How to safely clean seashells!

Today we take a quick look on how to clean shells using bleach! Get rid of smell, barnacles, and shine them up!

[@SaltyReflections]

Thanks for putting in the time and making this video to show us how to make shells even more beautiful!

[@shellstories]

Thank you very much!

[@Chelle778]

Thank you so much - I have been collecting shells with my grandkids for decades - going to go to work on them.

[@stephanieyee9784]

You have some absolutely gorgeous shells in that collection. ❤

[@mamohlogotsibetty5141]

I love how your videos are short n straight to the point ❤

[@shellstories]

Thank you so much! It means a lot :)

[@Spaguy62]

Hello! Great video and very helpful for us "Sanibel Stoopers"! One thing I might add is that I've used regular Mineral Oil from the pharmacy section at Walmart as well as "food grade" Mineral Oil, and I find that the food grade is thinner and less sticky feeling. Same shine and same longevity of shine (which is basically a very long time). I've also used Muriatic Acid in the past and, while quicker, it's eally harsh on shells and people. Yes, it works, but at what cost? I've ruined Murexes in seconds and destroyed the gloss on Fighting Conchs, among others using Muriatic Acid. A 50/50 mix of bleach and water overnight or up to about 24 hours, let them dry another 24 hours, food grade mineral oil, blot the excess and you're good to go! Thanks again for this well-done video tutorial.

[@shellstories]

All good points! I've never tried acid but it seems like bleach + oil achieves the same thing as the acid does. It also seems less efficient when cleaning large batches of shells. I wouldn't take my chances when cleaning 200 shells and risking eventually dropping one on accident and ruining it, LOL. The oil definitely lasts a long time, I've had my shells oiled for 4+ years and they're still good. Thanks for watching!

[@christinemurphy1902]

The barnacles add so much character I wouldn’t remove them.

[@ScaryFear]

Ah very nice. I saw your other video on the acid. Though the results are fast and impressive it's not for me. I'm sure others can do it but that is something I don't trust myself with. Bleach on the other hand is safer and easy but longer. I have used bleach over night. They look good. Thanks for the video.

[@shellstories]

Thanks! I don't ever remember making a video on acid, I made one using bleach on my other channel but never on acid. As you mentioned, I don't trust myself with acid, and bleach is far safer overall.

[@ScaryFear]

@@shellstories Oh I'm sorry my bad. I got confused. It's been a rough week for me haha. Well, I still like this video. It's very helpful.

[@camilalozina]

Amazing video, thank you! So concrete, love it! Definitely trying this for my shells

[@shellstories]

Thank you so much!

[@merriezahra8747]

Nice shells love the orange striped horse conchs always look forward to your videos

[@shellstories]

Thanks!

[@hackboy89]

No non-sense video. Perfect.

[@BrainyCreativity]

BEAUTIFUL shells 🐚

[@catherinecruz8036]

Does the mineral oil make the shells flammable? As I would love to make candles from shells soon x

[@tinacloutier7654]

Beautiful!

[@Darfex_]

Hello What is mineral oil? And what is the alternatives

[@mandybruce8239]

They look so shiny and new

[@silverpassion3588]

Tks for the vid. Will using bleach fake the colour? Some other vid I saw uses vinegar. What are your thoughts. Tks

[@shellstories]

I have never had a problem with bleach removing color from the shells. I don't think it is strong enough to physically destroy the pigmentation on the shells, it's just household bleach after all. I've never tried vinegar on shells, though I've heard it can dissolve them after a long time though. Thanks for watching :)

[@cossackcortes]

Thanks! Can bleach be harmful? Does it affect colors?

[@shellstories]

In my experience, it does not damage the physical coloration on shells. It might not be so good for the naturally extremely glossy shells, but I'm not convinced that bleach can damage the calcium carbonate shells are made of if only submerged for a few days. Thanks for watching! :)

[@05akei]

Does this work on starfish? I was afraid for it to react on bleach like how it gets destroyed from vinegar. Thank you!

[@05akei]

I bought some dried starfishes from a garage sale and it was full of dust.

[@shellstories]

I'm not sure. I have never tried cleaning them, but I imagine bleach would be quite bad for them. Perhaps soap & water could be good but again, I'm not sure.

[@OurPetss.]

So pretty.

[@mat8139]

how long does the mineral oil shiny look last?

[@shellstories]

Thanks for asking, I'm not sure. I first shined up all my shells around 3 years ago and they still look good today, so only time will tell on that. But the oil might fade away after a while.

[@w8n4theboat]

no boiling needed after bleaching huh ? just a good scrub n rinse ? ty kindly

[@shellstories]

You could if you want. I didn't go that route, but you can try whatever you'd like and see what works best. Thanks for watching!

