The best way to clean earrings? Tips on how to clean ear piercings

When should I clean my earrings?

It is recommended to clean your earrings as often as possible, so really every time you put them in. Do you wear the same earrings for long periods of time? You should clean them at least once a week.

In the following situations you should be extra careful with the hygiene of your earrings:

• Your hands do not smell fresh after you have taken out your earrings? Start immediately by cleaning your earrings and your ear properly. For example, clean your ear under the shower with a mild soap. 
• A dirty earring can easily cause an infected ear lobe. In case of pain, swelling or pus, remove the earring immediately.

You just had your ears pierced? It is recommended to care for your ears twice a day. As you need to wear the starter piercing for at least six weeks, good hygiene is essential.

How to clean gold earrings with HG

For cleaning your discoloured gold or silver earrings, we have HG jewellery cleaning bath. With this jewellery bath, dull earrings regain their shine as dirt is removed effectively. Your earrings look like new.

Complete the following steps to clean your earrings with HG jewellery cleaning bath:

1. Submerge the earrings in the cleaning fluid for 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Clean difficult to reach places with the supplied brush.
3. Remove the earrings from the cleaning bath with the supplied tweezers.
4. After the cleaning bath, rinse the jewellery under the tap and dry them with a lint-free cloth.

Apart from the HG jewellery cleaning bath we also have the HG silver polish cloth and HG gold polish cloth. The name says it all: it returns the shine to silver or gold objects, such as earrings. Treat your silver or gold earrings with the shine cloth until they shine again. If the oxidation is difficult to remove? Moisten a tip of the cloth.

Alternative tips for a piercing cleaning solution

Besides the HG jewellery cleaning bath there are other ways to clean your dirty, dull or discoloured gold or silver earrings. You use these products to clean your earrings at your own risk, as we cannot guarantee how well they work.

Cleaning earrings with baking soda
Dissolve 1 tablespoon of soda in 1 litre of hot water. Put a piece of aluminium foil at the bottom of a plastic bowl with the dull side up. Now pour in the litre of water with the dissolved soda. Put your silver earrings in the solution and turn them over as soon as the visible side is clean. Remove the earrings as soon as they are completely clean. Then rinse them under lukewarm water and dry them with a clean cloth.

Cleaning earrings with vinegar
Submerge your earrings in white vinegar. Leave them to soak for two to three hours, depending on the deposit that needs to be removed. Rinse and then dry the jewellery.

Cleaning earrings with cola
Cola makes dull earrings shine again, so in first instance this is a good solution. However, cola has an aggressive side effect which means it is not the best option for cleaning your earrings in the long run.

Cleaning earrings with alcohol
Put your earrings in glass with alcohol (vodka for example) and soak them for two minutes. Remove the earrings and rinse them with warm water. Dry them with a lint-free cloth.

Cleaning earrings with toothpaste
You can also clean silver earrings with toothpaste. On the one hand, toothpaste is great for cleaning silver earrings but on the other toothpaste can damage silver. If you use this method, use a single colour toothpaste without bleaching agents.

Always be careful with the above products. Products, such as vinegar, cola, toothpaste and alcohol can also cause your earrings to lose their shine. It is not recommended to clean your earrings with those types of 'aggressive’ products.  

If you cannot manage to clean your earrings properly with the above tips? Here you can read more about how to clean silver. We also provide tips on how to clean gold that can help you to clean your earrings.

Tips for keeping earrings clean

There are various ways to keep your earrings clean. So here are a few practical tips.

1. You're going to play sports? Take your earrings out.
2. Did you use body lotion or another cream on your body? Wait at least 30 minutes before you put your jewellery on again.
3. Avoid contact with perfume, hairspray and other sprays as much as possible.
4. Take off your jewellery when you go to bed.
5. Does your jewellery come into contact with water, because you are going for a swim or during cleaning? Take them off.

If you have a good tip for cleaning earrings and/or keeping them clean, please let us know!

Frequently Asked Questions about how to clean earrings