HOW TO CLEAN GRILLZ without ruining them.

01

The 30-second answer

If you've got the grill in your hand right now and just want to know what to do, here's the bare minimum: three moves, in order, every time you take it off. Nothing else is needed for daily upkeep, and it's identical for the silver Essential and the Premium with gold-effect PVD.

1. 01

   Rinse under warm water

   As soon as it's off, hold it under warm running water to carry away saliva before it dries on the metal. Never boiling.

2. 02

   Wash with mild soap

   Mild soap and a soft brush kept only for this, including the inner side that rests on your teeth. Zero toothpaste.

3. 03

   Dry and store

   A soft cloth, then the grill goes back dry into its case. Never loose in a pocket or a wallet.

That's 90 percent of the job. The rest of this page is about doing it even better and avoiding the mistakes I see most often.

02

After every use

The real rule is one: you clean the grill every time you wear it, not when you happen to remember. Dried saliva and the residue of a night out work against the metal and against your teeth if they stay there. I'll take you through it step by step, with the details I skipped in the quick version above.

1. 01

   Immediate rinse

   Warm running water the moment it's off. If you let saliva dry, you then have to scrub harder, and that's where scratches start.

2. 02

   Mild soap and soft brush

   Mild soap or a jewellery cleaner, a soft-bristle brush kept only for the grill. Work the inner part well, the side touching the tooth: that's where everything builds up.

3. 03

   No toothpaste

   It feels logical and it's the first mistake: toothpaste is abrasive, it dulls the mirror polish and leaves micro-scratches on PVD. I only use mild soap, always.

4. 04

   Clean teeth before putting it back

   The half of hygiene nobody mentions: the grill goes on washed teeth. Putting it over plaque is like sealing dirt under a cover.

Barely three minutes, and you'll do it with your eyes closed after the first week. It's the difference between a jewel that lasts and a piece that yellows and smells within a month.

03

Weekly deep clean

Once a week, or after heavy use, I give it a deeper clean to remove what the daily rinse misses: the invisible film that forms where the metal hugs the tooth. Nothing complicated, just a little soaking.

1. 01

   Soak in warm soapy water

   A small bowl of warm water with a few drops of mild soap, ten minutes. It softens the residue so you don't have to scrub.

2. 02

   Brush the hidden spots

   With the soft brush go over the grooves between teeth and the inner edges. That's where the plaque you can't see hides.

3. 03

   Rinse and dry thoroughly

   Clean water, then dry well with a soft cloth. Moisture left in the case is the number-one cause of stains and bad smell.

For stubborn dirt, a drop of soap and patience is enough, not harsh products. If it stays dull after soaking, that's a sign it needs re-polishing at the workshop, not more product at home.

04

What to never use: the 5 mistakes

Almost every ruined grill that comes back to me isn't broken: it was cleaned badly. These five products look harmless or even helpful, and they're exactly the ones that eat the finish, PVD especially. Get them out of your head:

Toothpaste and abrasive pastes

They contain micro-granules that sand the surface: they dull silver and leave permanent lines on gold-effect PVD. It feels like cleaning more, it's just wearing the surface down.

Scouring pads, hard brushes, dry baking soda

Anything that scratches cutlery scratches the grill too. The PVD coating is thin and straight: one pass with a scouring pad and it's gone for good.

Bleach and chlorine products

They attack the alloy and oxidise the solder points. It doesn't disinfect any better, it just corrodes. Banned on any finish.

Alcohol, acetone and solvents

They degrease but attack the PVD and dry everything out. Mild soap is enough to keep it clean: if you really want to disinfect, ask me how, don't improvise with solvent.

Boiling water and DIY ultrasonics

Heat can stress the piece, and home ultrasonic baths at the wrong power dull the PVD. The mirror polish is something I redo by hand, not a bedside gadget.

The golden rule, if you remember only one: if a product scratches or corrodes silver cutlery, it scratches or corrodes your grill too. Mild soap, soft brush, warm water. Full stop.

05

Storing it in the case

A grill that's clean but stored badly still gets ruined. The case I send inside your order isn't a cute extra: it's where the piece should live when you're not wearing it, dry and protected. Thrown in a pocket with your keys or left damp in the bathroom, it picks up scratches and stains in a few days.

Always keep it dry before closing it: trapped moisture is what causes stains and smell. Keep it away from heat, perfume and bathroom products. If you travel, the case goes in your bag, not the loose grill. Treat it like a ring you care about, and it lasts like a ring you care about.

06

When it needs re-polishing at the workshop

With the right care a grill stays bright for a long time, but after months of wear it's normal for it to lose a little shine or pick up a micro-scratch. When that happens it's not a defect and you don't fix it at home with more product: the mirror polish has to be redone by hand, and that's work I do myself at the workshop in Monte San Giusto, with the same tools I use to finish new pieces.

If your grill has gone dull, has a visible scratch or the PVD looks worn in one spot, message me in chat and send two photos: I'll tell you right away whether a re-polish is enough or something else is better. I'll handle it. In the meantime don't polish it with harsh products hoping to recover it, because that usually makes it worse.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about cleaning grillz