How To Clean Gunk Out of a Diamond Ring: Complete Guide

Diamond rings are a popular jewelry item to wear, and when you wear them often, they can get dirty with gunk from lotions, hair products, and more items you use every day. Therefore, it’s essential that you clean them every so often.

You clean the gunk out of a diamond ring by using products around your home (such as dish soap or hydrogen peroxide), using store-bought cleaners, or, if you don’t want to take it to get professionally cleaned, using an ultrasonic machine like professional jewelers use.

In this article, I’ll discuss in detail how to clean your diamond ring and what type of cleaning solutions to use. I’ll also go over how often you should clean your diamond ring. Let’s get started!

1. Use Products Around Your Home To Clean a Diamond Ring

Getting your ring professionally cleaned can be expensive, and if your diamond rings are getting dirty often, then it may be best for you to learn how to clean them at home.

However, you can’t just clean them with anything — you must be careful to use the proper products and tools, or you can damage your ring. Let’s go over some different ways you can clean your diamond ring.

Use Dish Soap and Water To Clean Your Diamond Ring

The most common way to clean diamond rings is by using dish soap and warm water. This works for both gold and silver rings and won’t damage them. Just follow these simple steps:

Grab your dish soap and a bowl, and fill the bowl up with warm water.
Add a little bit of dish soap to make the water soapy.
You should put your diamond ring in there to soak for anywhere from 15 to 40 minutes, depending on the level of gunk.
When the time is up, grab a soft toothbrush and take the ring out of the soapy water.
Take the toothbrush and gently rub away any remaining dirt. The solution should have loosened the gunk, so now it can be easily brushed away. Be careful not to brush harshly, as you can scratch the band and the diamond.
Once you’ve brushed the ring, rinse it off with warm water.
Let the ring air dry or gently pat dry with a towel.

Clean Your Diamond Ring Using Hydrogen Peroxide and Windex

Another solution you can use is hydrogen peroxide and Windex to clean any of your diamond rings. This may sound strange, but it removes any dirt or buildup and is safe. Simply follow these steps:

Grab a bowl, hydrogen peroxide, and Windex.
To make the solution, pour equal parts of hydrogen peroxide and Windex into a bowl.
Let your ring soak in the mixture for no longer than 15 minutes.
Grab a soft toothbrush.
When time’s up, take a toothbrush and gently brush away any remaining dirt.
Rinse the ring with warm water.
Let the ring air dry, or you can gently pat it dry.

Clean Gold Diamond Rings With Beer

As crazy as it sounds, you can use beer to clean the ring’s band, but only for real gold diamond rings. According to Alex Bro’s Jewellers, you mustn’t put beer on the actual diamond itself. Follow these steps:

Grab a beer. Any brand will do; just make sure you grab a lighter ale and a soft cloth like the one you use to clean phone screens and eyeglasses.
Pour a small amount of beer onto the cloth. Just enough to make it damp, not soaking wet.
Rub the dampened cloth onto the gold band gently.
To dry the ring, use a separate towel to pat it dry gently.

Use Ketchup To Clean Silver Diamond Rings

To clean strictly silver diamond rings, you can use some products already in your home.

One of these is a ubiquitous condiment — ketchup. The vinegar in ketchup has enough acid to remove tarnishing and grime on your silver jewelry. However, you must be careful not to leave the ketchup on for too long because the acidity can eventually harm your ring.

Grab a bowl and some ketchup.
Put just enough ketchup in the bowl to submerge the whole ring.
Put your ring in the ketchup and let it sit for no longer than 5 minutes. Any longer, and this can harm your jewelry.
Grab a soft toothbrush and gently rub the ketchup, making sure to get all parts of the ring.
Rinse the ring off with warm water.
Let it air dry, or pat dry easily with a towel.

Clean Silver Diamond Rings With Vinegar and Baking Soda

Another way to clean silver diamond rings is by using vinegar and baking soda. You can use the vinegar alone or both if your jewelry is highly tarnished.

Grab a bowl, white vinegar, and baking soda (if you’re just using vinegar, you can dismiss the baking soda instructions).
Pour the white vinegar into the bowl so that there’s enough to submerge your ring in fully. If you’re adding baking soda, add 2 to 4 tablespoons of baking soda, depending on the amount of vinegar.
If adding baking soda, do it carefully, or the mixture could overflow.
Add your jewelry, and if you’re using only vinegar, let it soak for no longer than 15 minutes. If you’re also using baking soda for heavily tarnished jewelry, let it soak for 1 to 2 hours.
Once it’s finished soaking, rinse it off with warm water.
Let air dry, or pat dry easily with a towel.

2. Use Store-Bought Cleaners To Clean a Diamond Ring

There are also jewelry cleaning solutions you can buy at the store or online that can also work. Just read the fine print to see if it’s safe for all jewelry or only meant for gold or silver.

Another thing to watch out for is some cleaners you can buy, say, “made for use with an ultrasonic machine.” You should not buy this type because they’ll only work best while using those machines, so it won’t benefit you much to use them at home.

