SHELL CLEANING AND CARE

The first step for preparing to clean a mollusk (shell) is sensory inspection. The sensory inspection will determine your upcoming chemical use and quantity in terms of parts per million. 

Determine if your mollusk (shell) specimen has a foul odor, contains barnacles, seaweed, excessive sand or a high degree of calcium deposits (white film). Once complete, rinse each specimen in warm water eliminating as much debris as possible.

The second step to clean a mollusk (shell) is a bleach bath. The application of bleach breaks down calcium residue, dissolves barnacles, strips off seaweed and eliminates foul odors. 

Don't worry, the color and texture of the shell will not be damaged by the bleach application.

Procedure:

A) Fill a bucket 3/4 full with hot water.

B) Add 1/4 bucket of liquid bleach. Be sure to wear safety glasses and plastic gloves for safety reasons.

C) Place your shells in the bucket. Shell "dwell time" is variable depending on how dirty the shell is. Minimum dwell time is four hours, however,  I've had to soak some shells overnight to loosen barnacles.

D) When you extract the shells from the solution, rinse thoroughly with warm water and allow them to air dry on a cloth bath towel.

*ALL shells pictured on this website were taken through this procedure.

The third step is to clean off the remaining matter on the surface of the shell. At this step, most of the undesirable matter should be at the bottom of your bucket. Herein begins the fine detail. 

Procedure:

A) Scrape away the remaining matter on the surface of the shell. The dentist pick that removes plaque works best. You can get used ones from your local dentist office as they throw many of them away. They work great and will not cut you or damage your shell. Please do not use any sort of knife and injure yourself. 

B) Once complete, rinse the shell as it is now prepared for the Muriatic acid dip (not bath). The Muriatic dip dissolves the remaining film on the shell surface bringing out the true colors.

C) Fill a jar (not plastic or metal bucket) with 3/4 water and 1/4 Muriatic acid. The jar should be glass (acid eats through metal and plastic).

MAKE SURE YOU ARE WEARING THE APPROPRIATE PPE (GLASSES, MASK OVER MOUTH AND NOSE, LONG SLEEVE SHIRT SO THE ACID DOES NOT GET ON YOUR ARMS. DO NOT INHALE THE ACID FUMES.

D) Use tongs and dip each shell for 3-4 seconds as such, one thousand one, one thousand two and so forth.

E) Immediately rinse the shell and allow it to dry on a cloth towel.

The fourth and final step is to beautify the shell. All you need in this step is mineral or baby oil, a small haired paint brush or cloth. 

A) Rub each shell with either oil noted above. You can use your fingers, the paint brush or the cloth. I use the paint brush to get in the grooves of the shell. 

B) Remove excess oil with the cloth. You are now ready to admire and display your beautiful shells.

Don't worry, the process goes fast once you familiarize yourself with the steps.