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Seashells can become beautiful keepsakes of a memorable beach trip. You can use seashells for home decoration or craft. If you are collecting seashells on the beach, it is important to clean both the inside and the outside of the shells and polish them to preserve them for a long time. Please start with step 1 below.
Steps
Collect seashells
- Check the laws of your destination country to make sure not to collect unauthorized seashells. For example, in US territorial waters, it is illegal to collect queen conch. They are a protected species due to their vulnerability to overfishing.
- Determining whether the shells are alive or dead will determine the method of cleaning the shells. For example, raw seashells will require you to remove the animal tissue inside.
Remove tissue from living seashells
- Put the shells in a large pot and pour cold water over the shells about 5 cm. It is important that you use room temperature water and put the shells in the pot before heating, as a sudden increase in temperature can crack the shells.
- Boil water. Let the water boil for about 5 minutes. If you boil a lot of shells, you need to boil them a little longer. Larger shells also need to be boiled longer.
- Use tongs to remove the shell and place it gently on a soft surface, such as a hot towel.
- Use tweezers or another tool to carefully remove the animal tissue from the inside of the shell and discard. [1] X Research Source
- Dig a hole in the ground. Remember that the hole should be large enough to bury all the shells with plenty of space between the shells. The hole should be about 45-60 cm deep to prevent animals from digging up shells or people walking on top of them breaking the shells.
- Place the shells in the hole evenly spaced.
- Fill the shells with soil.
- Wait a few months for the insects, larvae, worms and bacteria to remove the tissue inside the shell. The longer you bury, the better the results. [2] X Research Source
- Dig up the shells and check if the animal tissue is gone.
- Place the seashells in a zippered plastic bag. You may need to use multiple bags if you want to handle a lot of shells.
- Fill the bag with water until the entire shell is covered.
- Place the clamshell bag in the freezer.
- Freeze for a few days.
- Remove the clamshell bag from the freezer and wait for it to defrost completely.
- Take out the shell and take out the animal tissue inside.
Clean dead seashells
- Change the water every day. Shells will be even cleaner if soaked in clean water.
- You can also boil dead seashells after a week of soaking to ensure that all dirt or animal tissue is removed from the shell.
- Pour equal parts water and bleach into the pot so that all the shells are covered.
- Soak the shells in the solution. You should see a skin-like scab coming off a seashell. This is the outer stratum corneum, or organic shell, or “skin” of a seashell.
- Once this shell has peeled off, remove the shell from the solution. You can use a toothbrush to scrub the dirt off the shells.
- Wash the shells thoroughly and let them dry completely.
- Apply baby oil or mineral oil to the shell to restore shine.
- Spread a thin layer of toothpaste on one side of the shell.
- Leave the toothpaste on the shell for at least 5 hours to infuse. You can leave it overnight for the toothpaste to take effect.
- When the toothpaste becomes sticky and/or hardens depending on the thickness of the shell, use an old toothbrush and a cup of warm water to scrub the shells off. Be sure to scrub even small cracks and crevices that are hard to see.
- Be sure to rinse off the toothpaste thoroughly, even if you have to rinse the shells under running water after scrubbing. This will help clean out the particles and other ingredients in the toothpaste, removing anything rough and sharp, leaving a very smooth surface with very few blemishes.
- This works best if the shells have been previously cleaned by soaking them in water or bleach.
Shell polishing
- Mineral oil not only restores the luster of seashells, but also preserves the shells.
- Similarly, you can spray WD-40 oil on seashells. Remember to wear gloves when using this material.
- Treat one side of the shell every day. Let the shells dry completely before treating the other side. Each side can take a day to dry.
Advice
- Leave the shells alive on the beach. Seashells are home to many animals, and there are tons of shells with no creatures in them so you don’t have to take them out. Drop shells with animals in them into the sea and find other shells.
- Another way is to place live seashells near a trash can or landfill. Find a trash can with fly larvae or maggots crawling around, and leave it open so they can crawl into the shell. Flies can lay eggs in shells, and their larvae will eat the dead flesh in them. This process can take a week or more.
- Although it may not be possible to collect beautiful seashells, it is best to pick up dead seashells on the beach instead of collecting living creatures in the sea, as this is better for the environment, more Plus, you don’t have to worry about removing the flesh inside the shell.
Warning
- Some types of shells do not tolerate boiling, especially soft or fragile shells. If you are afraid of breaking the shell, you should only boil the water until it is almost boiling instead of completely boiling.
- Certain types of shells (known as the speckled porcelain snail) can be damaged by bleaching and other methods. If there is a seashell that you cherish, you should identify its species and study the appropriate treatment. You can also experiment with other shells of the same type that you don’t really appreciate.
- Always wear safety glasses and gloves when using bleach.
- Be careful not to get burned when removing the shells from the hot water. You should always use protective gloves.
- Bleach sometimes discolors seashells. If you don’t want the shells to be “white”, check regularly and/or dilute the bleach solution (you can add more bleach as needed).
wikiHow is a “wiki” site, which means that many of the articles here are written by multiple authors. To create this article, 20 people, some of whom are anonymous, have edited and improved the article over time.
This article has been viewed 19,977 times.
Seashells can become beautiful keepsakes of a memorable beach trip. You can use seashells for home decoration or craft. If you are collecting seashells on the beach, it is important to clean both the inside and the outside of the shells and polish them to preserve them for a long time. Please start with step 1 below.
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