[@katiescarboro248]

Where do you find these type of shells? All the beaches near me only have clam shells.

[@shellstories]

Sorry for the late response. All these shells were found in Southwest Florida!

[@shaylaster1607]

@@shellstories just went shell searching in tarpon springs FL today.. so thanks for the tips!!

[@chrissypink24]

I live in New England and I found a few HUGE conch shells at my local beach. Try checking at the lowest point in low tide. I've had better luck at beaches with little coves.

[@shumi6417]

UNDERRATED

[@imadamnllama]

Very cool 😎 0:3 very relatable 😂😂

[@MadSocial]

Will this cleaning method work for smaller shells being used for jewelry?

[@shellstories]

It should probably work fine, just make sure to use less bleach for smaller shells. (Maybe 5% bleach, rest water). I never tried this with tiny shells, but it should work well with them too. Thanks for asking!

[@MadSocial]

@@shellstories thanks for your feedback. I'll keep you posted.

[@anilaballa7975]

@@shellstories what method do u reccomend for smaller sized shells?

[@thelandongang3444]

whoa, i havent watched the full vid yet but WOW, where did u get those huuuge shells man

[@shellstories]

These are mostly from Sanibel, Florida & some from various surrounding beaches.

[@shipspirit5424]

you have beautiful shells :) thank you so much for the video :) Is it Ok to use a cheap homebrand baby oil? I hear it's mineral oil anyways? :) Also - how to know which type of shells are Ok to use with this process - do you have a list? I'm not great at knowing shell types, though recently I found this cool encyclopedia of shells from an opshop (score!) Please and thank you :)

[@shellstories]

Thank you so much! I would say any shell is fair game to use with literally any type of baby/mineral oil. I've personally used mineral oil since that's what I happened to have, but It's a low risk high reward kind of thing. Of course some shells that are already shiny won't see much of a change (like fresh lettered olives or cowries). Maybe don't bleach the already shiny shells either, but for the most part this is one of the few methods that it wouldn't hurt to try with any shell and see what happens (bleach does not damage shells, I can say from years of experience). Thanks very much for watching! :)

[@shipspirit5424]

@@shellstories i'm keen to give it a go :) Thanks so much!

[@alyssabhan6642]

Hey, does anyone know if this is safe for snail shells in particular? The creator only used seashells or ones that can be found on the sores so I'm a bit unsure if this method could damage mine....

[@Spaguy62]

Yes it is. Because they're so smooth to begin with, you shouldn't have to remove that much calcium/salt build-up on them. I put mine in the bleach and water mix for about 3-4 hours only, let them dry real well, and then oil them up. They look great.

[@alyssabhan6642]

@@Spaguy62 thank you!! i did it and i love how they turned out!! thanks so much for replying :D

[@shipspirit5424]

Do you also collect fossils and rocks also from beaches? Would this method work for those too? Or soap and water perhaps best? Or perhaps soak in water for a long time? please and thank you :)

[@shellstories]

I collect rocks and fossils occasionally (moreso in the great lakes) and I don't know if bleach would work, given that I've never tried it on things that aren't shells. Mineral/baby oil is probably good to try though, so could a soak in water. I would experiment with what works/doesn't work and find an optimum for what does work for you. Thanks again for watching :)

[@shipspirit5424]

@@shellstories thank you so much 🥰

[@27253i]

Going to the beach in 3 days. Ima try and find as many seashells as I can and I might do this.

[@suzannehirsch3272]

Didn't you find that the bleach took the colours away. I tried this and the shell I used had the most beautiful bright turquoises,greens,greens etc were gone. and blues and when I put it in the bleach it turned it into your normal mother of pearl looking white all the blues

[@mysticwholistic]

Can you use any other oil? Mineral Oil is made from petroleum.

[@shellstories]

I'm not really sure, I haven't tried any other. Thanks for watching :)

[@AidanKravchuk09]

where did you find the shells

[@shellstories]

They are from Sanibel island, Florida.

[@badru1968]

What's the name of that bleach, I mean chemical name

[@cathypilkington4210]

Where do you find shells like these???

[@shellstories]

Sanibel island, FL.

[@yogifoodtravel514]

Do you sell these sea shells? I am looking for the same you have

[@shellstories]

Sorry, I don't collect shells to sell them.

[@yogifoodtravel514]

@@shellstories ok mate thanks for let me know cheers!

[@samiraabag3052]

Does it work on oyster shells?

[@shellstories]

Almost certainly yes. The only exception being extremely thin and fragile shells, which most oysters are not anyway.

[@supremeexpertsofallages1884]

Can I use another oil ? Which oil ? Please tell me.

