How to clean gold plated items. How to clean gold-plated silver at home? Tips for caring for gold-plated silver. Ammonia and soap

Therefore, the main advice to help prolong the life of gilded silver is to remove jewelry during:

work in the country;
cleaning;
cooking;
skin care;
taking a bath or shower.

These simple measures will reduce the number of cleanings to a minimum.

Care methods

Tarnished jewelry (and any other gold-plated silver items) can be easily cleaned. However, if constant care is organized in a timely manner, there will be no need for sanitation.

General rules for caring for jewelry:

Wipe them regularly with a suede cloth (sold where you buy glasses) or a cotton pad;
before removing accumulated dirt, degrease the item with a cotton cloth and alcohol (vinegar will also work, but not essence, but regular 6 percent);
do not use compounds with abrasive components, as they easily scratch the surface; how to remove a thin layer of gold with sandpaper.

At the same time, they can be used on silverware and large items where only individual decorative elements are decorated with yellow metal.

In some inexpensive products, the gold layer is very thin, so even a single use of abrasive substances can permanently damage it. Because of this, it is necessary to categorically avoid the following cleansers:

soda;
paste GOI;
dentifrice;
activated carbon, etc.

Try not to leave gold-plated jewelry in the bathroom - the dampness there provokes the formation of black spots.

Below are several very effective ways to combat darkening and contamination of gold-plated items.

Wine spirit

Gold itself is very inert and reacts with a very limited list of substances. For example, to dissolve it, you will need the so-called
aqua regia is a mixture of concentrated hydrochloric and nitric acids. It is for this reason that to clean gilding it is best to use certain chemical compounds that eliminate the need to mechanically act on the surface of the object.

In this sense, wine alcohol is simply an ideal remedy. It will easily eliminate darkening and unsightly stains.

The procedure is as follows:

moisten the object with wine alcohol;
leave for a couple of minutes;
Wipe dry with a cotton pad.

This method is perfect for cleaning bracelets and watches.

How to remove black spots

The most effective means in this case:

egg yolk;
light beer;
onion juice;
liquid soap with the addition of ammonia;
dishwashing liquid.

In particular, you need to soak the decoration in beer for about 30 minutes. After that, all you have to do is rinse it under the tap and dry it.

The yolk is beaten, and then, using a piece of cotton wool, distributed over the object that has lost its original shine. Leave until dry, then wash off with warm water.

Finely grate the onion and apply the resulting pulp to the product. Leave for one and a half hours. Wash thoroughly with soap and wipe with a soft cloth.

Laundry soap (2 tablespoons) is mixed with ammonia (8-10 drops) and diluted with warm water to a volume of 1 liter. Gold-plated objects are immersed in the composition for about 20 minutes. Then take it out and rinse under the tap. There is no need to wipe - just let it dry.

If the jewelry has inserts made of stones, then it is more advisable to use regular shampoo. They rub it over the entire surface and, wrapping it in a wet cloth, leave it in this state for 20-40 minutes. Then they wash and shine with suede.

Removing greenish plaque

The characteristic stains usually appear due to the oxidation of copper contained in both silver and gold alloys used in the jewelry industry.

Fortunately, it is not difficult to eliminate them - the previously described solution of laundry soap with ammonia is suitable for this.

In addition, there is another proven method - the object is immersed in a pan with a soda solution, covered with aluminum foil. Then it is boiled for at least 30 minutes. This option is suitable for cutlery, but is not suitable if you need to clean jewelry with stones.

Jewelry and tableware with gilding look beautiful and elegant, but are much cheaper than pure gold. But over time, such things become dull, and dark spots appear on the once shiny surface. This means it’s time to find out how to clean gold plate without harming it.

Important cleaning rules

Most often, silver items are plated with gold, but the cleaning methods for these two materials are different. To properly clean gold-plated silver at home, you need to consider the following features:

For cleaning you only need to use a piece of suede cloth, and it must be dry.
First, you need to prepare the surface of the product by removing grease, dirt and dust from it. This must be done, otherwise you may not see the result of further manipulations. For this purpose, it is best to use alcohol or turpentine: a cotton swab is moistened in the selected solution and used to wipe the entire surface of the product.

