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How to, Cleanse Crystals?

Dust firstRinse if safeLore second

To cleanse crystals without damaging them, clean them physically first: dust them, then rinse or wipe them in a way the mineral can take. The rituals people use for energy cleansing come second, and we label them as lore.

How to clean crystals

How to clean crystals depends on three facts about the stone: its hardness, whether it dissolves and whether it is porous. For most stones the routine is the same, and soft or fragile pieces stop after the first step. Keep the water near room temperature, because a sudden change in temperature can crack stones that have fractures or cleavage.

  • Dust first with a soft makeup brush, a clean paintbrush or a blower bulb.
  • For hard, nonporous stones, rinse under lukewarm water with a drop of mild dish soap.
  • Work a soft toothbrush gently into crevices and clusters.
  • Rinse again, dry right away with a soft cloth, and let clusters air dry upside down on a towel.
  • Avoid bleach, vinegar, salt, steam, ultrasonic cleaners and sudden temperature changes.

Crystal cleaning by stone type

Crystal cleaning by stone type keeps you from dissolving selenite or rusting pyrite by accident. Find the mineral on the label, then match it below.

Cleansing crystals with rituals

Cleansing crystals with rituals is crystal lore: the idea is that stones soak up energy and need clearing now and then. That is belief, not chemistry, and Wikipedia's entry on crystal healing covers the history and the evidence. If you practice a ritual, here is what each popular method does to the rock physically.

  • Moonlight: harmless on an indoor sill. Outdoors, dew and rain reach the stones, so only water safe stones should spend the night outside.
  • Sunlight: risky for amethyst, rose quartz, smoky quartz, natural citrine, fluorite, kunzite and celestite, which fade.
  • Running water or a stream: fine for quartz, damaging for soluble, porous or rust-prone stones.
  • Salt or salt water: salt can crystallize in cracks and pores and pry them open, and brine corrodes pyrite and metal settings.
  • Smoke from sage, palo santo or incense: harmless to most stones, though it can leave a film on porous ones. Keep stones clear of the flame.
  • Sound from bowls, bells or tuning forks: no physical effect at all.
  • Selenite plates: harmless, as long as the selenite stays dry.
  • Burying in soil: stains porous stones and swallows small ones.

Salt water and crystals

Salt water and crystals mix badly more often than people expect. Halite is itself salt and simply dissolves. Selenite, desert rose, malachite, turquoise, opal and pyrite can pit, cloud, crack or rust. Even hard quartz can trap salt in its fractures, where it crystallizes as it dries. If you follow a salt ritual, set the stone beside a dish of dry salt instead of in brine, and keep soft stones out of it, since salt grains scratch selenite.

What to do with crystals after you buy them

What to do with crystals after you buy them is mostly housekeeping. Check the label for the mineral and locality, brush off any packing dust, and give each stone a spot out of direct sun where it will not get knocked. Keep soft stones off shelves crowded with quartz. If you like ritual, this is when many people do a first cleanse. If you like science, look up the hardness.

How often to cleanse crystals

How often to cleanse crystals is up to you, because the physical clean only needs doing when dust shows. Display pieces gather a film of dust over a few weeks, and a soft brush every so often keeps them bright. In crystal lore, people cleanse after buying a stone, after heavy use or at each full moon. That schedule is tradition. The stone does not need it.

How to Cleanse Crystals FAQ

How long to cleanse crystals in salt water?

There is no set time for how long to cleanse crystals in salt water, and shorter is safer: many stones are damaged by salt, and none get cleaner by soaking in it.

Can you cleanse crystals with water?

You can cleanse crystals with water only if they are hard and nonporous, such as quartz, amethyst and agate.

What crystals should not be cleansed in water?

Crystals that should not be cleansed in water include selenite, desert rose, halite, celestite, pyrite, malachite, azurite, turquoise, opal and lepidolite.

Does moonlight cleanse crystals?

Moonlight does not cleanse crystals in any measurable way, but it is the gentlest ritual there is: moonlight is far too dim to fade color.

Do crystals need cleansing?

Crystals need cleansing only in the physical sense: dust dulls their shine, and a soft brush brings it back. Energy cleansing is a ritual you can keep or skip, and the stone is the same either way.

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