[@shellstories]

I'm not sure. I've never tried other oils. But do not use any food based oils, as those will make your shells a bit smelly.

[@farhanahaque5672]

Thankyou

[@supremeexpertsofallages1884]

Thanks

[@TheDivera]

I clened my seashells with viniger and baking soda and now they are not shiny and they loose color 😪 Is there anything that will return their shine and color?

[@shellstories]

Oh no! Try putting mineral oil on them, that should help. Thanks for watching! :)

[@Darfex_]

What is mineral oil I can't get it in my country​@@shellstories

[@kenshinphd]

I want to do this and use some for necklaces, but how do I make sure there are no creatures in there????

[@pritirekha2958]

Why should brought shell if they are still alive .....if they have have creature u can put it for sundry then they will die......if u want if they have creature or not just check it no prob......yaa that's it

[@vanadium789]

Been reading in shell cleaning comment threads that vinegar works well. Trying to find a video that doesn't use chemical products that are harmful to skin and environment.

[@shellstories]

Yeah I've heard it works well! I'm unsure of how long shells should be dipped and have never tried that method, but maybe I'll do a video on that when I have the oppurtunity to do so!

[@vanadium789]

@@shellstories Thanks for the reply. I'd love that. I'll probably have tried it out already but I'm sure there are others who would enjoy seeing it done multiple ways. There's something relaxing about seeing people wash their beach treasures. :3

[@ewas8092]

If u put shells straight up in vinegar and leave it for long time they dissolve, with few h soak in vinegar they start loosing color. ( we did reaction experiment like this while i was kid.

[@vanadium789]

@@ewas8092 I paint them afterward. I wonder if it could be avoided if I just keep a close eye on them.

[@ewas8092]

When you soak seashells in vinegar, carbon dioxide bubbles start to form. They are a product of the reaction between the calcium carbonate in the seashell and the acetic acid in vinegar. The reaction has a cleansing effect over a period of several minutes, but eventually, the shell will start to dissolve. With me it took like 3 days for them to dissolve after 24h they were out of color and much thinner so if you plan paint them over vinegar might be ok just please safety first, best keep them outside

[@dharmdarshan5258]

I will definitely subscribe your chennel.

[@ruthastorga6686]

Traducir porfavor en español? Gracias

[@dharmdarshan5258]

Hay can you send me the right handed open shankh I need it .pls

[@shellstories]

I am very sorry but I am not selling anything at the moment. Also, the shell you are talking about is not a chank shell (I simply don't have any in my collection).

[@TimeSlipping1375]

It's classic

[@shipspirit5424]

another question - I've been hearing more stories of how collecting shells from the beach is more harmful these days. I never heard such stories growing up. Is is really true? Do you have rules where you are? To be brutally honest I don't even know if there are strict rules/laws here to do with shell collecting. I know there are certainly *some things that are illegal and strongly advised against when it comes to beach/marine restrictions here in Australia ..not a bad thing to have rules in place.. but it's only recent years I hear more and more about how bad shell collecting is rather than good.. esp in re to waste .. I've heard they're not so good for gardens any more either

[@shellstories]

Great question. As with any "nature pursuit" there's always ethical questions to be considered. People have, and will continue to collect seashells - there's no stopping that. So if you personally decide to take some home, I don't see anything wrong with that. Of course there are/may be regulations depending on the location, like with legally protected species generally being off limits for even dead specimen collection, or national parks also being completely shelling-free areas. Where I've shelled in Florida and along the Atlantic coast, there's hardly any restrictions in place with regards to shelling, so people are generally left to decide what is right on their own. That may be a good or bad thing, and that in of itself leaves your question unanswered. People are more aware of these environmental issues nowadays than before, however that still leaves this thought unanswered, and I don't think there really is a definitive answer here, because we just don't know yet. Thank you for the thought provoking question!

[@kv1815]

But they clean initially!

[@rabouteira6397]

I have a question you need to answer urgent

[@shellstories]

What is it?

[@rabouteira6397]

@@shellstories So I have a shell and I don't know what's wrong with it shells are suppose to look beautiful but the one I have is like Concrete I mean its the shape of the shell and is the layout of the shell but the texture and how it looks is like feeling a rough pavement and the whole shell is gray what's going on with it?

[@sandysaputra6873]

You are probably talking about fossilized shells...

[@rabouteira6397]

@@sandysaputra6873 Wow that took a while for an answer sadly I don't have the shell anymore

[@dharmdarshan5258]

I am from India .I am Rina.It is very valuable religiously for me.So I request you to send it to me pls.It will not affect your sea shell collection a lot .So pls send the big one right handed open shankh to me I will be very great full to you.

[@Darfex_]

Hello What is mineral oil? And what is the alternatives