Some questions by a beginner...

[paul monfils]

Hi.  The best way to clean shells (most shells anyway) is to soak them in a bleach solution, about 1 part liquid bleach to 9 parts water, if she is old enough to do that safely by herself.  Then just rinse thoroughly with water, inside and out, and allow to dry.  It won't hurt the natural colors of the shell, but will remove stains and algae and other kinds of debris from the outside of the shell, as well as any smelly little remains of the former inhabitant that might still be inside. Collectors don't usually polish their shells, but prefer to keep them looking natural.  Some types of shells, like cowries and olive shells, are very glossy naturally, but other types are not naturally glossy and shouldn't be made to look artificially glossy.  Just cleaning is all they need.  If she has shells she picked up on the beach that are dull looking and faded, some of the color can be brought back by rubbing them with mineral oil or baby oil, and then wiping off all the excess oil.  There is also a section on cleaning shells on this website. If your daughter needs any help identifying her shells you can post a picture on our identification forum on this website and experienced collectors will provide the names. And finally, if she would like a small selection of pretty, colorful tropical shells for her collection, email me - <!-- e --><a href="mailto:paulcyp@cox.net">paulcyp@cox.net</a><!-- e --> - with a shipping address and I'll send her (or you) a little box of nice things.  I'm a long time shell dealer and have thousands of shells I can easily spare, so I always like to share a few with a beginner.