Having in mind the current situation, as -among other diseases- the pandemic coronavirus keeps spreading, most of us have been activated to find solutions to help us stay safe and healthy. The current purchases include masks, plastic gloves and sanitizers as well while the most common advice is to wash our hands and get our mobile phones well cleaned. However, no one is referring to other germ sources such as jewelry.
Even though personal hygiene is a crucial factor, the sanitizing of our jewelry should not be omitted. More specifically, dirty pieces of jewelry can easily cause an infection, especially in cases of types of jewelry that are in a constant contact with our skin, such as rings. It is a fact that jewels that are poorly cleaned can carry a big amount of bacteria that are dangerous to our health.
For this reason, it is very important to sterilize our jewelry often, in order to avoid causing health issues, by following the steps below:
1. REMOVE YOUR JEWELS
You need to carefully remove all the pieces of jewelry you are wearing before washing your hands so that all parts of your skin can be cleaned, even the ones covered by the jewel.
2. HANDS WASHING
You should wash your hands properly, for at least 20 seconds. The proper handwashing is very crucial in an effort to avoid the spread of germs to jewels or other parts of our body. It should be noted that handwashing is considered to be the number one rule regarding personal hygiene.
3. JEWELRY HYGIENE/ HOW TO SANITIZE
The following experts’ advices will help you sanitize and sterilize your jewels, depending on their type, in the right and safe way.
You should keep in mind that NOT every cleaning product, available at home, is appropriate for jewelry disinfection (such as bleach); not even the cleaning by using anti-bacterial wipes or alcohol.
In case you notice any change due to antiseptic gel usage, wash your jewels in warm, soapy water and then rinse them. In this way, all the excess chemicals that have been stuck on the jewel’s surface will be removed.
14 or 18 carats gold
Regarding 14 or 18 carats golden jewels, what you can use to properly sanitize them is pure cleaning products, such us dishwashing detergent or white vinegar.
For example, you could use a soft brush or a soft fabric, soaked in warm water (not boiled water) and a gentle detergent. Then you rinse them under the tap.
Alternatively, place our jewels in a bowl with white vinegar and leave them for about 10-15 minutes. You should, once in a while, stir carefully the water. Then you clean your jewels with a soft brush or with a soft fabric and then you rinse them under the tap.
The cleaning and disinfection of jewelry such as wedding rings and rings in general that you are wearing them every day, shall be done every time you wash your hands; otherwise what you get is an in effective and in sufficient handwashing.
JEWELS WITH GEMSTONES
Jewels with stones such as pearls or other gemstones, such as opalium and turquoise are sensitive to alcohol and there is a great chance to get them damaged. When there is a doubt as far as the resistance of the stone set in any of your jewels, it is better to remove the piece of jewelry before sanitize your hands.
For this specific category of jewelry, you could use an unused, clean make-up brush and warm, soapy water to clean them and then you should place them in a clean towel to get them dried.
SILVER, STEEL OR ALLOY
Last but not least, the best and safest way to clean and disinfect jewelry crafted in silver, stainless steel or in other metal mixtures is with warm, soapy water. And after that, as it was mentioned above, you should wipe them with a clean towel or with a soft piece of fabric.
Do your best to eliminate the spread of germs, not only to protect yourself but also to protect the people around you.
