Crystal Care Checker: Which Crystals Are Water-Safe?

Can your crystal go in water, in salt or in the sun? Pick a stone to see how hard it is, what's safe, and why.

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Hardness on the Mohs Scale:

Water

Salt

Sun

Safe for Every Stone

If a stone can't take water, salt or sun, these cleansing methods work for all of them:

Pass it through incense or herb smoke.
Ring a bell or singing bowl over it.
Leave it on a windowsill overnight in moonlight, and bring it in before the sun comes up.
Rest it on a plate of dry rice, or next to a piece of selenite or clear quartz.

Every Stone at a Glance

		Water	Salt	Sun
Agate	6.5–7	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Amazonite	6–6.5	Rinse only	No salt	Fine
Amber	2–2.5	Rinse only	No salt	Avoid
Amethyst	7	Safe	Short bed	Short only
Ametrine	7	Safe	Short bed	Short only
Angelite	3.5	Keep dry	No salt	Fine
Apache Tear	5–6	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Apatite	5	Rinse only	No salt	Fine
Apophyllite	4.5–5	Rinse only	No salt	Fine
Aquamarine	7.5–8	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Aragonite	3.5–4	Rinse only	No salt	Fine
Aventurine	about 6.5	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Azurite	3.5–4	Rinse only	No salt	Short only
Black Obsidian	5–6	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Black Onyx	6.5–7	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Black Tourmaline	7–7.5	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Bloodstone	6–7	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Blue Lace Agate	6.5–7	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Calcite	3	Rinse only	No salt	Short only
Carnelian	6.5–7	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Celestite	3–3.5	Rinse only	No salt	Avoid
Chalcopyrite	3.5–4	Keep dry	No salt	Fine
Charoite	5–6	Rinse only	No salt	Fine
Chrysocolla	2.5–3.5	Keep dry	No salt	Short only
Chrysoprase	6–7	Safe	Short bed	Short only
Citrine	7	Safe	Short bed	Short only
Clear Quartz	7	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Desert Rose	1.5–2	Keep dry	No salt	Fine
Dumortierite	7–8.5	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Emerald	7.5–8	Rinse only	No salt	Fine
Fluorite	4	Rinse only	No salt	Short only
Garnet	6.5–7.5	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Goldstone	about 5.5	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Hematite	5.5–6.5	Rinse only	No salt	Fine
Howlite	3.5	Rinse only	No salt	Fine
Iolite	7–7.5	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Jade	6–7	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Jasper	6.5–7	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Jet	2.5–4	Rinse only	No salt	Short only
Kyanite	4.5–7	Rinse only	No salt	Fine
Labradorite	6–6.5	Rinse only	No salt	Fine
Lapis Lazuli	5–5.5	Rinse only	No salt	Fine
Lepidolite	2.5–3	Keep dry	No salt	Fine
Lodestone	5.5–6.5	Keep dry	No salt	Fine
Magnetite	5.5–6.5	Keep dry	No salt	Fine
Malachite	3.5–4	Rinse only	No salt	Fine
Moldavite	5.5–7	Safe	No salt	Fine
Moonstone	6–6.5	Rinse only	No salt	Fine
Moss Agate	6.5–7	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Opal	5.5–6	Rinse only	No salt	Avoid
Pearl	2.5–4.5	Rinse only	No salt	Avoid
Peridot	6.5–7	Safe	No salt	Fine
Petrified Wood	about 7	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Prehnite	6–6.5	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Pyrite	6–6.5	Keep dry	No salt	Fine
Red Jasper	6.5–7	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Rhodochrosite	3.5–4	Rinse only	No salt	Short only
Rhodonite	5.5–6.5	Rinse only	No salt	Fine
Rose Quartz	7	Safe	Short bed	Short only
Ruby	9	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Sapphire	9	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Satin Spar	1.5–2	Keep dry	No salt	Fine
Selenite	1.5–2	Keep dry	No salt	Fine
Serpentine	2.5–6	Rinse only	No salt	Fine
Shungite	soft (not well documented)	Rinse only	No salt	Fine
Smoky Quartz	7	Safe	Short bed	Short only
Snowflake Obsidian	5–6	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Sodalite	5.5–6	Rinse only	No salt	Fine
Sunstone	6–6.5	Rinse only	No salt	Fine
Tektite	about 5.5	Safe	No salt	Fine
Tiger's Eye	6.5–7	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Tourmaline	7–7.5	Safe	Short bed	Fine
Turquoise	5–6	Keep dry	No salt	Avoid
Unakite	6–7	Safe	Short bed	Fine

Which Crystals Can Go in Water?

