Crystal Care 101: Cleaning, Charging and Storing Your Stones

You just bought a crystal, or you've had a few on a shelf for a year, and you aren't sure whether to rinse them, put them in the sun or leave them alone. This guide covers the three parts of crystal care: cleaning, charging and storing. It also says which parts are physical and which are tradition.

The short answer

Clean a crystal by wiping it with a soft, dry or barely damp cloth, and only use water if you know the stone tolerates it. "Charging" is a traditional practice, not a physical process, so choose a method that can't damage the stone. Store stones apart from each other, softest ones separately, out of long direct sunlight.

If you do only one thing tonight, look up your stone's hardness and whether it can get wet. Almost every care mistake comes from skipping that step.

Cleaning versus cleansing

These two words get mixed up, and the difference matters.

Cleaning is physical: removing dust, skin oils and lotion residue. Cleansing is the traditional idea of resetting a stone's energy, which is symbolic and has no physical effect on the mineral. You can do either, both or neither. Only cleaning changes how the stone looks.

Know your stone first

Two numbers decide how you should handle a crystal: its Mohs hardness (scratch resistance) and whether it reacts to water.

• Hard and stable stones such as Amethyst, Clear Quartz and Rose Quartz are all quartz, at 7 on the Mohs scale. They handle a quick rinse in lukewarm water and a wipe dry.
• Soft stones need gentle handling. Selenite is around 2, soft enough to scratch with a fingernail, and it can dull or roughen in water. Lepidolite sits around 2.5 to 3.
• Porous or treated stones such as Turquoise can absorb oils, soaps and water, which can change their color over time. Wipe them and keep them away from perfume and cleaning products.
• Copper-bearing stones such as Malachite are soft, and you shouldn't soak them or make water infusions from them.

If a stone isn't listed here, check its page in the crystal directory before it goes near water. We cover this in more depth in Crystals That Should Never Get Wet (and How to Cleanse Them Instead).

How to clean your crystals

1. Start dry

Brush or wipe off dust with a soft dry cloth or a soft-bristled brush. For tumbled stones and beads, this is usually enough.

2. Use lukewarm water only on stable stones

For hard stones like quartz, rinse briefly under lukewarm running water and dry them with a soft cloth. Skip hot water, which can stress a stone, and skip harsh soaps and chemical cleaners. A drop of mild soap is fine for a stubbornly dirty quartz point, but rinse it off completely.

3. Use a damp cloth for everything else

For soft, porous or unknown stones, wipe once with a barely damp cloth and dry immediately. Don't soak them.

4. Clean bracelets carefully

Beaded bracelets are strung on elastic cord, and soaking weakens it. Wipe the beads with a soft cloth and let the bracelet dry flat. Take it off before showers, swimming, cleaning and applying lotion or perfume, since those are the things that wear beads and cord down fastest. If you're looking for stones you can wear every day, browse our energy bracelets.

How crystals are traditionally cleansed and charged

These methods come from tradition. Each is said to refresh a stone's energy or "reset" it, and none of them changes the mineral. Pick one that suits your stone.

• Smoke or incense. Passing a stone through smoke from sage, palo santo or incense is a long-standing ritual. It is safe for nearly every stone, including the soft and water-sensitive ones.
• Sound. A singing bowl, bell or chime near your stones is a common gentle method with no contact at all.
• Moonlight. Leaving stones on a windowsill overnight, especially at a full moon, is the most popular traditional way to "charge" them. It is safe for essentially every stone.
• A bed of another stone. Many people set their stones on a slab of selenite or a cluster of clear quartz overnight. Keep in mind that selenite is very soft, so don't let harder stones grind against it.
• Intention. Holding a stone for a minute of slow breathing and setting an intention for it is the simplest method, and it costs nothing.
• Earth or salt. Burying stones or resting them in salt is traditional, but it isn't safe for everything. Salt and damp soil can damage porous or soft stones, so skip this method unless you're sure.

A note on sunlight

Sunlight is often listed as a way to charge stones, but it's the method that most often causes damage. Amethyst and Rose Quartz are known to fade with prolonged exposure to strong sun, and a stone left in a sunny window for weeks can lose color. If you want to use sunlight, keep it to a short morning stretch, and choose moonlight for anything colored.

What is tradition and what is evidence

Cleaning a stone is practical: dust and oils dull the surface, and gentle wiping fixes that. Cleansing and charging are traditional practices. There is no evidence that a crystal stores or loses energy in a way that any test could measure, and a stone that was never "charged" is the same mineral as one that was.

Many people still find the ritual valuable as a moment to pause, and that is a fair reason to keep doing it. Treat it as a routine you enjoy, not something a stone needs to function.

How to store your crystals

Storage is where you can do the most lasting good, because scratches and cracks are permanent.

Keep stones separate

Stones scratch each other. Give each stone its own soft pouch or a compartment lined with cloth or foam. In a loose bag, quartz at 7 will scratch anything softer, and Selenite and Lepidolite will lose their polish first.

Store soft stones on their own

Keep Selenite, Lepidolite, Malachite and other soft stones in individual cloth pouches, away from quartz and other harder ones.

Watch light, heat and damp

Store stones out of long direct sunlight, away from radiators and away from damp bathrooms. Damp is particularly hard on Selenite.

Keep small stones out of reach

Tumbled stones are small enough to swallow. Keep them away from young children and pets.

Common mistakes

• Soaking Selenite or any soft stone, which can dull it or damage it.
• Leaving colored stones in a sunny window for weeks.
• Dumping every stone in one bowl so they scratch each other.
• Wearing bracelets in the shower or while applying lotion.
• Making water infusions from any stone that shouldn't touch water. Don't drink water that has had crystals in it.

When to choose something different

If you want a low-maintenance stone, pick a hard, stable one like quartz or Jasper, which shrug off most everyday handling. If you're curious how stones are traditionally paired, see our crystal combinations guide.

Frequently asked questions

How often should I clean my crystals?

Wipe them whenever they look dusty or feel oily, which for worn bracelets might be weekly and for shelf stones a few times a year. Traditional cleansing has no fixed schedule, so many people do it at the new or full moon.

Can I clean all crystals with water?

No. Quartz is fine for a quick lukewarm rinse, but Selenite, Malachite, Lepidolite and porous stones like Turquoise can be damaged by water. Check the stone first, and use a dry or barely damp cloth if you're unsure.

Do crystals really need to be charged?

Charging is a traditional practice, not a physical requirement. A stone works as a keepsake, jewelry or a focus object whether or not you charge it, so treat the ritual as optional.

Is moonlight safe for all crystals?

Moonlight is gentle enough for essentially every stone, which is why it is the go-to method for soft and water-sensitive ones. Just keep the stone somewhere dry and secure on the windowsill.

How should I store a crystal bracelet?

Keep it flat or loosely coiled in a soft pouch, away from sunlight and other jewelry that could scratch the beads. Don't hang it by the cord for long periods, since that stretches the elastic.

Good crystal care mostly comes down to knowing your stone, keeping it dry when it needs to be, and giving it its own soft place to sit.