Earrings be they gold, silver, pearls or brass are all prone to accumulating a lot of dirt, sweat, and cosmetic products like shampoos and moisturizers. Nobody likes wearing jewelry that looks tarnished and old, right? Hence, it is crucial to learn how to clean earrings properly, without damaging them to have a shiny brand new earrings, always.
There are plenty of quick and handy techniques that you can include in your routine to have clean earrings, every day! This post will guide you through the different ways to clean any type of earrings that you own and everything related to it!
Things you need to Clean Your Earrings
Here is a list of things that are integral for you to help clean your earrings at home, easily.
- A mild dish soap
- A toothbrush with soft bristles
- Hot Water
- A clean cloth
- Baking Soda
- Rubbing Alcohol ( optional )
- Hydrogen Peroxide ( optional )
How to Clean Earrings?
We now know that having clean earrings is much more important than we thought. Now, to have clean earrings, you need to learn how to properly clean your earrings at home, with ease, of course. Here’s how you can clean your earrings the right way :
Step 1. Wash your hands
Although it may appear as though every one ought to be aware of this, it is essential to keep it in mind, nonetheless. Before you begin cleaning your earrings and reattaching them to your piercings, you need to thoroughly wash your hands. You don’t want to put your jewelry or ear piercings at risk of getting contaminated with germs because of unclean hands. Make sure to wash your hands, including your fingers, for a few seconds with warm water and hand soap. After that, use a dry towel and pat your hands completely dry.
Step 2. Clean your earrings with lukewarm water
In a microwave or cooker, bring some water to a boil. Soak your earrings in boiling water for approximately 20 minutes. Use the soft-bristled brush to scrub gently. Even though this method isn’t as good as using a cleaning solution, it’s a good alternative.
Step 3. Utilise toothpicks to remove dirt
Earrings with intricate designs can be difficult to clean. To get into hard-to-reach places, you can use a toothpick to clean your earrings, thoroughly, without missing any spots.
How to Clean the Back of the Earrings?
If you wear earrings daily, it is very probable to get a lot of “ear cheese” or ear gunk accumulated over time unless you don’t clean the earring backs, as well. Usually, rubber cutches and butterfly earring backs are not that hard to clean and require a few simple steps.
Steps to clean earring backs:
Step 1. Prepare your cleaning agent which can either be Hydrogen Peroxide or Ammonia, depending on the availability. Now, you need to take a small bowl and fill it halfway with warm water before adding your choice of the cleaning agent. It is advised to wear a pair of gloves just to be safe and avoid getting in direct contact with the cleaning agent. Take your earrings back and soak them in the mixture for 20-30 minutes to get rid of the collected gunk.
It is also important to keep in mind not to use these cleaning agents for metals like pure gold and pure silver as they can be too harsh and can damage the metals, permanently. For pure gold and metal, you can use toothpaste and give them a gentle scrub with a toothbrush. Toothpaste is much more mild and safe for metals like gold and silver.
Step 2. After the earring backs are soaked in for a good amount of time, you can use a soft-bristled toothbrush to scrub out the gunk, precisely. Remember to not be harsh but gentle.
Step 3. The next step is to soak these earring backs in a bowl of fresh lukewarm water and let them air dry, afterward. This is going to get you clean, fresh, gunk-free earring backs that are safe to wear, again.
How to Clean Different Types of Earrings?
Earrings are so diverse and are made out of so many different materials. Hence, it is necessary to recognize the different ways to clean different materials because one way doesn’t suit all. To keep your earrings lustrous and have them look brand new, you need to clean them according to their material. Here is a detailed explanation of how different materials need to be cleaned.
1. Pearl Earrings
Pearl earrings are delicate jewelry that, if not cared for properly, may become scratched or damaged. It is recommended to avoid using harsh cleaning products on them because they are sensitive to synthetic compounds. Use a jewelry cloth to polish your pearls after use to prevent any buildup.
You can clean your pearls with warm water, mild dish soap, and a damp cloth if they have visible stains or if you just want to keep them fresh and lustrous. Before storing your pearl earrings in your jewelry box, either wipe them dry with a clean, dry cloth or let them air dry.
2. Gold Earrings
Cleaning your gold earrings is much more hassle-free and doesn’t require you to do a lot. You can start by combining dish soap and warm water or baking soda and salt in a solution to soak your earrings. Moving on, you are advised to use a brush with soft bristles to gently scrub your gold earrings after soaking them in the solution that you made earlier for about 30 minutes, more or less.
After that, you would want to rinse your gold earrings thoroughly with clean water to get rid of the cleaning solution so that it doesn’t stick to the metal. In the end, you can use a lint-free cloth to pat your earrings dry.
3. Silver Earrings
Silver is amongst the most popular jewelry materials and it is fairly easy to maintain, as well. To clean your silver earrings precisely and with care, you need to follow these steps :
1. Taking a tin foil, place the shiny side up on the tin foil and line a glass baking dish with it.
2. Fill the pan with water and wait till it comes to a boil, but do not turn the flame off. Use enough water to completely cover your silver earrings.
3. When you notice that the water with the earrings is bubbling, add baking soda to the pan. Turn the heat off, now.
4. Leave your earrings in the hot water for about an hour, then gently scrub and remove the dirt with a soft-bristled brush. Rinse with clean water, then gently pat your earrings dry with a clean cloth.
How often should you Clean your Earrings?
It is recommended that you clean your earrings as often as possible. Before each use, disinfect the hooks or fasteners and use rubbing alcohol or a disinfectant to clean off any dirt buildup. Ear piercings tend to get infected if they are left unclean for an elongated period.
Ear pain, redness, swelling, and pus in the ears are all results of an infected ear piercing, which is often caused by dirty earrings. To avoid this, it is crucial to clean your earrings regularly.
Earrings are often exposed to so much dirt, makeup, shampoos, natural oils, and different products that they tend to collect a lot of dirt and products onto them. Keeping your earrings clean regularly will help keep this dirt from building up and getting your earrings infected.
Moreover, you need to make sure to clean your earrings every time you wear them to keep their original beauty and maintain the luster that’s often very easy to lose. It’s also important to make sure your earrings last a long time and for that, it is important to use proper techniques to clean your earrings, as a part of your routine.
Conclusion
Every woman wears jewelry to add to her beauty and complete her look. However, women must wear jewelry that looks as beautiful as them and for that, we need to adopt the right techniques for cleaning our earrings and other jewelry, too. For it would be a shame to wear jewelry that’s beautifully designed but poorly kept.
It is important to clean your earrings to prevent any infections and to preserve their luster and beauty. You should always opt for the right method of cleaning, depending on the material of the earrings you’re wearing, store your earrings in a zip lock bag and ensure that you don’t wear your earrings in the shower or to the bed. A little care could go a long way!
