How Does an Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaner Work?

Submitted By: Dr Bob Sandor
The basic principle of ultrasonic cleaning is identical for all ultrasonic cleaners be it for cleaning jewelry or industrial equipment. The only major difference in ultrasonic jewelry cleaners is the cleaning solution used and the operating frequency.
Ultrasonic cleaners that are used for cleaning jewelry use either plain tap water or special ultrasonic cleaning solutions. The chemical formula of the cleaning solution varies depending on the manufacturer. One thing that all ultrasonic cleaners used for cleaning jewelry have in common are that they are always soap or ammonia based. These ultrasonic cleaners are either alkaline or mildly alkaline. Soap and ammonia based cleaners are non-corrosive and nonabrasive. These are the most important attributes of detergents used exclusively for cleaning jewelry.
While cleaning jewelry using ultrasonic cleaners, care must be taken to ensure that the cleaning agents don’t react to the jewelry. If case this occurs, the ensuing chemical reaction can greatly diminish the polished finish of the cleaned jewelry. On an average, an ultrasonic cleaner that is used in the process of cleaning jewelry doesn’t need to run for more than three to five minutes. A single complete cleaning cycle in an ultrasonic cleaner also takes around the same time.
Rings, bracelets, earrings and necklaces must be placed in the basket that is sold with the ultrasonic cleaner. You should place the jewelry in the cleaning basket carefully. Avoid stacking the jewelry and leave ample space between the various pieces. Crowding the jewelry must be avoided. The basket is easy to handle, so if there are too many pieces of jewelry that need a cleanup, the basket can easily be removed and replaced as and when needed.
When the ultrasonic cleaner is switched on, high energy scrubbing bubbles are produced through the process of cavitation when ultrasonic waves are propagated throughout the volume of the cleaning agent that is poured into the stainless steel cleaning chamber of the cleaner. For jewelry, the usual operating frequency is 80 KHz or more. These scrubbing bubbles surround the jewelry that is immersed in either water or the chosen ultrasonic cleaning solution. On collision with the surface of the jewelry and while entering the nooks and crannies of the pieces of jewelry, these cavitation bubbles remove all the stubborn dust, grime and dirt that stick to the jewelry. The dirt settles down at the bottom of the tank and can be poured out along with the cleaning solution. If the jewelry still looks dirty, another cycle of cleaning will ensure that the jewelry is cleaned thoroughly. All you have to do is refill the ultrasonic tub with either with the cleaning solution or just plain water. Due to their cleaning efficacy, ultrasonic cleaners score over the more traditional methods of cleaning jewelry using swabs and cloths. They can easily reach all those impenetrable areas that the other conventional cleaning methods have almost no access to.
Ultrasonic cleaners can be used to clean jewelry containing relatively hard metals like gold, silver and platinum and hard stones like diamonds. Soft stones like pearls like emeralds, amber and opal should never be cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner. A large variety of semi-precious stones like amethyst, sapphire, aquamarine, rubies, silver and topaz can also be cleaned using an ultrasonic cleaner.

Published At: Isnare.com