Crystal Care Chart: Water, Salt & Sun

Some crystals love a rinse under the tap, and others dissolve, flake or fade. This chart covers every stone we carry: how hard it is on the Mohs scale, whether it can get wet, sit in salt or rest in the sun, and the one thing worth knowing about it. Each answer comes from the stone's mineral makeup, so you can see why, and each stone links to its full guide.

Free printable

Keep the whole chart by your altar or crystal shelf: download the printable crystal care chart (PDF, two pages, free to print and share, no sign-up).

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Cleansing that suits every stone

When you're not sure, choose a method that never touches the stone:

Moonlight: a night on a windowsill. Take sun-sensitive stones in before morning.
Sound: a singing bowl, chime or bell rung over the stone for a minute.
Smoke: a slow pass through sage or incense smoke.
A selenite plate: rest stones on it overnight. Selenite itself must stay dry.
Your breath and intention: hold the stone, breathe slowly and picture it clearing.

More detail is in how to cleanse crystals.

The chart

Stone	Hardness (Mohs)	Water	Salt	Sun	Good to know
Agate	6.5–7	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Fine	Dyed agate can fade in strong sun.
Amazonite	6–6.5	Quick rinse, dry at once	Skip salt	Short sun only	Splits along flat planes if knocked; set it down gently.
Amethyst	7	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Can fade	Long, strong sun slowly pales the purple.
Ammonite	3–4	Keep dry	Skip salt	Short sun only	A calcite fossil: no vinegar or acids; wipe with a dry cloth.
Apatite	5	Quick rinse, dry at once	Skip salt	Short sun only	Brittle; store it away from harder stones.
Aquamarine	7.5–8	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Fine	Avoid sudden heat.
Astrophyllite	3–4	Keep dry	Skip salt	Fine	Thin blades flake: handle gently, dry cloth only.
Aura Quartz	7 (coating softer)	Quick rinse, dry at once	Skip salt	Fine	The metal film scratches: no salt, scrubbing or harsh cleaners.
Black Tourmaline	7–7.5	Rinse or wash	Skip salt	Fine	Long raw crystals snap crosswise if dropped; salt lodges in the grooves.
Bloodstone	6.5–7	Quick rinse, dry at once	Skip salt	Fine	African bloodstone can contain pyrite: dry it right away.
Blue Sandstone	5.5–6	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Fine	Man-made glass: avoid sudden hot-to-cold changes.
Calcite	3	Quick rinse, dry at once	Skip salt	Short sun only	Soft and acid-sensitive: no vinegar, lemon or long soaks.
Carnelian	6.5–7	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Fine	Natural color holds in sun; dyed pieces can fade.
Celestite	3–3.5	Keep dry	Skip salt	Can fade	Soft; the pale blue fades in strong sun.
Chlorite	2–2.5 (7 inside quartz)	Quick rinse, dry at once	Skip salt	Fine	Raw chlorite or green on the surface: dry cloth only.
Chrysocolla	2–4 (up to 7 when quartz-filled)	Keep dry	Skip salt	Short sun only	A copper mineral: keep it dry and out of drinking water.
Citrine	7	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Can fade	Heat and long, strong sun can fade it.
Clear Quartz	7	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Fine	A clear sphere in a sunny window can focus light like a lens: keep it away from curtains, paper and wood.
Crazy Lace Agate	6.5–7	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Fine	Very durable; can scratch softer stones in a drawer.
Desert Rose	2	Keep dry	Skip salt	Fine	Gypsum and sand: water dissolves and crumbles it.
Dragon's Blood	6–7	Quick rinse, dry at once	Dry salt bowl OK	Fine	Quick rinse and dry; no soaking.
Fire Quartz	7	Quick rinse, dry at once	Skip salt	Fine	Hematite can reach the surface: no long soaks.
Fluorite	4	Quick rinse, dry at once	Skip salt	Can fade	Soft with cleavage; some colors fade in sun.
Garnet	6.5–7.5	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Fine	Avoid sudden temperature changes and steam.
Goldstone	5.5–6	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Fine	Man-made glass: avoid sudden temperature changes.
Green Aventurine	6.5	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Fine	Dyed green pieces can fade.
Hematite	5.5–6.5	Quick rinse, dry at once	Skip salt	Fine	Brittle: chips if dropped; dry it to keep the shine.
Howlite	3.5	Keep dry	Skip salt	Fine	Porous: soaks up lotion; dyed howlite can bleed if wet.
Jasper	6.5–7	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Fine	"Picasso jasper" is marble: no vinegar.
Kambaba	6.5–7	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Fine	Sturdy; spheres need a stand.
Kyanite	5 along, 7 across	Quick rinse, dry at once	Skip salt	Fine	Blades split lengthwise: pat dry, never bend.
Labradorite	6–6.5	Quick rinse, dry at once	Skip salt	Fine	Cleavage: a drop can split it; no hot water or steam.
Lapis Lazuli	5–5.5	Quick rinse, dry at once	Skip salt	Fine	Contains calcite and pyrite: no soaking, acids or salt.
Lava Stone	about 6	Keep dry	Skip salt	Fine	Porous: soaks up water and oils.
Lepidolite	2.5–3	Keep dry	Skip salt	Fine	A mica: flakes if wet or rubbed.
Mahogany Obsidian	5–5.5	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Fine	Volcanic glass: no hot water or freezing cold.
Malachite	3.5–4	Keep dry	Skip salt	Short sun only	A copper mineral: keep dry, away from heat and out of drinking water.
Mookaite	6–7	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Fine	Store rough chips in a pouch.
Moonstone	6–6.5	Quick rinse, dry at once	Skip salt	Fine	Cleavage: knocks crack it; no steam or ultrasonic.
Moss Agate	6.5–7	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Fine	Dyed green agate can fade in strong sun.
Nephrite Jade	6–6.5	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Fine	Very tough, but quartz scratches it; avoid strong heat.
Obsidian	5–5.5	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Fine	Volcanic glass: no hot water or freezing car; raw edges can be sharp.
Ocean Jasper	6.5–7	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Fine	Brush dust out of small crystal pockets and let them dry fully.
Opalite	5.5–6	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Fine	Man-made glass: avoid sudden temperature changes.
Peridot	6.5–7	Rinse or wash	Skip salt	Fine	Sensitive to acids and sudden temperature changes.
Pink Opal	5.5–6	Keep dry	Skip salt	Short sun only	Holds a little water: avoid sudden heat and very dry spots (radiators, hot cars).
Red Jasper	6.5–7	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Fine	Iron color: sunlight won't fade it.
Rhodochrosite	3.5–4	Keep dry	Skip salt	Short sun only	A carbonate: no acids or cleaners; damp cloth at most.
Rhodonite	5.5–6.5	Quick rinse, dry at once	Skip salt	Fine	Points chip if dropped; moisture left on it can slowly darken it.
Rose Quartz	7	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Can fade	The pink can fade in strong sun.
Ruby Zoisite	6–7	Quick rinse, dry at once	Dry salt bowl OK	Fine	Perfect cleavage: quick rinse, no soaking.
Sardonyx	6.5–7	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Short sun only	Some dyed layers can fade; mild cleaners only.
Selenite	2	Keep dry	Skip salt	Fine	Gypsum: water dissolves its surface; no steamy bathrooms or heat (turns it chalky).
Septarian	3–4	Keep dry	Skip salt	Fine	Calcite veins: no vinegar or soaking.
Smoky Quartz	7	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Can fade	Long, strong light can pale it; heat removes the smoke.
Sodalite	5.5–6	Quick rinse, dry at once	Skip salt	Fine	Store it apart from quartz.
Strawberry Quartz	7	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Fine	Keep lotion and perfume off it.
Sunstone	6–6.5	Quick rinse, dry at once	Skip salt	Fine	Cleavage: water works into the cracks, so no long soaks.
Tiger's Eye	6.5–7	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Fine	High heat turns it red: keep it away from flames.
Unakite	6–7	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Fine	Feldspar can chip if a point is knocked.
Watermelon Tourmaline	7–7.5	Rinse or wash	Dry salt bowl OK	Short sun only	Slices can have natural cracks: no sudden heat or steam.