If you need a cleaner for gold jewelry, the Connoisseur Delicate Jewelry Cleaner Solution (available on Amazon.com) is a decent cleaner to buy. It’s relatively cheap, so it’s not the highest quality, but it will clean off the surface residue.

Another option is the Weiman Liquid Jewelry Cleaner (available on Amazon.com), which is safe for gold and silver diamond rings. It’s also cheaper and may be lower quality than a professional cleaning, but it still gets the job done.

It’s essential to check the directions on the different cleaners, but most will have the same instructions:

Open the solution and pour a small amount into a bowl. Just enough to cover the diamond ring.
Follow the instructions on the cleaner for how long you should soak your ring in the solution.
When time’s up, remove the ring and let air dry. Don’t rub or pat off the cleaner. You also don’t need a toothbrush to scrub it with.
Pour the leftover solution down the drain or into the trash. You don’t want to pour it back into the bottle because this solution is dirty and will taint the rest of the bottle.

3. Use an Ultrasonic Machine To Clean a Diamond Ring

It’s recommended you get your diamond rings professionally cleaned at least once a year. No matter how good of a job you do at home, professional cleaning does the best job overall.

Most jewelers use an ultrasonic machine to clean the jewelry. According to the Jewelry Shopping Guide, the machine emits high frequencies into the water/cleaner solution, which makes bubbles that help knock off stubborn gunk stuck in the ring.

Professional cleaning is also safe because they have to follow strict rules and guidelines to ensure your ring looks good as new when you receive it back.

Sometimes this cleaning method can cause gemstones to come loose; however, if this happens, the jeweler will fix it. They’re professionals at this and can fix it for you or send it off to be repaired if it’s severe damage, but that is rare.

A professional cleaning can cost anywhere from $25 to $50 per piece of jewelry. However, this all depends on the level of dirt and the type of jewelry. Some places offer free cleanings if the jewelry was bought from them and you have proof.

Now, even though it’s highly recommended to let the professionals use the ultrasonic machines, you can buy one to use yourself.

How To Use an Ultrasonic Machine

Before you begin using an ultrasonic machine at home, you’ll need some type of cleaning solution, whether homemade or store-bought.

You can make a homemade solution with dish soap and ammonia if you’d like. However, as we discussed earlier, stores sell cleaning solutions made specifically for those machines.

The Calyptus Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaner Solution (available on Amazon.com) is an affordable cleaner made specifically for use in an ultrasonic cleaner. It’s a gentle solution suitable for gems such as diamonds and other gemstones.

Using a cleaning solution will clean the rings better, but it’s entirely up to you.

Remember that using these at-home ultrasonic machines poses the risk of stones coming loose or chipping/breaking your jewelry. Diamond rings are stronger and are usually fine in these machines; however, the success rate is not 100%.

It’s important to remember to follow the instructions on the machine that you have. The instructions I’m about to give are just general ones:

Grab your ultrasonic machine, water, and cleaning solution.
Pour the recommended amount of water and solution into the machine.
Let the solution heat up. The water and cleaner mix work best when heated. Some have a heating setting while others don’t, so you may have to use warm water.
Now turn on the machine and don’t place any jewelry in it. This will allow the cleaning solution and water to mix well.
Add the diamond rings you need to be cleaned, and follow the instructions on what settings to use depending on your machine. The cleaning part should only take a few minutes.
When time is up, turn the machine off and take the jewelry out.
Use a toothbrush to gently rub away any excess gunk left over.
Rinse jewelry to get off any leftover cleaning solution.
Dry gently with a cloth.

If you need an at-home ultrasonic machine, then the Rurstva: Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaner Machine (available on Amazon.com) is a good option. This machine doesn’t have a heating element, which is the only downside. Other than that, the machine is affordable and gets the job done. It’s also compact and won’t take up much room when storing.

The Lachoi: Ultrasonic Cleaner (available on Amazon.com) is more expensive, but it does come with a heating element, making your job a bit easier. This is a more professional, higher-quality ultrasonic machine. It also has a safety shut-off feature in case it were to be left on or overheated.

How Often Should You Clean Your Diamond Rings?

It’s a good idea to clean your diamond rings every few weeks. This will make their shine last longer and keep them looking brand new. Cleaning your rings at home can also ensure you don’t need many professional cleanings throughout the year.

If you think every few weeks is too much work, just think about all the different things that get on your rings daily:

Soap residue
Conditioner and shampoo residue
Lotion residue
Oils from your hands or hair
Makeup
Many more

We use our hands for numerous things, so it’s normal for our rings to pick up a lot of gunk. It’s just when they’re unique diamond rings is when you should take the gunk seriously.

Final Thoughts

Cleaning gunk out of a diamond ring can be done in several ways. You can use household items such as vinegar, dish soap, and even ketchup to clean them.

You can also buy some store-bought cleaner to soak your diamond ring that works well for less severe gunk.

Additionally, if you don’t want to get your ring professionally cleaned, consider purchasing your own ultrasonic machine to clean your jewelry at home as a professional would. However, the cleaning will not be as high quality as taking it to the jeweler’s because they’re pros.