If desired, you can pre-wash the gold-plated silver; to do this, place the item in a deep bowl of water, adding a soap solution and a little ammonia. The product should be left in this state for 15–20 minutes, then dried and proceeded to cleaning. This method will get rid of the greenish tint that gilding can acquire.

Methods for removing stains from gold plated

Gold-plated silver can be cleaned from tarnish in a variety of ways, so you can choose the appropriate option for yourself. You should rely only on the components that you have at your disposal at the moment, so as not to waste time purchasing them, and all methods are the same in terms of effectiveness.

Removing stains using wine alcohol

Wine alcohol not only cleans gilded silver from darkening, but also returns it to its original shine, pleasing to the eye. You just need to moisten a soft sponge in alcohol and wipe the entire surface of the product. Wine alcohol can also be used for prevention by regularly treating the gilding with it.

Cleaning gold plate with beer

This drink even removes neglected dark spots on gold-plated items. Choose any type of beer (preferably dark). Soak the gold-plated silver in the drink for at least half an hour, then hold it under running water and dry.

Beer treats gilding with care, even with regular use it will not cause harm. After treatment, wipe the surface with a piece of suede to add even more shine.

Egg white against darkening

Cleaning with a cotton pad dipped in egg white will help restore the gilding to its original brightness and shine. If desired, you can mix the protein with one tablespoon of the “Whiteness” product. Work with this product carefully; be sure to wear rubber gloves before use.

Soap solution for cleaning gold plating

Regular soap or dish detergent will restore the product to its former irresistibility. It should be placed in a deep bowl with warm, not too hot, water for 20 - 30 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of crushed soap or dish soap to the water. After time has passed, you need to go over the entire surface of the gilding with a soft-bristled toothbrush, the top bristles of which have been previously trimmed.

Prevention measures

To ensure that the problem of tarnished gold-plated silver no longer arises, you must follow certain rules for caring for such products:

Do not store them in places where the temperature and humidity are both high, for example, in the bathroom. The impact of these two factors will immediately greatly reduce the service life of the product, which, at the same time, will begin to fade and darken much faster.
All gold-plated jewelry must be stored separately, preferably wrapped in suede fabric. If we are talking about cutlery, they should be in a case that will also separate them from each other.
After each use of jewelry, you should wipe it with a piece of suede to remove particles of grease and dirt. It is better to carry out such minimal cleaning regularly than to subsequently clean already darkened jewelry.
Do not expose gold plates to direct sunlight, as this will cause them to fade and darken. Keep such items away from sharp objects that could scratch the surface.

Silver with gilding is quite common, since jewelry made from it looks luxurious and aristocratic, emphasizes the taste of its owner, and is not very expensive. However, sooner or later the time comes to clean your gold-plated silver. This can be done at home. We invite you to get acquainted with the most popular methods.

Basic Rules

To properly clean gold-plated silver and not cause harm to it, you must adhere to the following rules.

Chalk and tooth powder, of course, can remove dirt, but they will scratch the surface of the product itself, so they cannot be used.
For work, you cannot use products intended for cleaning both gold and silver.
If the dirt is not severe, a piece of suede cloth will help get rid of it. It will also allow you to polish the cleaned jewelry and give it shine.
Some gold-plated chains have clasps made of base metal, so they may rust if exposed to water. This is why the part of the jewelry with the clasp is not immersed in an aqueous solution.

The first stage of cleaning gold-plated silver is degreasing the contamination, for which the surface should be wiped with ethyl alcohol (pure) or vinegar diluted with water (2 tablespoons per glass).

Soap

If the contamination is minor, a soap solution is the easiest and most convenient way to return silver to its former glory. Mix 2 tsp in a liter of water. grated soap, after which the jewelry is immersed in the liquid. They must be gently rubbed with a sponge, then rinsed.

Ammonia and soap

This method helps to quickly get rid of greenish stains that can appear on gold-plated silver items. Let's consider the procedure.

Add 1 tsp to a liter of warm water. soap (you can rub the bar on a fine grater or just take liquid).
Add ammonia to the resulting soapy liquid - 6 drops.
Mix the resulting solution.
Immerse the products in it for half an hour.
Rinse the silver.