How to read it

Hardness: 7 and up (the quartz family, tourmaline, aquamarine) handles daily wear. Under 5 scratches easily, so give it its own pouch and keep it out of rings.
Water: "keep dry" stones are soft, porous, flaky or water-soluble (13 of them: Ammonite, Astrophyllite, Celestite, Chrysocolla, Desert Rose, Howlite, Lava Stone, Lepidolite, Malachite, Pink Opal, Rhodochrosite, Selenite, Septarian). Even water-safe jewelry should dry fully, since cord, elastic and metal findings don't like long soaks.
Salt: salt scratches soft stones, and salt water corrodes metal and pyrite. A dry bowl of salt is safe only for hard, non-porous stones, and it's never needed: moonlight or sound do the same job.
Sun: 6 stones can fade in long, strong sun: Amethyst, Celestite, Citrine, Fluorite, Rose Quartz, Smoky Quartz. "Short sun only" stones are heat-sensitive or often dyed.

Questions people ask

Which crystals can't go in water? Selenite and desert rose (both gypsum) dissolve, and malachite, chrysocolla, lepidolite, howlite, lava stone, astrophyllite, celestite and the calcite stones (ammonite, septarian, rhodochrosite) are best kept dry. Wipe them with a soft, dry cloth instead.

Which crystals fade in the sun? Amethyst, rose quartz, citrine, smoky quartz, fluorite and celestite are the classic ones. A shelf out of direct sun keeps their color.

Can I put crystals in drinking water? Copper minerals such as malachite and chrysocolla never go in drinking water. If you make crystal water, use a hard stone like clear quartz in a sealed glass inside the water, so the stone never touches what you drink.

Do I need to cleanse a new crystal? Many people do. Every crystal in our shop is smudged with sage and charged in the moonlight before it ships, so yours arrives ready.