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Gold jewelry turning white when boiled with laundry powder

2004

Hi,

My wife cleans her jewelry every so often by boiling them in a mixture of water and laundry powder.

She just called me up and said that all her jewelry had turned white.

HELPPPPPP!

Yechezkel Ida
private individual - Kiryat Malachi, Israel

Try a regular polish, I'm betting that it's just caked on soap. It's doubtful that anything bonded with the gold, as gold is a rather inert material.

Marc Banks
- Elizabeth City, North Carolina
2004

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A novel way to clean your jewellery! I have never come across this method before, but the world is full of wonders. I agree it is possible the jewellery could be coated in soap, so it should just rinse off in hot water. If the washing powder has really turned your jewellery permamently white, I'm afraid it was not gold, but probably a cheap lacquer coating. In future, I would suggest you clean jewellery with hot soapy water and a soft bristled toothbrush.

Trevor Crichton
R&D practical scientist
Chesham, Bucks, UK
2004

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