When you are getting items in an estate ready to sell, you want to make sure that they look as good as possible before you sell them in order to get the best price. One item that is particularly dependent on looking good is estate jewelry. If you do not clean estate jewelry, then it will look dull and like it is worth less, causing people to be less willing to purchase it or bid on it. In order to make sure that you avoid this, here are some ways that you can quickly clean the jewelry before you try to sell it.

1. Make the Jewelry Cleaner

The first step is going to be to mix the jewelry cleaner out of common household ingredients that you have on hand or can easily purchase from a grocery store. Get a small bowl and line it with aluminum foil. Then, mix in a teaspoon of dish detergent, a tablespoon of baking soda, a tablespoon of salt, and a cup of hot water. The dish soap is designed to break through grease that might be on the jewelry and give it a clean shine. The salt is designed to make the cleaning solution rough enough to strip away or loosen any dirt that might be on the jewelry. The baking soda is to bleach the jewelry and the warm water is to allow it all to melt together. Finally, there is an ion transfer due to the aluminum foil coming in contact with anything else, allowing dirt to be removed more effectively.

2. Soak the Jewelry in the Cleaner

While the mixture is still fizzing after you have added the hot water, drop a piece of jewelry into the cleaner, on top of the aluminum foil. Allow the jewelry to sit in the mixture until lit has stopped fizzing, which should take around five to ten minutes. This will loosen any dust particles on the jewelry when you remove it. Before putting another piece of jewelry into the mixture, add new hot water to make the mixture start fizzing again.

3. Scrub the Jewelry

Finally, take a toothbrush and scrub around the edges of the jewelry, making sure that you access all of the nooks and crannies. When you are done, rinse off the jewelry and pat it dry with a clean rag or a paper towel. 

For more information, talk to a company that specializes in organizing estate sales.