Hard, non-porous crystals can go in water. Quartz, chalcedony and most stones at 6.5 or higher on the Mohs scale can be rinsed, soaked and set in a bowl of water without harm. The ones to keep dry are stones that dissolve, rust or flake apart, and softer stones are better off with a quick rinse and a towel.

Selenite and the other gypsum stones dissolve slowly in water. Angelite turns into gypsum when it gets wet. Pyrite, lodestone and the other iron stones rust, and pyrite breaks down into sulfuric acid in damp air.

Which Crystals Fade in the Sun?

Amethyst, smoky quartz and a handful of other colored stones fade in strong sunlight, and amber, opal, pearl and turquoise dry out or break down with sun and heat. Amethyst is the one most people notice: weeks on a sunny windowsill will turn a deep purple stone pale. These stones do best with a short sun charge or none:

Amber, Amethyst, Ametrine, Azurite, Calcite, Celestite, Chrysocolla, Chrysoprase, Citrine, Fluorite, Jet, Opal, Pearl, Rhodochrosite, Rose Quartz, Smoky Quartz, and Turquoise.

Clear quartz doesn't fade, but a quartz sphere left in direct sun can focus the light like a magnifying glass and start a fire. Keep spheres and eggs out of sunny windows.

Can You Cleanse Crystals With Salt?

Only hard, non-porous stones handle salt, and even those do better with a short salt bed than a long saltwater soak, which can dull the polish over time. Salt pulls moisture, scratches soft stones, and works into cracks. These stones are fine on a bed of dry salt for a night:

Agate, Amethyst, Ametrine, Apache Tear, Aquamarine, Aventurine, Black Obsidian, Black Onyx, Black Tourmaline, Bloodstone, Blue Lace Agate, Carnelian, Chrysoprase, Citrine, Clear Quartz, Dumortierite, Garnet, Goldstone, Iolite, Jade, Jasper, Moss Agate, Petrified Wood, Prehnite, Red Jasper, Rose Quartz, Ruby, Sapphire, Smoky Quartz, Snowflake Obsidian, Tiger's Eye, Tourmaline, and Unakite.

Everything else is happier with smoke, sound or moonlight. Our guide to 11 ways to cleanse crystals walks through each method.

What the Mohs Scale Tells You

The Mohs scale ranks minerals from 1 to 10 by which one can scratch the other. Talc is 1, a fingernail is about 2.5, glass is about 5.5, quartz is 7, and diamond is 10. A stone scratches anything below it, so a quartz point will scratch a piece of fluorite stored in the same pouch. Keep soft stones in their own bag or wrapped in cloth.

Hardness also hints at care. Stones under about 5 tend to scratch, chip or cloud easily, and stones with cleavage, like fluorite and moonstone, can split along flat planes when they're knocked or soaked.

Crystals That Don't Go in Drinking Water

Some stones contain copper, lead or sulfur, or simply dissolve, so they never go straight into water you plan to drink: Amazonite, Angelite, Azurite, Celestite, Chalcopyrite, Chrysocolla, Fluorite, Lapis Lazuli, Lepidolite, Malachite, Pyrite, Selenite, and Turquoise. Many practitioners who make gem water use the indirect method, setting the stone in a small closed glass inside the larger jar so it never touches the water.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the crystal care checker free?

Yes. It's free to use and runs in your browser.

Can selenite go in water?

No. Selenite is gypsum, which dissolves slowly in water, and even a splash clouds its polish. Cleanse it with smoke, sound or moonlight.

Can amethyst go in water?

Yes. Amethyst is quartz, so it can be rinsed and soaked. Keep it out of long sun instead, since its purple fades.

Can rose quartz go in the sun?

For a short time. Ordinary rose quartz pales slowly over years in a sunny window, and the rare clear pink quartz crystals fade much faster, so many practitioners charge rose quartz by moonlight.

Can I use salt water on my crystals?

Only on hard, non-porous stones, and only briefly. A short bed of dry salt is gentler. Never use salt on soft, porous or metallic stones like selenite, turquoise, pyrite or opal.

How do I cleanse a crystal that can't get wet?

Pass it through incense or herb smoke, ring a bell over it, leave it in moonlight overnight, or rest it on a plate of dry rice or next to selenite. These work for every stone.

What if my stone isn't listed?

Choose a dry method until you know more. Smoke, sound and moonlight are safe for every stone, so they're the right choice whenever you aren't sure.

Hardness comes from each stone's mineral entry on Wikipedia, and every care rule follows the mineral facts there. When in doubt, choose a dry method. Sources are listed under each stone.