Here’s How to Clean and Disinfect Your Wood Watches and Jewelry

Covid-19 has forced all of us to pay a little more heed to our cleanliness and hygiene regimens. By now, you’re probably well now used to religiously washing your hands, disinfecting your phones, and largely avoiding touching surfaces while out and about. However, people are probably less inclined to think about the smaller things, including jewelry. Even though your wood watches and other accessories won’t be in as close contact with nasty germs as your hands, you’re still touching them throughout the day. In other words, all kinds of viruses and bacteria could be hanging around – and you definitely don’t want that! That is why keep your wooden jewelry clean and disinfecting it is just as important as washing your hands. Unsure about how to keep things germ-free and squeaky clean? Here are a few tips to help you out.

1. Use Alcohol Prep Pads

Alcohol prep pads are a great thing to have on hand in general, but they’re especially useful during large virus outbreaks like the one we’re currently dealing with. These pads are designed to be gentle and non-scratching but highly effective at killing germs on contact. Perfect for skin, but also perfect for wooden surfaces! To make use of them, just give your wood watch, wooden ring, or other piece a good wipe down. Make sure to get in any nooks and crannies, as germs can easily hide there, and carefully go over watch faces, straps, and any other area that has touched or has been touched by skin. Also, don’t forget to wash your hands with warm, soapy water before and after cleaning your jewelry. After all, disinfecting doesn’t do much good if you’re just reintroducing germs right afterwards. 

2. Use Connoisseurs Jewelry Dry Disposable Wipes

While using alcohol pads on your wooden jewelry is fine and actively encouraged (especially in the middle of a pandemic!), the general rule of thumb is to keep wood away from too much wet or too many added chemicals. If you’re set to stick to this, there are still ways to keep your favorite pieces of jewelry clean and hygienic. Connoisseurs disposable wipes is among the best since they’re soft, gentle, and made for polishing accessories of all types. Grab a couple sets of these wipes and you should be good for quite a long time to come.

3. Use a Diluted Vinegar Solution

Originally used by moms everywhere to sanitize wooden toys for their kids, the age-old technique works perfectly for our purposes. To use it for your jewelry, simply mix up water and vinegar (apple cider vinegar works just fine) and spray it on with any old spray bottle you’ve got laying around. Everyone has their preferred mixture, so feel free to play around with the specific dilution. 3 parts water and 1 part vinegar works as a great starting place. Alternatively, you can further dilute the mixture and add dish soap to make it stretch further while still getting the impressive cleaning benefits. After spraying the mixture, wipe it down with a damp cloth and just let it airdry.

4. Clean It Often After Being in Public Spaces or at Work

Having proper cleaning techniques is important to keeping your wood jewelry sanitized but knowing when to clean it is an equally important part of the equation. It may seem excessive or a little annoying, but best practices right now include cleaning your watches, rings, and more after every public outing. The coronavirus, flu, and other contagious and harmful viruses can spread rather easily since droplets can travel far and hang around in the air for longer than we might think, making consistent disinfecting essential. So, better safe than sorry! If this seems like too much of a hassle, consider stocking up on the alcohol pads we mentioned before. They’re effective, quick, and cheap – all of which mean easy use. And in the end, easy use encourages regular use, keeping your jewelry cleaner and you safer.

5. Avoid Certain Conditions to Keep it Sanitary

All of us at Urban Designer are obviously big fans of wood accessories, but even we recognize there’s a time and a place for everything. In a pandemic or any other time of high infection rates, there will just be some conditions where leaving your jewelry at home is for the best. For example, you should avoid wearing any when going to a hospital, clinic, grocery stores, or other spaces where potential virus exposure is higher. Likewise, it’s best to leave your accessories behind if you’re going out and tend to struggle keeping your hands from touching everything. Just be smart about it and use common sense. If contact won’t be too much of an issue and you’re maintaining proper social distance, wearing your watch or ring probably won’t do too much harm. Just ensure you properly clean it once at home to keep yourself adequately protected.