How To Keep Your Earrings Clean and Germ Free

Canadian jewelry brand Sahar BMD

Canadian jewelry brand Sahar BMD shares tips on how to disinfect your precious earrings without ruining it

Cleaning earrings is extremely important, both for your personal hygiene and for the longevity of the earrings. Earrings are exposed to more dirt and grime than just about any other piece of jewelry, excluding rings.

Contrary to what you may believe, actually cleaning your jewelry is better than disinfecting it. Disinfectants such as bleach, chlorine or alcohol are not safe on the precious metals of your jewelry.

Here, Sahar Barati, the Founder and Creative Head of Sahar BMD, a Canadian Jewelry brand, answers some frequently asked questions on how to properly clean and disinfect the jewelries without destroying it.

How often should I clean my earrings?

It really depends on how often you wear them, and how you store them. Earrings that you wear everyday will need the most care. Take a closer look at those pairs; everyday dirt and residue from hair products can build up surprisingly quickly. For earrings you wear less often, less frequent maintenance is required.

Precious metals: How to clean silver earrings and gold earrings

To clean fine jewellery pieces, like earrings made from gold or silver, begin by cleaning up their appearance. 

The absolute best thing you can do this with is a little polishing cloth. These cost just a few dirhams and will last forever. 

Rub your polishing cloth over silver or gold earrings to take away any tarnish and leave them shining.

You can also use a little shampoo, diluted with some warm water, to wash away any further dirt your earrings might have picked up. 

Finally, it’s time to sanitise the post (that's the part of the earring that goes through your ear.) To do this, use a simple saline solution.

Take some cotton wool, dip it in salt water and rub it over the post. This will disinfect it from anything that you don’t want to be putting back in your ear.

How to clean costume earrings?

Cleaning costume earrings requires a slightly lighter touch; polishing too hard can cause gold or silver plating, or the colouring on the metal of your earrings, to be wiped away, ruining their appearance over time.

Instead of using a polishing cloth, use a microfiber cloth – the kind you probably already use to clean around the house.

You’d be surprised by how much dirt can be removed with just a bit of warm water and shampoo. Dry off with a microfibre cloth or even some kitchen roll – something that just has a tiny bit of texture to get rid of superficial dirt.

Finally, sanitise the earring posts with a saline solution.

How to clean gemstones?

Other than emeralds, diamonds and gemstones tend to be very hard, meaning they can withstand a deeper clean that will make them looking their best. 

All kinds of dirt collects in the metal setting that holds gemstones in place. Gently loosen it with a soft children's toothbrush and a bit of shampoo and water.

One important exception to this is pearls, which can dissolve over time if they get wet. So avoid using soap or water entirely on pearl earrings – instead, use a dry polishing cloth to remove surface tarnishing and keep them looking their best.

A few other key tips to note – Hand sanitizer should not be used on any organic gems, like pearls. The alcohol in sanitizer can dry out the gems and lead to surface damage or cracking. Hand sanitizer is also not safe on porous stones like turquoise. When in doubt, it is always better to take your jewelry off before washing your hands. Keep your jewelry off while you moisturize your hands as well as moisturizer can easily get into the various areas of settings on your jewelry and dirty it.

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About Sahar BMD

Since the launch of the brand, Sahar BMD has accredited jewelry professionals, and skilled executives offering clients fine fashion jewelry and funky earrings to express the everyday mood of a woman.