The final stage is to polish the gilding with a suede cloth.

Silver cannot be kept in solution for longer than prescribed; this will not make it cleaner, and the gilding layer may peel off.

Wine alcohol

This substance helps to quickly and effortlessly remove stains from a gold-plated item without spoiling it. How to proceed?

Soak a sponge in alcohol.
Rub the product until completely clean.

Finally, you can also use a piece of suede, then the products will shine like new.

This simple product will help restore the beauty and shine of gold-plated jewelry and remove blackness. You should proceed like this:

Pour 300 ml of water into a container and place on the stove;
place jewelry in heated water;
add 1 tsp. baking soda;
boil;
boil for 5 minutes;
turn off the stove, cool the water and rinse the product.

You cannot rub gold plate with a sponge and soda - the dirt will be removed, but the item itself will be scratched.

Beer

This drink does a good job of cleaning gold-plated silverware and removing light stains from jewelry. The procedure is as follows:

pour beer into a container;
place the products there for half an hour;
rinse the silver under running cold water;
dry.

For shine, you can rub it with a suede cloth.

Soap, Vaseline and chalk

The procedure is simple.

Take 1 tbsp. l. Vaseline, chalk, water and pre-grated laundry soap.
Using a soft cloth, gold-plated products are carefully coated with this composition. You can’t rub it, you just need to apply the product to the surface.
Wait 10 minutes.
Rinse the items and rub them with suede.

A simple, effective and safe means of updating gold plated items at home.

Add 3 tbsp to a glass of warm water. l. Sahara.
Stir thoroughly.
Place decorations in the glass.
Leave for 4 hours.
Remove items and rinse.

This method will not help get rid of stubborn dirt and heavy dirt, but it will perfectly renew the jewelry and return it to its original shine.

Lemon acid

It’s easy to prepare a composition that helps clean homemade gold-plated silver items.

Pour ½ liter of water into an enamel pan.
Add a packet of citric acid (15 g) to it.
Place the container on the fire and bring to a boil.
Place decorations in boiling liquid.
Boil them for 15-20 minutes.

Javel water and protein

Another effective remedy to help clean gold-plated items. Javel water can be purchased in specialized stores or marked as “White”. The sequence of actions is as follows:

beat 1 egg white - with a fork, whisk or mixer;
add 1.5 tbsp to it. l. "Whiteness" or Javel water;
Place the decoration into the resulting thick mixture;
gently rub the product with a sponge;
rinse.

You should work with gloves to avoid damaging the skin of your hands.

Onion

This is one of the simplest and safest ways to update the appearance of gold plating and remove minor stains. Rub the decoration or cutlery with onions, leave for an hour and a half, then rinse and wipe.

You can simply place the product that needs cleaning in onion pulp, which is easy to prepare: pass the vegetable through a meat grinder or blender.

Salt

This method will not help get rid of stubborn stains, but will return the product's shine and lightly clean the metal.

200 ml of water is poured into the pan.
Add 1 tsp. salt.
The solution is placed on gas and heated.
Products are immersed in it, brought to a boil and boiled for 15 minutes.

After this, jewelry and cutlery should be rinsed and polished with suede.

Pollution prevention

In order for gilded silver to retain its attractive appearance for a long time, you should follow simple care rules that will help avoid contamination.

When exposed to sweat, silver oxidizes, so items made from it should be removed during sports training.
Cutlery is washed and wiped with a suede cloth after each use.
Gilding and gold products are stored separately. When choosing a place where such things will lie, you should remember that dampness leads to the appearance of black spots.
Products made of gold-plated silver should not be exposed to direct sunlight.
The gold plating layer may be damaged by accidental exposure to perfume or cosmetics.
Wipe gold-plated silver with a soft flannel.

Following these simple rules will help you achieve an attractive appearance for gold-plated items and jewelry for a long time.

The gold plated silver jewelry and cutlery are very beautiful. One problem is that they quickly fade, even if you “look after” them and store them under normal conditions. But you won’t have to gild them again; regular cleaning will suffice. Read on to learn how to use simple home remedies to clean and restore the shine of your silver jewelry.

