How to Clean Costume Jewelry

I have lot’s of costume jewelry, let’s face it we can’t all afford real diamonds. I don’t wear it often so many times I go to pull it out, and it’s tarnished. You can’t use regular jewelry cleaner, meant for real stones and metals, on costume jewelry, or it will eat away the finish. I’m going show you how to clean costume jewelry safely and not ruin the finish.

I was getting ready to attend a school fundraiser for a friend of mine and pulled out this necklace and pair of earrings. They were tarnished with some green corrosion on them. Sterling silver and silver plate have copper in them, so they oxidize from air and body oils causing tarnishing.

I recently started using a few essential oils and love them for making homemade cleaners. Lemon is a great essential for cleaning and disinfecting. Take a small bowl and fill it with 1/3 cup of water. Put 3 drops of lemon essential oil in it. Place your jewelry in  and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Don’t worry if you leave it in longer it won’t hurt it.

After they soak, get out an old toothbrush and a towel. Place your jewelry on the towel and scrub lightly with the toothbrush. You will see the tarnish start to come off onto the towel.

Rinse under clean water and wipe dry with your towel. You can see how much better they look now, and their gems are sparkly! By the way, the brown you are seeing in one of the earrings is the reflection of my hand.

If you’d like to try other cleaning tips with essential oils, you might want to try this homemade carpet deodorizer. It works great, you just sprinkle it on your carpet and vacuum it up. The best part is it won’t make you sneeze from the strong perfume smell!