http://www.thegreenestdollar.com/2009/01/3-frugal-ways-to-clean-jewelry/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=3-frugal-ways-to-clean-jewelry Save Money. Save the Environment. Be Happy. Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:01:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.thegreenestdollar.com/2009/01/3-frugal-ways-to-clean-jewelry/#comment-3934 Peter Rowe Fri, 15 May 2009 23:18:14 +0000 http://www.thegreenestdollar.com/?p=569#comment-3934 Just reread Danny's post, so an addendum to that. In addition to not using salt, I'd note that you do not want the jewelry resting on the salt or baking soda or washing soda. It needs to be IN CONTACT with the aluminum, in order for the electrolytic reaction to take place. if the chemical is keeping the silver up off the aluminum, it doesn't complete the electrical circuit. And yes, this is an electrolytic reaction. It has nothing to do with magnetism. Nothing at all. Just like the battery in your car has no magnets in it either... Magnetism might be a nice sounding word, but not accurate here. Just reread Danny’s post, so an addendum to that. In addition to not using salt, I’d note that you do not want the jewelry resting on the salt or baking soda or washing soda. It needs to be IN CONTACT with the aluminum, in order for the electrolytic reaction to take place. if the chemical is keeping the silver up off the aluminum, it doesn’t complete the electrical circuit. And yes, this is an electrolytic reaction. It has nothing to do with magnetism. Nothing at all. Just like the battery in your car has no magnets in it either… Magnetism might be a nice sounding word, but not accurate here.

]]> http://www.thegreenestdollar.com/2009/01/3-frugal-ways-to-clean-jewelry/#comment-3933 Peter Rowe Fri, 15 May 2009 23:13:11 +0000 http://www.thegreenestdollar.com/?p=569#comment-3933 Oh boy. Where to start on these three methods NOT to clean jewelry. Well, two of them, at any rate. Take it from this long time professional gemologist and jeweler, please. Not advice from your mother in law, OK? First. Do NOT use toothpaste. Yes, it scrubs well. But it's an abrasive. If you use it on highly polished metal, it will dull that polish. Use ordinary dish washing detergent if you wish to scrub, not toothpaste. Please. Don't use toothpaste. It cleans and damages all at the same time. Not what you want, I'd hope. If your jewelry is already no longer polished at all, and the stones are hard, like diamonds, etc, then your toothpaste won't do more harm. But please. There are better ways. Second. Alcohol is safe, yes. But as I responded to that post on Squakfox, it's not the most effective. The dirt in your rings is a mix of grease, oils, dead skin, lotions, soap residues, and who knows what all else. Alcohol is not a great solvent for all of that. A good strong liquid detergent, similar to what you'd use scrubbing the floor, in hot water, and allowed to soak for a bit, is MUCH more effective. Add a bit of ammonia if you like. Third. You've got the chemistry wrong. Do NOT use salt. Wrong stuff. First off, salt is a chloride, and chlorine is actually damaging to gold and silver. Now, as salt, it's less so, but it still isn't good. Salt corrodes things, and is not a cleaner. Similarly, never use bleach. It does real harm to gold alloys, and makes silver look like crap. However, your method is almost correct for removing tarnish from silver. Aluminum foil or an unanodized aluminum pan, with warm water and washing soda from the grocery aisle. If you don't have washing soda, use baking soda. Slower, but it still works. the silver items must be immersed in the solution, and in contact with the aluminum. Both these chemicals set up an electrolytic reaction that reduces silver sulphides (tarnish) back to silver. Now, the result won't be as bright, since this doesn't polish. But it gets the dingy off color tarnish off, and then a little polishing with a polishing cloth or any good silver polish, will easily do the rest. Salt, while it also creates an electrolyte that can allow this reaction with the aluminum to take place, but the salt itself is then damaging to the silver, so you end up with a poorer surface than you need to. And resudies of the salt, if left, can damage things like some silver solders holding the jewelry together. So please, use washing or baking soda, not table salt. Hope that helps. Peter Rowe Oh boy. Where to start on these three methods NOT to clean jewelry. Well, two of them, at any rate. Take it from this long time professional gemologist and jeweler, please. Not advice from your mother in law, OK?
First. Do NOT use toothpaste. Yes, it scrubs well. But it’s an abrasive. If you use it on highly polished metal, it will dull that polish. Use ordinary dish washing detergent if you wish to scrub, not toothpaste. Please. Don’t use toothpaste. It cleans and damages all at the same time. Not what you want, I’d hope. If your jewelry is already no longer polished at all, and the stones are hard, like diamonds, etc, then your toothpaste won’t do more harm. But please. There are better ways.
Second. Alcohol is safe, yes. But as I responded to that post on Squakfox, it’s not the most effective. The dirt in your rings is a mix of grease, oils, dead skin, lotions, soap residues, and who knows what all else. Alcohol is not a great solvent for all of that. A good strong liquid detergent, similar to what you’d use scrubbing the floor, in hot water, and allowed to soak for a bit, is MUCH more effective. Add a bit of ammonia if you like.
Third. You’ve got the chemistry wrong. Do NOT use salt. Wrong stuff. First off, salt is a chloride, and chlorine is actually damaging to gold and silver. Now, as salt, it’s less so, but it still isn’t good. Salt corrodes things, and is not a cleaner. Similarly, never use bleach. It does real harm to gold alloys, and makes silver look like crap. However, your method is almost correct for removing tarnish from silver. Aluminum foil or an unanodized aluminum pan, with warm water and washing soda from the grocery aisle. If you don’t have washing soda, use baking soda. Slower, but it still works. the silver items must be immersed in the solution, and in contact with the aluminum. Both these chemicals set up an electrolytic reaction that reduces silver sulphides (tarnish) back to silver. Now, the result won’t be as bright, since this doesn’t polish. But it gets the dingy off color tarnish off, and then a little polishing with a polishing cloth or any good silver polish, will easily do the rest. Salt, while it also creates an electrolyte that can allow this reaction with the aluminum to take place, but the salt itself is then damaging to the silver, so you end up with a poorer surface than you need to. And resudies of the salt, if left, can damage things like some silver solders holding the jewelry together. So please, use washing or baking soda, not table salt.
Hope that helps.
Peter Rowe

]]> http://www.thegreenestdollar.com/2009/01/3-frugal-ways-to-clean-jewelry/#comment-2117 Clean Jewelry, Hagerty Jewelry Cleaner Sun, 05 Apr 2009 17:47:31 +0000 http://www.thegreenestdollar.com/?p=569#comment-2117 [...] 3 Frugal Ways To Clean Jewelry | The Greenest Dollar [...] [...] 3 Frugal Ways To Clean Jewelry | The Greenest Dollar [...]

]]> http://www.thegreenestdollar.com/2009/01/3-frugal-ways-to-clean-jewelry/#comment-1624 Green Spring Cleaning: The Master List of "How-To" Articles... | The Greenest Dollar Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:23:03 +0000 http://www.thegreenestdollar.com/?p=569#comment-1624 [...] 3 Frugal Ways To Clean Jewelry [...] [...] 3 Frugal Ways To Clean Jewelry [...]

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