Soap solution and dishwashing detergent

Use a soapy solution at home to clean only light stains.

Wipe your gold-plated rings and earrings with a cotton swab soaked in alcohol.

Fill a deep bowl with warm water.

Add one teaspoon of soap shavings or a little dishwashing detergent.

Immerse your gold-plated items in the solution and leave for 30-35 minutes.

Go over the surface with a toothbrush with soft bristles.

Rinse the product under running clean water.

Wipe with a dry suede cloth. The cleaning is over.

Before cleaning silver from darkening, treat it with turpentine or ethyl alcohol. Use these substances to remove all dust and wipe dark areas. Then start cleaning.

Granulated sugar will perfectly clean light stains on silver items.

Place a glass of sugar in a bowl.

Add 5-6 tablespoons of warm water.

Stir. Place your bracelets and rings into the resulting thick solution.

Leave it there for a couple of hours.

Rinse, dry with a soft cloth and finish cleaning.

Vinegar

Vinegar perfectly cleans even fairly large and old dark stains.

Pour a liter of lukewarm water into a bowl.

Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar.

“Drown” your gold-plated items in the resulting solution.

Wait 20-25 minutes.

Rinse the decorations thoroughly.

Wipe until shiny with a dry piece of suede cloth.

Direct sunlight is very dangerous for gold-plated silver. They are the main cause of tarnishing. Protect your rings and bracelets from the sun.

Ammonia + soap solution

This couple will help you clean very dirty items.

Lightly heat a liter of water.

Add a teaspoon of grated soap.

Add 6-8 drops of ammonia.

Stir the solution lightly.

You place the gilded silver in the liquid and leave it for half an hour. There is no need to overexpose, otherwise the gilding on the product will literally peel off.

Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water and wipe with a piece of suede cloth.

You can use any beer, but dark beer cleans especially well.

Pour some beer into a bowl.

Place the silver in it for half an hour.

Wash it. Rub thoroughly with a piece of soft cloth.

Wine spirit

Wine alcohol will remove even the most “corrosive” hard-to-remove dark stains. And there is no danger from him.

Moisten a sponge with alcohol and wipe the silver surface thoroughly.

After 10 minutes, wash with water.

Wipe with a dry suede cloth.

Keep gold-plated silver in a dry place. Due to high humidity, products made of this metal become dull and dark spots appear on them.

Egg yolk paired with Domestos will remove almost any dirt from silver.

Beat the egg yolk well.

You add a spoonful of Domestos or some other detergent based on Javel water to it.

Soak a cotton pad or swab in the resulting mixture and carefully wipe your silver.

Wash, wipe with dry cloth (better use suede).

Keep rings, earrings and other jewelry made of gilded silver separately from each other - then they will retain their shine longer. If you store them in a common box, put each piece of jewelry in a separate plastic bag or wrap it in cloth.

Baking soda

A simple, effective way to clean silver items from heavy stains.

Soak the products in soapy water for 30-40 minutes.

Pour 50 grams of baking soda into a saucepan.

Add a liter of water. Boil it.

Stir and wait until the solution cools slightly.

Then put gilded silver in it for an hour and a half.

Rinse the product and wipe with a towel.

Rub until shiny with a suede cloth.

Soda slurry

When the silver has completely darkened, use soda slurry.

To create a paste, add a few drops of water to 20 grams of soda.

Apply the paste with your fingers onto the darkened surface.

Leave for about twenty minutes.

Gently clean the items with a cotton swab or a very soft toothbrush.

Wash with lukewarm water, wipe with a dry cloth.

Regular Coca-Cola or Sprite will make the silver shine again.

Pour cola into an enamel bowl.

You put your silver there. Boil for 5-10 minutes.

Wipe and dry with a soft cloth.

Gilded tableware and jewelry have always looked very elegant, despite the fact that they are not made of pure gold. The main problem is always the gradual fading of the item. Of course, you can reduce such cases to a minimum, but what to do if the product has already lost its attractiveness? You will learn from this article how to clean a gold-plated chain at home and prevent it from darkening in the future.

