Your ring carries sentimental value. Your ring is also a status symbol. It’s a reflection of who you are. So why walk around with dirt on your ring? Be confident that your ring sparkles like a star in the night sky. This guide will show you how to clean your engagement ring at home — professionally.
There are four proven methods to clean your engagement ring at home with common household items:
Soap and water
Baking soda and vinegar
Beer
What Happens If You Don’t Clean Your Ring
We get it, life happens. You’re washing your hands with your engagement ring on and some bacteria from the washroom gets on it. Or you take off your engagement ring and dust settles on it.
Fast forward and you get a cut on your finger. That bacteria and dust now creates an infection. If it isn’t treated soon, let’s just say nothing good happens. Not to mention if you keep your ring on during cooking and you happen to be in contact with raw meat, you can also fall sick if the ring is not properly cleaned.
Here are a few common activities that can cause bacteria and dirt to hide in your engagement ring:
Cooking
Gardening
Eating with your hands
Taking out the trash
Cleaning dishes
Dusting or sweeping your area
Shaking someone’s hand
Applying hand lotion
Why Cleaning Your Ring is Important
Not only can having a dirty ring create possible infections which can make you very sick, not cleaning your ring is also disrespectful to the person who got it for you.
Imagine you were gifted a brand new car. You’re ecstatic the first couple of days or weeks. Then you become way too comfortable with the car and now it’s full of empty soft drink bottles, left over food containers, and smells like a compost pile. What would the person who gifted you the car think next time they see it? We’re sure they would be offended. Similarly, an engagement ring is a gift that should be taken care of with love.
Another important factor to consider is that oil and dirt buildup will block the interaction with light your stone has on your ring. So ask yourself is it worth having a gorgeous diamond with precision cuts if it’s going to be dirty?
How Often You Should Clean Your Ring
Sure you wash your hands often with the engagement ring on. But those small nooks and crannies are perfect breeding grounds for bacteria and dirt to hide. We hate to give you an “it depends” but in this case, it really does matter how often you should clean your ring.
Factors like lifestyle and activities are what you should consider when deciding how often to clean your ring. Are you working with soil in a garden or shaking quite a few hands? Then you may consider cleaning your ring often. On the other hand, if you’re quite sedentary and work an office job for instance, you could do it less often.
Getting Started
Before you get started, take off your ring (obviously). It’s also important to know if you’ll need your ring anytime soon for an event like an anniversary or someone else’s engagement — you’d want to have your ring as clean as possible prior to that.
How To Clean a Diamond Ring – Soap and Water
For most rings, soap and warm water is more than enough to clean your ring.
Here’s what you’ll need to get started:
Dish soap
Warm water
Soft bristle toothbrush
Bowl or container
Put your ring in a bowl with dish soap and warm water, and let it soak for 30 minutes.
That alone should suffice. However, if you need to remove some residue like dirt or lotion, consider using a soft bristle toothbrush to get around the stone and band. Rinse and repeat as many times as necessary.
Avoid using harsh chemicals like chlorine which can do harm to the stones and band metals. Even if you decide to go to professional jewelry cleaners, ask to make sure which chemicals they use.
How To Clean a Diamond Ring – Windex and Hydrogen Peroxide
If you’d like to take your cleaning a step further beyond soap and warm water, you can opt for a slightly stronger solution of 50% Windex and 50% hydrogen peroxide.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Windex (or any similar window cleaning solution)
Bowl or container
Soaking your ring in this Windex and hydrogen peroxide solution for 15-20 minutes should do the trick. The Windex removes the buildup of dirt on your stones and metal band. Whereas the hydrogen peroxide removes bacteria and helps restore shine.
Go in the nooks and crannies with a soft bristle toothbrush if you need to and rinse and repeat as necessary. Rinse with warm water and pat dry with a cloth when finished.
How To Clean a Diamond Ring – Baking Soda and Vinegar
The famous concoction of every child’s science project volcano has another use — cleaning your engagement ring.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Soft bristle toothbrush
Bowl or container
Use half a cup of vinegar with 2 tablespoons of baking soda in a bowl. Mix until the baking soda is completely dissolved and then dip your ring in. Let your ring soak for two hours before rinsing with lukewarm water and patting dry with a cloth.
How To Clean a Diamond Ring – Beer
Yes you read that correctly. You can use beer to add shine back to your dull and lacklustre band. We recommend using this unconventional method only for solid gold metal bands.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Beer
Soft, dry cloth
Note — Don’t use dark ale beer and do not use beer on gemstones or diamonds as you may risk staining your precious ring.
Begin by pouring a small amount of beer on a soft, dry cloth. Rub the band softly to restore sparkle and shine to the gold. Use a different cloth if possible to dry the ring.
What To Not Do When Cleaning Your Ring
Keep in mind to avoid using harsh chemicals like chlorine, bleach, or acetone. These can break down the quality of your metal band overtime. Avoid hard brush bristles as they can leave scratches on gold and platinum.
Caring For Your Ring Long Term
For a longer term approach, consider visiting a local fine jewelry store once or twice a year for a deep cleaning and keep up with your maintenance appointments.
Taking off your ring and storing it in a dry, safe place when you don’t need it like when gardening or using rubber gloves can help maintain the beauty of your ring over a longer period of time.
We would also recommend having insurance on your ring. Certain insurance plans can help protect your ring from damages and scratches if a simple polishing can’t get the job done.
Looking for the perfect ring? Check out our guide for the best places to buy an engagement ring online
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