Homemade Jewelry Cleaner: An Effective and Natural DIY Recipe (2024)

Homemade jewelry cleaner is simple and effective. A DIY jewelry cleaner is also inexpensive and omits the chemicals of commercial cleaners.

Though I love to browse Etsy and Pinterest and admire all the artsy jewelry, I don’t consider myself a big jewelry person.

Wearing Jewelry All the Time

I rarely wear anything more than mywedding rings, a pair ofstud earrings,and asimple necklace. I also sleep and shower in all of my jewelry. That may surprise you, but if you lost things as often as me you’d understand. I’ve lost too many of my little treasures over the years, and do not want my wedding rings to be added tothat list.

Cleaning My Jewelry Often

The problem I have with wearing all of the same jewelry all the time is that it doesn’t take long for my piecesto lose their sparkle.

The rings have it the worst. I garden, make biscuits, clean out the chicken coop, change diapers, and do all sorts of other stuff with my hands. My rings catch a lot ofgrime from all of that activity, so theyrequire regular cleaning.

Since commercial cleaners can be expensive and are full of strong chemicals, I prefer to work with a natural, homemade DIY jewelry cleaner. I’ve been using different methods for several years now, and this is what I’ve found to be the most effective.

Results of This Homemade Jewelry Cleaner

The first evidence you’re going to have thatthis homemade DIY jewelry cleaner worked will be all the stuff floating around in your vinegar/tea tree oil liquid. The last time I put my jewelry in this mixtureI didn’t think it was too dirty, and it didn’t exactly need cleaning. Within just a few minutes, though, there was so much stuff floating around in the water that I was appalled.

Your jewelry will be noticeably cleanerafter just the soak.It will even be disinfected,too. Adding the baking soda scrub at the end will ensure that you get everything clean, especially in all the little crevices. If your kitchen faucet has a high-pressure setting, that will be the best thing to use for rinsing your jewelry. Just make sure you hold on tight, because searching for lost objectsin the sink trap or garbage disposal is one of the least pleasant tasks in the world.Take my word for it. Consider using a strainer.

Personally, I love the feeling of wearing newly-cleaned, sparkly jewelry. If you find that you keep gazingat your rings and getting kind of lost in the sparkle, you’ll know that you’ve done a good job of cleaning them. And you’ll enjoy that look until the next time you make biscuits, put on lotion, or make your kids play-dough.

Good thing this homemade jewelry cleaner is such a simple recipe, you’ll probably be using it often!

Explanation of Ingredients

I’ve used bothwitch hazeland vinegar for cleaning my jewelry.

Witch hazelis slightly acidic, andvinegaris much more so, but either will work for soaking your jewelry.This cleaning method is for jewelry with sturdy stone settings(I wouldn’t use it for opals, pearls, or tanzanite, for example), and that is especially important to keep in mind if you’re using vinegar. Witch hazel is certainly the milder of the two, so use whichever ingredient you feel comfortable with.

Tea tree oil isa known disinfectant and anti-fungal. It isn’t necessary to add to your jewelry cleaner, but as I said above, my jewelry can get pretty gross. A small drop of tea tree oil adds an antiseptic boost to this homemade jewelry cleaner, so I add it. Like I said – I’ve cleaned the chicken coop wearing my wedding rings. I’ll take all of the natural antiseptic power I can get. (For more information and other uses for tea tree oil, readthis.)

Baking sodais a slightly abrasive, inexpensive scrubbing tool. Unlike the ingredients listed above, it’s basic rather than acidic. Baking soda is especially good for tarnishing silver, but you should never use it on aluminum. I find it works wonders on my diamond rings.

Have you ever made a homemade jewelry cleaner? How did it work for you?

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