Making sure that your pearls are well preserved is not difficult. Pearls are usually passed on from one generation to the next, so pearls are most often family heirlooms. If you have inherited a string of pearls from your grandmother or has bought one for yourself that you're planning to hand over to your granddaughter, you should be taking care of it now, shouldn't you? Cleaning your pearls is not difficult, but because of their delicate nature, you must remember some points when cleaning your pearls.

Dangerous Skin

Some women's skin is more acidic than others. If pearls are constantly used, they would absorb the acid from the skin. Eventually, the acid from the skin would slowly eat the spherical-shaped pearl and the pearl will become permanently damaged.

This can be avoided by taking care to wipe the pearls with a soft cloth after every use. If you immediately wipe your pearls free of acid, this acid will not have time to seep through and damage your pearls.

They Beautify and Harm

The products that do most damage to pearls are those that women love to wear most: perfume, hair spray, cosmetics, and face creams. Thus, if you want to ensure that your pearls will last a long time, then you'd better make sure that your pearls are not ecxposed to such cosmetics and fragrances. Set your hair, do your make up and spray your perfume on before you even take your pearls out of your jewelry box. Moreover, remove your makeup.

Proper Pearl Cleaning

When cleaning your pearls, use only jewelry cleaners that are safe for pearls. In fact, avoid commercial jewelry cleaners altogether unless they have been specially formulated for pearl cleaning.

Do not clean your pearls using jewelry cleaners made for gold or silver. They contain an ammonia base that is harmful to your pearls. Do not use bleaching agents, baking sodas or powdered cleaners. Some liquid soap can damage pearls. Use only a mild soap and water solution.

Use soft, lint-free cloth to get rid of accumulated dirt, perfume, makeup, body oils or perspiration. Do not use a toothbrush or abrasive cloth to clean your pearls. They can scratch the surface and they can also wear away the pearls' coating, leaving you with marked and plain-looking beads. For more thorough cleaning, use soft soapy cloth. Then using another damp cloth, gently wipe the pearls to remove all soap residue.

Clean the drill holes where the dirt particularly collects. If your pearls are especially old, you could try washing them with water and very mild liquid soap. Wipe them with detergent-free damp cloth and leave them flat on a kitchen paper to dry. Once dry, coat them with olive oil to try and restore their sheen.

After the olive oil treatment, lay the pearls on wash cloths or a moist kitchen towel to dry. Do not hang your pearls. When the wash cloth becomes dry, the pearls will usually be dry as well.

However you clean your pearls and whatever cleaning agent you use, you should remember to be very careful as you may be doing your pearls more harm than good.

If your pearls have not been properly maintained and they are now full of dirt and grime, you should bring your pearls to a trustworthy jeweler or a professional jewelry cleaner for professional care.