How to Care for Seashells That I Found on the Beach

Observe if there is a sea creature, like a mollusk, living in your seashell. If there is no sign of life in your shell, you can skip to step 4.

Boil a few shells at a time for a few minutes in a stove pot. For a clam shell, boil until it opens. Use tongs to carefully remove them.

Extract the mollusk from the shell with a wire or a nut pick, using circular motions. The body may retract into the shell when it has cooled, so extract it soon after removing the shell from the boiling water.

Chip or scrape off any foreign matter on the shell's exterior with a stiff brush or sharp pointed instrument (a knife or dental tool).

Submerge shells that have a spongy growths in a 50-50 solution of bleach and water.

Remove your shells from the bleach solution. The length of time your shells remain in the solution depends on the amount of foreign matter. When you see the periostracum, a flaky leathery covering, disappear or separate from the shell, it's time to remove it.

Dry your shells and shine them by rubbing on a thin coat of mineral oil, baby oil or petroleum jelly. Do not coat shells with vegetable fat; this will make them sticky.

Store seashells in a closed cabinet with drawers to protect them from dust and direct sunlight. Place the shells on corrugated paper lining in the drawer. You can purchase corrugated paper from an office supply store.

Store small seashells in plastic pill bottles or gelatin capsules to keep track of them.

Record the date and location of each shell you find. Organize them with a simple numbering system, and label the containers, recording the data for each shell, and container, in a notebook. You can also write numbers directly onto large shell interiors with a marker.