Tips on How to Clean a Gold Chain Without Causing Damage

When you invest in a timeless classic like a gold chain, you want to preserve its warm sparkle for years. Although gold is much easier to maintain than silver, there are some tips and tricks to keeping your gold looking as glittering as ever. 

Gold is dulled when it’s worn down by your skin oils, sweat, and grime. Cleaning your gold chain is challenging because it is made up of many different links. You have to be extremely careful when cleaning these links because material can get stuck in between them. Too much pressure could make them snap. 

There are five reliable methods of cleaning your gold chains—with soap and water, with a solution, ultrasonically, with toothpaste, or by boiling it. Here are some more details about these methods that clean your chains without causing damage. 

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Soap and Water Method

You can use basic blue dish soap or laundry detergent diluted in water or grate a bar soap into warm water and stir to create a lather. Your cleaning solution needs to be very, very foamy. Take care when handling your chain, as gold is a soft metal and, although it is strong, you don’t want to damage the exterior by hitting your gold chain on the edge of the sink. 

Soak your jewelry in the soapy solution and stir it around to get the links moving in different directions. Some people swear by putting the warm, soapy liquid into a Ziploc bag with their gold chains and gently shaking the bag to clean them. 

After your jewelry has soaked for a while, rinse the chains thoroughly and dry them, first on a towel and then by wiping them with a soft cloth. If you have used diluted dish or laundry soap, be careful to rinse your chain well, so no residue is left behind. 

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Peroxide Solution

Using a teaspoon of ammonia, 1½ to 3 teaspoons of hydrogen peroxide, a few drops of laundry detergent, and a half cup of warm water, you can clean your chains in an effective but old-fashioned way. In this old recipe, you soak your gold jewelry in this mixture for a half hour, take it out, rinse it, and let it dry. Your jewelry will gleam like never before. 

You shouldn’t use this solution on jewelry with stones, or that’s constructed out of any other metal other than gold, or you may be looking for a necklace chain repair shop. But if you like your chains in gold, you will be amazed at how great they look after this treatment.  

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Ultrasonic Cleaning Procedure

An ultrasonic cleaner is the next level in jewelry maintenance. It’s a device that emits high-frequency sound waves to create agitation in water and shake dirt and debris from the crevices in-between the links of your gold chain. 

You can use an ultrasonic cleanser with your soap solution or with a professional jeweler solution. If you don’t have an ultrasonic cleaner at home and want an expert cleaning device to increase your chains’ longevity and glow, you can buy one for under $30. 

Use Toothpaste to Clean Gold Chains

A quick-and-easy way to clean your jewelry is by applying toothpaste to it while you’re taking care of your morning routine. Rub the paste onto your chains and let it sit while you brush your teeth. Then rinse your chains well in warm water and pat dry. 

You shouldn’t use anything but a soft toothbrush on your gold chains, as the toothpaste contains mildly abrasive particles which could scratch your chain if you scrub too hard. Use a baby toothbrush to remove grime from between the links. Alternatively, use tooth powder, which isn’t as common as toothpaste but just as effective. 

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Boil Gold Chains

The final way to effectively clean your gold chains is by boiling the grit away in water and baking soda. First, carefully lower your chains into a pot—refractory glass or enamel are best—and then add the water with 1 to 2 tablespoons of baking soda. You can also add a little laundry detergent to enhance this method.

Slowly bring the water to a boil and turn the heat off. Stir your chains around in the pot for a minute or two, and then pull them out carefully, laying them out to dry.

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Keep Your Gold Chains Sparkling

With materials you can find at home and no special techniques needed, these five methods of cleaning gold chains can keep your bling looking its best. All these cleaning methods effectively rid your gold chains of any grit or residue without damaging them. Remember to be gentle and rinse well. However, avoid using toothpaste, ammonia, or other harsh chemicals on pieces with gemstones or pearls, as they can dull the luster.

If you are seeking a replacement piece or adding to your collection, browse our range of solid gold jewelry in a variety of on-trend styles. At Frost NYC, we can also customize a one-of-a-kind piece.