How to clean gold with ammonia?

Each of us has our favorite gold jewelry. But unfortunately, over time, gold items begin to fade and lose their original attractive appearance. If you notice that your jewelry has begun to lose its radiance and beauty, do not be upset, as gold jewelry is easy enough to clean.

The most effective method for cleaning gold jewelry is ammonia. The most important thing is to properly prepare a cleaning solution that will return your jewelry to its original appearance.

There are a number of benefits to cleaning gold jewelry with ammonia:

• Availability - ammonia, well-known to all of us, can be easily bought at any nearest pharmacy, and for many people it can always be found at hand in a home first-aid kit;
• Low price - ammonia is very affordable;
• Simplicity and speed of the cleaning procedure;
• Using different versions of recipes for a solution with ammonia, it will be possible to clean even those products that contain some types of precious stones;
• Pristine perfect appearance and beautiful gloss after cleaning;
• This cleaning method is completely safe.

Of course, this cleaning method has certain disadvantages:

• Unpleasant odor - ammonia has a rather pungent specific smell, to which some people may have a very acute reaction;
• The smell of ammonia can persist for some time on gold items that have been cleaned. But within a couple of days, the smell will disappear without a trace;
• Hard-to-reach areas of jewelry will have to be cleaned by mechanical methods, which is almost impossible to do at home;
• This method should not be used for products with a matte finish, as ammonia can damage it;
• If your jewelry also contains gemstones, it is best to have the jewelry cleaned by an expert, as solutions containing ammonia can damage some types of stones.

There are many different recipes for cleaning gold with ammonia. However, before proceeding with their preparation, it is advisable to follow a simple recommendation that is common to all cases and cleaning methods. Initially, you should rinse the product in water with the addition of a soap solution. Thereby you will eliminate dirt and dust adhered to the outside of the product.

There are several ways to clean gold items:

1. The simplest method for refining gold is to use pure ammonia. It must be applied to a cotton sponge and wiped off the product; you can also use cotton swabs for this procedure. After cleaning, the jewelry should be rinsed under water.
2. Another rather gentle method for light pollution is a solution of water and ammonia - 1 tablespoon of ammonia should be used for 1 glass of water. Jewelry must be left in this product for half an hour, then rinsed under running water.
3. Also, a solution that contains ammonia, pure water and washing powder is considered a safe and careful option for purifying gold (you can use baby powder, since it is not aggressive, it does not contain all sorts of flavors and other components we do not need).

The recipe is very simple - you need to take one teaspoon of ammonia, one tablespoon of washing powder, one glass of water. Mix all the ingredients well. It is necessary that the washing powder is completely dissolved in the water. The resulting solution will be especially effective during the first half hour, while the ammonia has not evaporated yet. With this tool, you can clean yellow gold products that may contain precious stones. The solution copes well with old greasy dirt.

In one glass of pure water, 25-35 ml of peroxide, one teaspoon of ammonia and half a teaspoon of liquid soap are dissolved. The resulting product should stand for a quarter of an hour. This recipe is not advisable to use for cleaning jewelry if they contain semiprecious stones, since hydrogen peroxide can negatively affect their condition - stones can become tarnished.

Any piece of jewelry must be cleaned very carefully so as not to spoil its beautiful appearance. Which cleaning solution to use will depend on the type of gold.

So, for yellow and red gold, you can use solutions that include ammonia. And the concentration of ammonia in the cleaning agent must correspond to the sample of the precious metal. For yellow gold, the following ratios should be used:

• 375 test - up to 17% alcohol;
• 585 test - up to 30% alcohol;
• 750 test - up to 50% alcohol.

For red (rose, orange) gold:

• 375 test - up to 15% alcohol;
• 595 test - up to 13% alcohol;
• 750 test - up to 5% alcohol.

For other types of gold (green, white, etc.), the use of solutions containing alcohol is completely undesirable. Also, self-cleaning at home is not advisable for jewelry containing precious stones. But if you nevertheless decided to clean your own gold product decorated with stones, replace ammonia with ammonia solution - it is not so dangerous, has a lower concentration, so it will not spoil the color of the stone and its cut.

To prepare the solution, take six parts of water and one part of ammonia, you also need to add a little detergent. The jewelry should be kept in the prepared solution for 15 to 20 minutes, during which time the ammonia will cope with the dirt on the jewelry, but will not cause them any harm.

As you can see, it is very easy to clean gold jewelry at home using ammonia, the main thing is to properly prepare a cleaning solution. However, gold is a very capricious metal; sometimes it is quite difficult to remove dirt from its surface. And if you did not manage to clean the gold piece at home the first time, in such situations it is better to take the piece to a jewelry workshop. A professional will cope with this task very quickly and efficiently, and your jewelry will delight you for many, many years to come.

For more ways to clean gold, see below.