items with a higher metal purity level (e.g. 18K or 22K gold jewelry instead of 14K).

How To Clean Tarnished Costume Jewelry (Other Methods!)

If you’re curious how to get tarnish off jewelry, how to clean tarnished fake gold jewelry, how to clean tarnished gold plated jewelry, or how to clean tarnished gold jewelry, then you’re in the right place! What can you use to clean tarnished jewelry? There are actually a lot of at-home DIY methods for you to try out on your jewelry items to remove the tarnish! Check out the following 6 methods to clean tarnished jewelry.

#1 White Vinegar + Water

This method is great if you’re wondering how to clean tarnished costume jewelry because it leaves your jewelry items super glossy and clean. If you’re just not sure how to get tarnish off jewelry, try this method!! You will be surprised.

#2 Warm Bubble Bath

Yep, that’s right — a warm bubble bath can do the trick! This easy method works for both sterling silver and gold jewelry, as well as precious stones. This is a simple method for how to clean tarnished jewelry at home and works well as a DIY method.

#3 Dry Mango Powder or Lemon Juice

Though lemon juice seems like an abrasive way to clean tarnished jewelry, it really does work wonders! If you’re struggling to find the right method for how to clean tarnished jewelry, this is the way to go.

OR

#4 Aluminum Foil, Salt + Baking Soda

If you’re still unsure how to clean tarnished jewelry or how to get tarnish off jewelry, using aluminum foil, salt and baking soda is sure to work.

#5 Soft Bristle Toothbrush + Toothpaste

You’re probably baffled that you can remove tarnish from jewelry with a soft bristle toothbrush and toothpaste, but it turns out this method works! If you’re not convinced by the other methods for how to clean tarnished jewelry, try this one!!

#6 Shampoo + Toothbrush

With a little care and diligence, you can prevent your precious jewelry items from becoming too badly tarnished and keep them looking shiny! It really is a pain when your jewelry items are too sullied to wear, but thankfully, with these methods for how to clean tarnished jewelry, you don’t have to worry!