I could be wrong, but I think problem may be that it appears that you are trying to clean costume jewelry which is discoloring due to the plating fading. Ultrasonic jewelry cleaners are for getting grime (example: body oil, lotion, etc.) out of fine jewelry. You would put a solution of water, dish soap and ammonia into the tank of the Ultrasonic jewelry cleaner and all of the dirt should come off. For tarnish, you need polishing cream and cloth. For costume jewelry, unfortunately there is nothing you can do. I hope this helps.😊
I use an ultrasonic cleaner and I think they’re good at getting the initial grime off, but for sterling silver, I find that polishing it with a sterling cloth that’s treated with cleaner is the best. 😁
I love my cleaner especially for the really dirty jewelry I use it with the cleaning solution it works best that way and yes sometimes you have to do it twice, I take it out rinse it and check with the loop to make sure it’s clean!! I have used it on earrings and backs it’s better than using a brush and soaking in just soap and water!
I like my cleaner a lot for removing dirt. I never expected it to remove tarnish. I still use Wrights silver cleaner to loosen tarnish before putting the item into the cleaner to remove dirt. I use the ultrasonic cleaner solution. Also, you have to wipe your items with a microfiber cloth when they come out of the cleaner. You'll see a ton of loose dirt come off on the cloth. You should see the dirty sweaty stuff that comes off my husband's watchband. Ick.
I had a machine and never used it. I find a soft tooth brush and vinegar with baking soda works well on cloth, Silver diamond's etc. If the pieces are really dirty I soak them in this first, then use the tooth brush. That's how my mother did it. Love your videos 💖
I use extremely near boiling hot water with Dawn which does a good job of breaking down the oils that accumulate on the jewelry from being in contact with human skin. Caution is advised with anything that is compromised of glued construction as the hot water may dissolve the glue.
Hi i like your videos , I’m not sold on the ultra sonic machine .. i prefer an old tooth brush and tooth paste for all my jewelry even diamonds! Especially crest charcoal toothpaste..
Hi, I love my cleaner. I never think of it as doing all the work .I usually wipe them totally with a soft cloth or even paper towel. I love it for loosening dirt in difficult to clean places. There is always some brushing or polishing to do on really dirty pieces. I always use the cleaner a nd basket. I feel the basket is a buffer or protector.
Try using Distilled water or Deionized water. I personally think it works better then using Tap water and it usually dries Spot-free and also helps remove the cleaning solutions used when done.
You are meant to use the basket to keep your jewellery off the bottom, tarnish will remove with the correct cleaner from jewellery making supplies, but dish soap is good enough for just dirt. I’ve been using a small ultrasonic sold by Durston and it’s really good, it operates at 50 hertz.
@@aw5364 thanks, I just wrote down what it said on the machine, it’s only a little one, I make silver jewellery and use it in between polishing as I change grits, I have no idea how it compares to a more expensive bigger professional machine. I would like to know more.
@@twigletthecat Pretty sure something else is stated on the machine. What is the meaning of the word ultrasonic? 1. : having a frequency above the human ear's audibility limit of about 20,000 hertz. used of waves and vibrations.
@@aw5364 I am looking at the bottom of the machine, I apologise I must have misread it at the time. It says. Input AC220-240V 50Hz. Frequency 40KHz. Power 35W.
Thanks Margaret for doing this. I have one, most of the time I forget I have it. I have just used it with water only. So this is very interesting to see. I mainly find I use it with extra gunky jewelry, that is just too nasty to touch. So this was very helpful. I will certainly be ordering a cleanser for it now.
As a person that loves his jewelry! Loves my jewelry clean always all my jewelry have diamonds so i have to be shining no matter what. Ive been through alot of cleaners and ultrasonics. More and likely its your ultrasonic brand your using another big thing is preping your jewelry for cleaning. Taking a very soft brisle brush with warm water and brush prep your jewelry helps the ultrasonic and the solution break down the tarnish and grime. And you will get professional grade jewelry cleaning as well as after using the ultrasonic you use a jewelry cleaning cloth with the residue cloth to remove any dirt and cleaning residue to give it that brand new shine!! I promise you if do that it will come out amazing!
