CLEAN DIAMONDS WITH A TOOTHBRUSH?

The best tool in the world to use to clean your diamonds with isn’t an ultrasonic cleaner or a steam cleaner; although they will make your diamonds sparkle like crazy. The best item to use is a common one. One we use every single day…

The toothbrush.

The toothbrush is the ultimate tool to use for cleaning diamonds and jewelry hands down. But not just any toothbrush, a soft bristle toothbrush works best.

Why soft bristle? Because a hard bristle could actually scratch your gold or metal. Plus, a hard bristle brush also snags and pulls on your prongs more than a soft bristle would.

So use a soft toothbrush to clean your jewelry.

There is one more secret…

Soak your jewelry.

Soak your jewelry first before you clean them. Soak your rings, pendants, earrings and bracelets in a warm-hot solution of ammonia, water and a little dish soap.

Here is the formula I recommend:

Jewelry Cleaner Solution:

• 1 part ammonia (or Mr. Clean)
• 7 parts warm-hot water
• A squirt of dish soap

That’s the ideal solution for cleaning your jewelry and diamonds by hand, or using in a jewelry sonic cleaner. Mixing ammonia with warm-hot (not scalding) water is the key.

Warning:

Make sure your items can be soaked in ammonia and water first. Some gems and items should not be submerged. The rule of thumb is, if you can’t put the items in an ultrasonic cleaner, then don’t soak them in this solution for long. As a matter of fact, I would just dunk them in to get them wet and that’s it. Read more: Gems not to put in jewelry cleaners.

Cleaning your Jewelry:

Soak your items for a couple of minutes to get the dirt loosened. If the pieces are really dirty, you may want to let them soak for 20 minutes.

Use the soft bristle toothbrush to gently scrub and dab at the cracks, grooves, underneath your ring, and the bottom of your diamonds or gemstones. Wipe away the dirt and any built up debris. Wash them under tap water to rinse them, just don’t let them fall down the drain. :)

The areas that are the hardest to reach and clean are the areas under the stones. But, these areas are the most important spots to clean. Dirt built up on the bottom of your stone can make your diamonds and gems look dull and dark. It’s vital that you scrub the bottoms (the points) of your stones and get them spotless.

Be Careful:

You must be very careful around prongs or channels. You don’t want to get the toothbrush snagged, pull the stones out, or harm the mounting in any way.

Doing this once a week only takes a minute or two, but it will keep your diamonds and gemstones sparkling like new.

Once again, the keys factors are:

• Soak your jewelry
• Use warm-hot water
• Use a soft bristle toothbrush
• Clean underneath the stones

These tricks and tips will clean your jewelry like the pros.

Just don’t use the same toothbrush for your teeth.

Cheers! :)