Unlike silver, gold does not tarnish, but it can get dull after sitting in your jewelry box for a long time. For serious grime, you should take your gold to a jewelry cleaning professional, but for minor dirt you can clean your pieces at home. The most important thing to remember when cleaning gold is that you must be gentle, as you can easily scratch the soft metal.
Toothpaste
Though there is some dispute about whether toothpaste is too abrasive for gold, CBS News, in a review of house-cleaning book, claims that Colgate regular flavor is gentle enough for your gold pieces. Lightly scrub your gold with some toothpaste on a soft cloth or toothbrush. Rinse the pieces in warm water when done.
Toothbrush
A toothbrush, in conjunction with toothpaste or on its own, is a great way to clean gold. Use it to get into the cracks and crevices you can't get at with a soft cloth.
Gentle Dishsoap
Mild dish liquid like Dawn, Simple Green, or Ivory can be used to clean dirty gold. Whatever liquid you use should be non-phosphate. Add just a few drops to a sink of warm water and run the water a little bit more to get some suds. Let the pieces soak for a few minutes, then use a cotton swab to gently clean the gold. Rinse with warm water and dry with a cotton cloth.
Jeweler's Tools
If your gold is very dirty or discolored, send it to a jeweler to have it professionally cleaned. Jewelers use ultrasonic, ionic, and steam cleaners. Their machines are much better than the ones you can buy for home use, as they heat the cleaning solution. For especially dirty or large pieces, professional cleaning might be expensive.
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