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By EMILY WILSON 1,468 views
BEAUTY TIPS

How Well do Ultrasonic Cleaners Work

Cleaning items such as jewellery, watches, various tools, optical lenses, and electronic equipment, has always been a mystery for many people. How to clean those fragile items without damaging them? Surely, you can use a damp cloth, but does it get rid of bacteria and germs? No. Luckily, cleaners for small and intricate parts, such as ultrasonic cleaners, exist. Even though they’ve existed for a couple of decades, ultrasonic cleaners became popular only recently. 

1. What is an ultrasonic cleaner?

Simply put, an ultrasonic cleaner is a device used for cleaning usually uncleanable items. It emits ultrasound waves and uses water or appropriate cleaning liquid. The machine removes dirt, germs and other foreign particles, leaving items you put in it sterilised. This is why this type of cleaning is ideal for surgical and dental instruments. 

This device creates bubbles, the process also known as cavitation, which is generated by those high-frequency waves that move through the water. Those bubbles attach to particles and agitate the cleaning solution, which produces a high pressure that removes unwanted germs and substances from your items. The best part of it is that the device focuses on the parts of your items that are usually out of your reach when cleaning them manually.

2. Does it really work?

It’s natural to have doubts about something you’ve never seen before. If you’re not a physicist or an expert from a similar field, the concept of the ultrasonic cleaner is abstract to you. Let’s simplify the process. 

For example, you have a necklace that you’ve been wearing for a while, and you notice that it needs cleaning. By taking a damp cloth and a brush, you’re not cleaning it thoroughly enough. However, when you place it an ultrasonic cleaner, the bubbles created by the agitation of water clean even the tiniest, hard-to-reach parts of your necklace, removing all the dirt, contamination and germs. Even though it may seem like it, ultrasonic cleaners don’t use propellers to create such high-frequency waves. Unlike propellers, this device creates more powerful but microscopic bubbles that are incredibly effective for cleaning even the most inaccessible parts of your items. 

3. Why do I need a cleaning solution?

The concept is similar to the process of washing hands. Even though the water cleans your hands well, you still need to use soap to remove bacteria and dirt. What kind of contaminants can you remove using the ultrasonic cleaner? By using the cleaning solutions, you can remove soil, fingerprints, and dirt from the optical parts, various contaminants from surgical and dental instruments and firearms, grit from your jewellery, dirt, and stains from the fabric, etc. If the ultrasonic cleaner is good enough for top-notch surgeons and dentists, why wouldn’t it be good enough for you?

Besides buying premade ones, you can make a homemade ultrasonic cleaning solution. The process is quite simple, and all the ingredients can be found in the average home. 

4. How to choose the right Ultrasonic Cleaner for me?

Ultrasonic cleaning devices come in different categories. Each category is specialised in a different kind of cleaning. That’s why picking the right machine out of the wide range of ultrasonic cleaners is important. Choosing the devices that have been locally made, allows you to customise the tanks and add different options according to your needs. 

An industrial ultrasonic cleaner is meant for heavier style clean. They are usually used for product cleaning and are very efficient. 

Jewellery cleaners usually contain only one chamber, and besides cleaning jewellery, they are meant for other instruments. This device is using ultrasonic energy mixed with a water or cleaning solution to clean your belongings.

Commercial ultrasonic cleaners are made out of stainless-steel tanks and are mainly used for light cleaning without the use of harsh chemicals. Chemicals under the 4Ph level are not recommended for this device.

The best part of ultrasonic cleaners is that you can create a custom cleaner that suits your exact needs. 

5. Is there anything I shouldn’t put in the Ultrasonic Cleaner?

Ultrasonic cleaner sounds magical, and it is only for the right materials. When it comes to cleaning delicate items, you need to be careful. You shouldn’t put sensitive, organic materials such as pearls and coral-made jewellers in the ultrasonic cleaner. Try finding a different way to clean the pearls. Alongside with pearls and corals, soft gemstones and those susceptible to breaking or chipping aren’t ideal candidates for ultrasonic cleaners. 

Even though diamonds are the hardest element on the earth, their texture is brittle and often contains inclusions, so it can be damaged in the cleaning machine. 

Conclusion

Ultrasonic cleaners do wonders for dirty items. They are ideal for cleaning inaccessible parts of the instruments and jewellery. Besides thoroughly cleaning your belongings, these devices sterilize them, which makes them ideal for medical practices. 

Emily Wilson
Author
EMILY WILSON

Emily is a business psychologist with a passion for marketing. Researching, exploring and writing are her favourite things to do. Besides that, she loves animals and travelling.