A jewelry box is a necessary item for properly storing and protecting your collection and it certainly does a better job than just storing your pieces in small cardboard boxes or placing your them in your top dresser drawer. A jewelry box allows you to properly organize your items, protects it from tangling and scratching and keeps it in a clean environment away from dust and dirt. However, over time even the interior of a jewelry box will collect dust and dirt and will need to be cleaned in order to ensure that your jewelry stays clean and does not lose its luster. Additionally, the exterior of the box may need some care also in order to maintain its appearance.
If you have a wooden jewelry box that needs to be cleaned here are some tips on how to properly accomplish that.
- Remove all the jewelry from the wooden jewelry box. You do not want the cleaning products to come in contact with any of your pieces of jewelry since it could harm or tarnish them.
- Start by turning the box upside down and getting all of the loose dirt and dust out. Be careful to make sure none of the drawers or other pieces fall out during this process and cause further damage.
- Use a can of compressed air or a blow dryer with a setting of no heat to blow out any remaining loose dirt or dust. Be careful not to get to close to the box when spraying so that you do not damage the lining due to the force of the canned air or blow dryer. Another option is to use a small vacuum like those created for computer keyboards.
- If there is dust or dirt remaining, use a moist cotton swap to remove additional dirt or dust from the corners.
- If your jewelry box has grooves between cushions to store your rings, a moist cotton swab can also be used to get between the cushioned compartments and clean them out further.
- To clean the wood on the outside of the box, use a damp cloth and wipe the entire exterior of the box thoroughly and be sure to dry it off with a dry cloth. It is also possible to use a commercial dusting product such as Pledge.
- If the wood is starting to look dry and weathered, you may even want to spruce it up and give it a bit of shine with a product such as Orange Oil or other similar product.
- If the box has any glass windows, doors or mirrors the best way to clean them is with a glass cleaner such as Windex. However, spray the Windex or glass cleaner onto the paper towel and not directly onto the glass. If you spay directly onto the glass then some cleaner may splash onto the wood which will cause it to dry out faster in those spots.
- Before replacing your jewelry, check to see that all hinges and screws are tight. If not, now is the time to tighten them. Additionally, take note and see if any other repairs are necessary such as reattaching (gluing) any internal liners.
- Once everything has been cleaned, you may put all your jewelry back. This is also a great time to reorganize your jewelry collection.