Basic Rules

Most often, silver items are plated with gold, but the methods for cleaning them differ from each other. To properly clean gilding at home, you need to consider the following points:

When cleaning, use a dry chamois cloth.
Before starting the procedure, it is necessary to degrease the product. To do this, you need to moisten a cotton pad in turpentine or alcohol and wipe the item with it.
If desired, you can wash the gold-plated item using a small amount of ammonia and soap solution. You need to put the accessory in such a container with the solution for 15-20 minutes.

Important! Such a bath will help to avoid the greenish tint that the product may acquire after restoration of the gilding.

How to clean gold plated chains and spoons?

There are many ways to clean gold plated spoons at home. However, to get started, you need to arm yourself with the following tools:

Soap.
Dishwashing liquid.
Ammonia.
Turpentine.
Egg yolk.
Vinegar.
Petrolatum.
Beer.
Chalk, which will need to be finely crushed first.
Ethanol.
Alum.
Nitric acid.

From these things it is worth choosing those that are suitable for one method or another. In addition to basic cleaning products, some minor items will also come in handy:

Suede scraps of fabric, sponges.
Deep bowls or saucepans.
Soft and pure cotton fabrics.
An unnecessary toothbrush with soft bristles.

Important! Please note that gold-plated spoons and jewelry cannot be cleaned with the following materials:

Dry powders.

Hard washcloths and brushes.

Acids that act aggressively on the material.

Basic methods for cleaning gold plates

Gold-plated materials can be restored using many proven methods - the best option is up to you to decide. Below are a number of the most effective and popular options.

Use of wine alcohol

A material such as wine alcohol not only perfectly restores gilding, but also gives the processed object the shine that it had on the store counter.

To process an item in this way, you only need to follow two steps:

Dampen a soft sponge with the mixture.
Wipe the surface of the accessory with it.

Important! This alcohol can be used not only to restore gilding, but also for weekly cleaning of gold-plated spoons or decorative jewelry to add extra shine.

We use beer

This drink can remove even the most stubborn stains on a gold-plated item. You can use any type of beer, but many note that dark varieties help best.

The process of restoring gilding is extremely simple:

Soak the item in the drink for about an hour (it all depends on the condition of the gilding). Even with regular use, beer will not cause any harm to the gold-plated product.
After the time has passed, rinse the accessory under running water.
Dry the item.
Wipe it with suede to add extra shine.

How will egg white help?

No matter how exotic this method may seem, it is possible to restore the former shine to gilded silver by using egg white. To do this, you just need to dip a cotton pad in it and clean the product with it.

Important! If desired, egg white can be mixed with “Whiteness”, however, you need to work with such a product carefully. It is recommended to wear protective gloves before working.

Classic soap solution

You can clean gold-plated earrings or other materials using a regular soap solution. To do this, you need to follow the following algorithm:

Mix 1 teaspoon of crushed soap or dishwashing detergent with water at a temperature of 30-40 degrees in a pre-selected container.
Place the product in this solution.
After a period of time that you choose yourself, you need to brush the surface of the product with a soft toothbrush.

Nitric acid and alum

This method is only suitable for gold-plated copper:

Dissolve 40 grams of alum and 50 grams of nitric acid in half a glass of water.
Apply the resulting solution to the object.
Leave it in this position for 20 minutes.
Polish the product thoroughly.

What to do to prevent gold plating from tarnishing?

To ensure that the question of how to clean gold-plated spoons at home no longer arises, you must treat such items with care. To do this, you must remember the following rules:

It is unacceptable to store gold-plated items in rooms where moisture and temperature often fluctuate, for example, in the bathroom or kitchen. The impact of these factors, which are unpleasant for gilding, will significantly reduce the service life of the item, and at the same time its attractiveness.
Any gold-plated jewelry should be stored away from other metals. It would be ideal if they were wrapped in suede fabric and stored in a separate box. If we are talking about gold-plated cutlery, then it is also better to store them in a special case away from other cutlery.
After an item is used, it is necessary to wipe it with a suede cloth to remove a thin layer of fat and excess dirt. It is better to carry out such mini-cleaning regularly than to restore an already blackened coating.
Protect gilding from direct sunlight - ultraviolet radiation also affects the brightness and shine of the object.
Keep such items away from sharp objects to avoid scratching the finish.