How to clean stones after purchase?

After fire, it is customary to charge stones in the rays of the sun, but opal, coral, turquoise, pearls, rose quartz, amethyst and kunzite do not like the sun. You should also be careful with fire.

• Water. It should be clean and flowing, ideally from a spring, but it can also be from a tap. Place the stones and decorations on a saucer and let water flow onto them in a thin stream for 20-30 minutes. The main thing is to make sure that nothing floats away with the flow.

Do not wet: coated jewelry and base metals, selenite, celestine, kyanite, chrysocolla, pyrite, seraphinite, opal, angelite. It is better to clean them using dry methods, or carefully wipe them with a damp cotton cloth.

• Earth. Works slowly. You can hang the decoration on a plant, or place it on a large stone, for example, a druse.

Non-iodized salt cleans very well – to do this, place the stones on a cotton or linen cloth on top of the salt and leave overnight. It’s even better to completely cover the stones with salt, after placing them in a fabric bag. After such cleaning, the salt should be thrown away.

You can combine salt with water and give the stones a salt bath in the proportion: a pack of rock table salt to a bath of water. Well, isn’t it only good for you to swim?

Not suitable for aquamarine, turquoise, opal, amber, pearl, fluorite, malachite, pyrite, rhodochrosite, hematite, calcite, base metals, coated jewelry, etc.

• Air. Shamans recommend fumigating stones with incense sticks, paolo santo, wormwood, juniper, and sage. Not suitable for turquoise, opal, amber, pearls, topaz, etc.
• Freezing. It perfectly cleans and structures stones and jewelry, I really love this method. It is important that stones and metals are completely dry; they must be wrapped in a dry, clean cloth, or placed in a cloth bag. We clean it like this for 3 days and then keep it in the refrigerator for another day. Not recommended for aquamarine, turquoise, opal, amber, fragile stones and minerals that contain water.

During all interactions with the elements, if possible, rotate the object counterclockwise, imagining how the power of the elements washes away and dissolves all the negativity from it.

• The spiritual way of cleansing is deep meditation and prayer. They must be sincere, come from the heart and turned to God, since it is He who can put the most powerful, high-vibrational energy into your stone, dissolving any distortions.

Take the stone/jewelry in your left hand, cover it with your right hand. and say a prayer out loud, visualizing the cleansing process with white or violet light.

The prayer can be anything, for example: “Divine Mother shining in my heart, Divine Father illuminating my consciousness – cleanse this object of all negative energies and programs ever imposed on it. May it be cleansed according to the Will of God for the benefit of me and the whole world.”

Which option resonates with you the most? What do you use?

Externally identical or similar natural stone coatings can have completely different technical properties, especially in terms of sensitivity to alkalis and acids, as well as in terms of strength and water absorption. This determines the areas of use of individual types of stone and the rules of care in order to preserve the appearance for many years. Thus, before you start cleaning, you need to know exactly what the properties of the stone are, determined by its mineral composition and the method of surface treatment, and have an idea of ​​​​the mode of use.

Properties of natural stone

Natural stone is used in a wide variety of areas: in industry, in gardening, for facades, in art, as masonry or for interior decoration of buildings, where it is often used as flooring. Natural stone is quarried and cut into blocks of specific sizes at stone processing plants. Then the surface is treated – for example, the stone is polished, flamed, sanded or sandblasted. Such a variety of shades and surface structure options cannot be achieved from any artificial material. Externally identical or similar natural stone coatings can have completely different technical properties, especially in terms of sensitivity to alkalis and acids, as well as in terms of strength and water absorption. This determines the areas of use of individual types of stone and the rules of care in order to preserve the appearance for many years.

Based on technical processing criteria, natural stones can be divided into several types according to their degree of hardness: hard rocks (gneiss, granite, quartzite, basalt or gabbro), medium-hard rocks (marble, Solnhofen limestone, Jurassic marble or serpentine) and soft rocks (sandstone, tuff or slate). This classification allows you to assess the possible load on the stone, which is important not only for processing, but also for cleaning. For example, all hard rocks have similar chemical properties – they are generally scratch resistant and insensitive to alkalis. Therefore, they are often used for finishing external surfaces that are subject to high loads. Softwood, on the other hand, is generally more sensitive, so it is not recommended to use hard brushes when cleaning them, otherwise scratches may quickly appear.

Cleaning requirements also depend on the type of stone treatment. Polished medium-hard stone finishes may dull when used with alkaline cleaners with a pH value above 12 and brushes/pads that are too hard.

Proper cleaning and care of natural stone coatings are very important – after all, the stone must retain its characteristic appearance for many years. Thus, before you start cleaning, you need to know exactly what the properties of the stone are, determined by its mineral composition and the method of surface treatment, and have an idea of ​​​​the mode of use. The rate of wear and contamination depends largely on these factors.

If you know what kind of stone you are dealing with and what its properties are, it will be easier for you to avoid mistakes when cleaning and caring for it. Undesirable consequences such as fading, staining or discoloration will also be avoided.

Preventing floor damage

Natural stone with a low degree of hardness, such as marble, can be scratched quite easily. To protect the floor, it makes sense, for example, to install dirt traps at the entrance to the lobby to minimize the spread of coarse dirt, in particular sand or small stones. Such an area should be quite large, approximately six to eight steps. In addition, it is advisable to regularly clean the area in front of the building, since most of the dirt is carried by people entering the building.