How To Clean Brass Jewelry | Culture Cross

How To Clean Brass Jewelry

How To Clean Brass Jewelry!

Brass jewelry is vastly popular today, as it is more affordable than purchasing gold. Cleaning brass jewelry is fairly simple, and there are many ways we want to share with you on how to keep your brass jewelry shining!
New brass jewelry is known to be shiny and looks as good as gold! Over time, the brass material will become dull or tarnish a bit. Not to worry, this metal is easy to shine up and make look good as new! Tarnishing happens to brass when the metal gets wet, whether it is worn in the shower or from our body perspiration and is completely natural.
Sometimes, when brass metal jewelry tarnishes it becomes more of a patina. Patina is a greenish color that covers over a layer of the brass. The patina can give your jewelry a more antique looking style and can build character to your piece. When this process happens, it may or may not be desirable to you. If you wish to keep the patina coloring in your jewelry, just wash your jewelry with soap and water. Cleaning the brass jewelry with soap and water helps to remove dirt and oils built up on your item. Make sure to not use a polishing cloth, as it can strip away the greenish color you desire. Make sure to use a soft cloth to wipe off the water from your jewelry so that is does not leave any watermarks when your jewelry is dry. 
If you wish to remove tarnish from your brass jewelry, there are a few home remedies you may be interested in trying below. There are a few options you may try with some items you probably already have in your home!

Five ways to clean brass jewelry

1. Soap and Water to clean brass jewelry
When your brass jewelry could use some sprucing, first try the soap and water clean! Simply take a washcloth or soft towel and heat it with warm water. Use a mild soap and gently rub any dirt or grime off of the brass jewelry. Make sure when you are all done to rinse thoroughly and completely dry! Leaving water on the jewerly can lead to unwanted waterspots after your hard work!
2. Vinegar and Salt to clean brass jewelry
Taking about a teaspoon of salt in a half cup of white vinegar, mix this into a solution in a glass bowl. Either on the stove or in the microwave, heat the solution up a bit until it is warm. Mix the solution and then put your brass jewelry into your glass bowl. Make sure that your brass jewelry is completely submerged into the solution and leave it sit for at least 10 minutes. When you take your brass jewelry out of the solution, you can use a cloth to wipe away any tarnishing or build up easily. 
3. Vinegar and Baking Soda to clean brass jewelry
Just like the previous mixture, use white vinegar. Take some baking soda and mix it into some vinegar in a small bowl. You will be making a paste-like solution in which you will smear over your brass jewelry with either a cloth or a brush. Leaving the paste on the brass jewelry for about 15 to 20 minutes, the acid and sodium will work together to remove unwanted tarnish from your jewelry. Make sure to thoroughly rinse off your brass jewelry and wipe dry after the desired time is up.
4. Lemon or Lime and Salt to clean brass jewelry
Start off by cutting either a lemon or a lime in half. Place the open half in a small bowl of salt to make sure the surface area is covered in salt. Use the salt-coated lemon or lime to gently rub the brass jewelry. Add more salt as needed, and remember to be very gentle when scrubbing so the salt doesn't damage or scratch your jewelry. Rinse off with water and dry your good as new brass jewelry!

5. Toothbrush and Toothpaste to clean brass jewelry
This is my favorite way to clean brass jewelry. I use an old toothbrush and some toothpaste. The grittiness of the toothpaste polishes the brass jewelry without scratching the metal. If it has any whitening properties it seems to work better, charcoal whitening is the BEST! And then make sure you wash the toothpaste off of the brass jewelry (so the brass jewelry doesn't smell minty fresh lol) and then make sure it is totally dry. If it is left wet then it will slowly tarnish again.

Caring for Brass Jewelry

More important than how to clean brass jewelry is how to care for it so that you don't need to clean it! Make sure you store your brass jewelry in a sealed plastic bag when you're not wearing it so that it doesn't tarnish while it's sitting around. And if you want to get extra fancy then you can coat your brass jewelry in clear nail polish, this totally seals in the brass temporarily so that it does not come in contact with any air or moisture and doesn't tarnish.

So that's it! Don't forget to click here and check out all of our brass jewelry!

Until next time friends!