how to clean sand dollars

Coastal treasures are always washing up on the shore. But what a delight to find a sand dollar! But do you know how to clean a sand dollar?

What Is A Sand Dollar?

A sand dollar is an urchin that lives and burrows in the ocean sand. But a whiteish sand dollar that washes up on the shore is actually the skeleton of a sand dollar. The skeletons or "tests" as they are called are eventually washed into shore by the waves. And they can be fairly rare to find. I collect them over time and then clean a batch together. If you spot a dark colored sand dollar, or turn one over and it has moving feathery tentacles on the underside, it is still alive. Please put it back in the water.

Why Do Some Sand Dollars Have Holes In Them?

Sand dollars found on the South East Coast of the United States have holes, often referred to as keyholes. The holes allow water currents to pass through the sand dollar without dislodging them. The holes also help the sand dollar escape danger quicker, by letting the water pass through them when they are trying to flee.

Sand Dollars found on the Pacific coast do not have holes.

The look of your sand dollar tells you where it is from.

How To Clean A Sand Dollar

The sand dollars we are used to seeing in photos are the creamy white ones. So let me show you how to clean a sand dollar to get that summer white look.

The first thing to do with your sand dollar let it sit outside in the sun for a couple of days. You want to get them dried out, and use the sun to give them some natural whitening.

Next take a soft toothbrush and softly brush off the sand and any debris. Sand dollars are often filled with sand so be sure to shake the sand out.

Next you will want o use a shallow dish and fill it with 2:1 with water and bleach. So that would mean 2 cups of warm water and one cup of bleach. Pour the water and bleach into your shallow dish and then place your sand dollars in the bleach water mixture. If you have several sand dollars, you want to lay them all flat, not over lapping each other.

Set a timer and let your sand dollar sit in the bleach solution for 1-2 hours. Bleaching them longer than 2 hours may cause them to crumble. Check on them occasionally while they bleach to make sure the exterior is still hard. Just before you remove them from the bleach water take the toothbrush and lightly brush them again to remove any final debris.

After bleaching your sand dollar rinse in cold water for few minutes to get the bleach off. Then return them to the outside sun to dry.

After your sand dollar is dry you may want to protect it and give it a stronger exterior. To preserve your sand dollar take a disposable container and mix Elmers glue (i use Elmers clear glue) and water 2:1. That would be 1/4 cup of glue to 1/8 cup of water. This is enough to do a few sand dollars.

Using a small paint brush, brush the glue mixture on the sand dollar. It's best to brush on thinner coats and to do several coats rather than to clump it on. Give a 1/2 an hour for each coat to dry. I do three coats. after the final coat of glue and water, I let them dry over night.