Whether it’s a wedding band or a festive necklace, gold jewelry looks more beautiful when it shines. To clean them, you don’t need to go to the jeweler: with simple ingredients you probably have at home, you can restore the sparkle to your precious jewelry.

The reason gold jewelry tarnishes is that they are rarely made of pure gold. Pure gold wouldn’t tarnish, but it’s too soft to be crafted into jewelry. Generally, they are alloys in which other metals, such as tin, nickel, platinum, or titanium, are added to gold.

The speed at which gold tarnishes depends on the alloy: for example, 333 gold tarnishes more quickly than 750 quality gold, and therefore needs to be cleaned more often.

Fortunately, gold is much easier to clean than silver – and everything you need is probably already at home.

Cleaning gold with dish soap

For the simplest method to clean gold, you just need dish soap and a glass of water.

  • Put a few drops of dish soap in a glass and fill it with warm water.
  • Dip the piece of gold jewelry into the glass for at least 15 minutes.
  • Take it out and brush it with a soft toothbrush.
  • Dry it with a soft cloth – and enjoy the restored shine!

If the jewelry is still very tarnished after this treatment, try another of the methods described here.

Cleaning gold with baking soda

Whether for cleaning the oven or unclogging the drain, baking soda is a versatile product. It also restores shine to gold. Instead of baking soda, you can also use baking powder.

  • Sprinkle a teaspoon of baking soda onto a soft microfiber cloth and polish the tarnished jewelry piece with it. Make sure the
  • powder also gets into small crevices.
  • Rinse off the baking soda after a few minutes with warm water.
  • Thoroughly dry the gold with a soft cloth.

Cleaning gold with toothpaste

Everyone has toothpaste at home. If you use this product to clean jewelry, make sure it doesn’t contain abrasive particles, otherwise the gold may scratch.

  • Put a little toothpaste on an old soft toothbrush and gently rub the jewelry piece with it.
  • Rinse off the toothpaste thoroughly with water.
  • Dry the jewelry piece with a soft cloth.

Cleaning gold with denture cleaning tablets

Gold can be cleaned very easily with denture cleaning tablets. One advantage of this method is that even hard-to-reach places are cleaned. Treat the jewelry as if it were a denture or orthodontic appliance.

  • Dissolve one denture cleaning tablet in water as directed on the package.
  • Dip the jewelry piece into the solution – it should be completely covered – and let it soak for half an hour.
  • Rinse it off and dry it with a soft cloth.

Cleaning gold with aluminum foil and salt

This method is commonly used to clean silver and also restores shine to gold in no time.

  • Spread a strip of aluminum foil at the bottom of a bowl.
  • Fill the bowl with warm water and add one to two tablespoons of salt.
  • When you then place the jewelry in the bowl, the aluminum foil absorbs dirt and impurities thanks to the salt.
  • Take out the gold after a few minutes, rinse it off, and dry it with a cloth.

Cleaning gold with onion juice

Even onion juice restores shine to tarnished gold. For a really thorough cleaning, however, it is less suitable.

  • Cut an onion and rub the cut surface onto the tarnished jewelry piece.
  • Let the onion juice sit for several hours.
  • Rinse off the jewelry and dry it with a cloth – that’s it!

Cleaning gold with an ultrasonic cleaner

Precious metals can be very well cleaned in an ultrasonic bath. The advantage of this method is that even dirt in hard-to-reach places is removed, and even very delicate gold items can be cleaned without being damaged.

Ultrasonic cleaning devices are available at most jewelers and opticians, where they are also used to clean glasses. Nowadays, ultrasonic cleaning devices are also available for household use.

  • Fill the device with water up to the mark according to the instructions.
  • Place the jewelry in the device, so that each piece has enough space and doesn’t touch the others.
  • Turn on the device and check after about five minutes if the jewelry is clean.
  • If not, repeat the process and possibly add a drop of dish soap.
  • After the ultrasonic bath, dry the jewelry with a soft cloth.

Pearl jewelry should not be placed in an ultrasonic bath, as the glue that fixes the pearls could come off and their surface could be damaged. Soft gemstones such as emeralds, opals, or turquoise should also not be cleaned with this method.

Properly storing gold jewelry

To ensure that freshly cleaned jewelry retains its shine for as long as possible, you should store it properly. Store them preferably in a cool, dark place, such as in a jewelry box lined with a soft material (such as velvet). Jewelry should not touch each other, as otherwise chemical reactions can occur, causing discoloration.

Since jewelry is also damaged by sweat, cosmetics, and cleaning products, it is best to remove them when showering, grooming, sleeping, exercising, or working around the house.