It may not be a pleasant thought, but the likelihood is that all the jewellery you're wearing right now is pretty filthy.
But who has time to deep clean their jewellery, you might ask? Well, actually it turns out, we all do.
Posting in the We Love Mrs Hinch Facebook group, Chantelle Louise Hambridge joined many in sharing her incredible results after following a genius hack to deep clean her Pandora charm bracelet - and it literally takes no time at all.
She was inspired after one user, named Anne-Marie Norman, from London, told group members she'd cleaned her Pandora bracelet using nothing but hot water from the kettle and a squirt of washing up liquid mixed in.
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Anne-Marie claimed she left her jewellery for just five minutes, but the amount of dirt that was left in the soapy water afterwards was truly remarkable.
Chantelle swiftly followed suit, and in her picture, the dirt from her jewellery can be seen floating in the soapy water. *Gross*.
But don't just take Chantelle's word for it, at Pretty 52 we wanted to see if the trick worked for ourselves, and the amount of dirt that came off our jewellery was enough to make anyone's skin crawl...We can definitely vouch that it works.
It might sound simple, but the humble washing up liquid contains hydrocarbon chains, which have one end attracted to water and the other attracted to oil.
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This means that the end attracted to oil (hydrophobic) naturally attaches itself to dirt, while the water-grabbing end (hydrophilic) makes the particles soluble, meaning they can be rinsed away much in the same way you'd rinse food off a plate.
And if you wanted more evidence that the trick is legit, the jewellery wizards at Pandora even recommend a similar method on their website.
On their website they suggest soapy water will suffice, but add that you should brush the jewellery gently with a soft toothbrush, if you want to be really vigilant.
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However, if your jewellery includes freshwater pearls then avoid this method, as it can leave them damaged.
Other methods suggested on Pandora's site include wiping your jewellery with a silver-polishing cloth and preventatively removing all jewellery before going to bed or participating in any activity that will make you sweat. Noted.
We bet you're feeling a bit grossed out by your jewellery right now, aren't you?
Featured Image Credit: Chantelle Louise HambridgeTopics: Cleaning Hack, Jewellery, Life, Stylish