Can You Clean Jewelry with Vinegar?
Answer at a Glance: You can clean many jewelry pieces with vinegar but there are also pieces that you should not.
Dig Deeper
- Cleaning Copper Jewelry with Vinegar
- Cleaning Silver Jewelry with Vinegar
- Cleaning Gold Jewelry with Vinegar
- Never Clean These Jewelry Items with Vinegar
- References
Vinegar is a versatile product that is not only tasty but has been demonstrated to clean various items to replace harsh chemicals. If you are looking for natural methods to clean jewelry with vinegar, here is a collection of tips we have gathered from notable online sources as well as various books published on the subject.
Two crucial cautionary notes: First, vinegar is not a one-size-fits-all cleaning solution. It can be corrosive and potentially damage certain items, including some jewelry. Second, not all advice found in books is reliable. We’ve included author biographies to help you make informed decisions. It’s also wise to test new cleaning methods on an inconspicuous spot on your items.
Cleaning Copper Jewelry with Vinegar
Flour and Vinegar Paste Recipe for Copper
Karyn Maier, the best-selling author of The Naturally Clean Home 150 Super-Easy Herbal Formulas for Green Cleaning, shares her expertise with this recipe for cleaning copper with vinegar.
Mix:
- 1-1/4 cup of all-purpose white flour
- 1 cup of white vinegar
- ½ cup of salt
- 5 drops of citrus essential oil.
Spread the paste over your copper and let sit overnight. Rinse and dry thoroughly.
Author Bio: “Karyn Siegel-Maier is the best-selling author of The Naturally Clean Home and a writer who specializes in herbal medicine, natural health and wellness, and green living. Her work has appeared in numerous consumer and industry publications, including Mother Earth Living, Mother Earth News, Let’s Live, Natural Living Today, Real Woman, The Herb Quarterly, Delicious!, Better Nutrition, Natural Pharmacy, and Energy Times. A life-long student of herbal wisdom, guided by the seasons, she spends her time writing, foraging, gardening, cooking, and practicing the botanical arts, from tincturing to blending teas and making natural products for the home and body.” [1]
The Naturally Clean Home 150 Super-Easy Herbal Formulas for Green Cleaning
Vinegar and Salt Tarnished Copper Solution
Bea Johnson, the author of Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life, suggests a two-ingredient solution using vinegar and salt that works for tarnished copper, bronze, and brass.
Mix:
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1/4 cup of vinegar
Apply the salt and vinegar solution to your tarnished copper. Rinse with warm water. Polish with a soft cloth. [2]
Author Bio: “Bea Johnson is a Franco-American minimalist, internationally bestselling author, and inspirational speaker, known for initiating the movement of waste-free living in the 21st century. She is a Grand Prize winner of The Green Awards and the founder of Bulk Finder, a web-based app which points to thousands of bulk locations worldwide. She currently lives in a 188 square-foot trailer as she experiments with tiny living and travels full time across the US and Canada with her husband, her chihuahua, and her famous fifteen-piece wardrobe.”Books Limited, 2013.
Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life
Cleaning Silver Jewelry with Vinegar
Vinegar and Baking Soda to Clean Silver Jewelry
The editors at Reader’s Digest offer many tips for cleaning with vinegar, including this one to make your silver jewelry shine.
- Mix together ½ cup of white vinegar with 2 tablespoons of baking soda.
- Soak your jewelry in the solution for three hours.
- Rinse with cold water.
- Dry with a soft, clean cloth.
About: “Online RD.com publishes hundreds of original articles a month to give homeowners peace of mind, and save them time and money, by helping them know exactly what and what not to worry about.”[3]
Vinegar and Salt Silver Cleaning Alternative
If you don’t have baking soda in your pantry, Joan Foley Adducci, the author of Dollarwi$E…$Aving $Mart: Living Better for Le$$, suggests cleaning your silver jewelry with a mixture of vinegar and salt.
- Mix 2 tablespoons of salt with 1/2 cup white vinegar.
- Soak for 2-3 hours.
- Rinse thoroughly with water.
- Dry with a soft, clean cloth.
Author Bio: Unknown [4]
Dollarwi$E…$Aving $Mart: Living Better for Le$$
Cleaning Gold Jewelry with Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar to Clean Gold Jewelry
The Vinegar Institute, an international trade association representing vinegar manufacturers and bottlers, shares this gold jewelry cleaner recipe that won their June 2007 vinegar online use contest. [5]
- Use one cup of apple cider vinegar.
- Submerge solid gold jewelry items in vinegar for 15 minutes.
- Remove and dry with a cloth.
Baking Soda and Vinegar to Clean Gold
Reader’s Digest published a great article on cleaning jewelry at home, including gold, using everyday household items. Here’s their quick fix for cleaning gold with vinegar.
- Cover your gold item with a light coating of baking soda.
- Pour a bit of vinegar over it.
- Rinse clean.
Note: Do not use this technique with jewelry containing pearls or gemstones, as it could damage their finish or loosen any glue. [6]
Never Clean These Jewelry Items with Vinegar
Pearls
According to Antoinette Matlins, author of The Pearl Book: The Definitive Buying Guide: How to Select, Buy, Care For & Enjoy Pearls, you should never use vinegar to clean pearls. The acid in vinegar could damage the calcium carbonate makeup of the pearl.
Author Bio: “Antoinette Matlins, P.G., is an internationally respected gem and jewelry expert, author, and lecturer. Honored with the international Accredited Gemologists Association’s highest award for excellence in gemology, Ms. Matlins is the author of many books that are widely used throughout the world by consumers and professionals in the gem and jewelry field.” [7]
The Pearl Book: The Definitive Buying Guide: How to Select, Buy, Care For & Enjoy Pearls
Gemstones
According to Cheryl Roberts of Lexie Jordan Jewelry, you should never clean gemstones with vinegar because its acidity can damage gemstones permanently, particularly porous or organic stones. [8]
About: Cheryl Roberts is the designer at Lexie Jordan Jewelry in Boca Raton, Florida.
Note: Vinegar can also dissolve the glue in gemstone settings.
Gold and Silver Plated Jewelry
Miotto, makers of gold and silver-plated items, warns people never to use abrasive substances like lemon, vinegar, salt, parmesan, or cola because they tend to corrode gold and silver-plated surfaces. [9]
References
- [1] Maier, Karyn. The Naturally Clean Home 150 Super-Easy Herbal Formulas for Green Cleaning. 2nd ed. North Adams, MA: Storey Pub., 2008. Print.
- [2] Johnson, Bea. Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life. United Kingdom, Penguin Books Limited, 2013.
- [3] Reader’s Digest – “12 Home Products for Cleaning Jewelry.”
- [4] Adducci, Joan Foley. Dollarwi$E…$Aving $Mart: Living Better for Le$$. United States, Xlibris US, 2019.
- [5] The Vinegar Institute – “Uses & Tips – Cleaner for Gold Jewelry.”
- [6] Reader’s Digest – “How to Clean Jewelry at Home: 14 Household Items That Work Miracles.”
- [7] Matlins, Antoinette Leonard. The Pearl Book: The Definitive Buying Guide: How to Select, Buy, Care For & Enjoy Pearls. 3rd ed. Woodstock, Vt.: GemStone Press, 2002. Print.
- [8] Roberts, Cheryl – Lexie Jordan Jewelry – “How to Clean Sterling Silver with Gemstones.”
- [9] Miotto – “How to Clean and Protect Silver Plated and Gold Plated.”