Jewelry with nooks and crannies I will use the ultrasonic cleaner and dawn dish soap, but I use a toothbrush. Vinegar can, help, but only with sterling. If you use the US on costume you run the risk of removing the finish of the piece and loosening glued stones.
To clean your silver or gold use Never-dull. It is a tin can and can be used for brass, silver, gold or chrome. I have been using it for years. Takes out scratches. I don't know where you can buy it in the US.
I use mine mostly for cleaning glass or plastic beads, or metal pieces that have a lot of books and crannies. Like others have said, it’s really for getting the grime off, not tarnish., so I will use polishing cloths for that. It does a nice job of cleaning my eyeglasses and wedding ring though!
Ultrasonic cleaners aren't meant to be used the way you're using it, first and foremost your jewelry needs to be buffed and polished to remove the tarnish, dirt, and to restore the surfaces, between buffing and polishing you put the pieces in the ultrasonic cleaner to remove rouge and or tripoli to ensure the surface is clean for the next step, once the jewelry is restored you can maintain it with the ultrasonic cleaner regularly as well as periodically polish the pieces to maintain the luster
One point people need to recognize with ultrasonic cleaners, they can dislodge surface dirt, skin and mechanical oils, bits of corrosion and paint, they do not remove oxidization or tarnish, they are meant to remove dirt and grime from the little crevices that you can't get at with a brush or a cloth. It shoots sound waves at the object you're cleaning, which can knock loose basically anything that can be knocked loose, but since tarnish occurs in such a thin layer on the surface of the metal, there's not really much it can really do. The jewelry is clean after it comes out, it's just still tarnished. One thing I would reccomend is putting a liberal amount of baking soda and a ball of tinfoil in the cleaner (or if you want quicker results in a pot on the stove), the oxidization will transfer from the surface of the jewelry to the tinfoil, and it will be significantly less dull. [I'm a musician and guitar/amplifier technician, I use an ultrasonic cleaner (actually the same one you have there) to remove dirt, dust and dead skin/skin oil from knobs, hardware and metal and plastic parts while doing restoration and cleaning]
Could be useful to try earrings, leave one in original condition for comparison purpose. I use a cleaner on occasions, had similar results … sigh. Didn’t get the result I wanted, maybe they aren’t designed for well loved pieces. I’ve gone back to toothbrush and soap, more labour intensive, better results. Thanks for sharing as always
I love my Magnasonic best for cleaning rings and other pieces that have hard to reach stones. Dollar stores and wal marts carry a cleaning product called Awesome, which works very well with these cleaners!
I've been using ultrasonic cleaners for decades, I own many different models, ranging from entry to professional. A few tips First, make sure you never put your fingers (or any other body part) in an ultrasonic cleaner when it's running. It will cause horrific damage to bone marrow. Always use the basket, it's there to prevent damage to the cleaner and to the item being cleaned Use the hottest water you can, it makes a huge difference. My ultrasonic devices have built in heaters, which I run between 100° - 160°. Never put soft gems or fabric into an ultrasonic. The gems will likely break, and fabric can't effectively be cleaned in them. Two good DIY jewelry cleaning solutions are 1) Dawn dish soap with ammonia 2) Dawn dish soap and vinegar Using a cheap ultrasonic cleaner, with hot tap water and one of the above solutions, with one 8 minute cycle, I can get most jewelry new shiny clean, stubborn pieces might need 2 cycles. Choose the solution based on what you're cleaning, vinegar will destroy some gems. If that doesn't work, which is rare, I step up to one of my Branson or Crest ultrasonics. Still using DIY solution. You can use containers filled with different cleaning solutions and have them all in the cleaner at the same time, cleaning vastly different materials. For my larger ultrasonic cleaners (5+ gal), that's what I do, because it's a pain to clean out those tubs. An ultrasonic cleaner simply makes cleaners work better. I've cleaned everything from ancient coins to rusty car parts, using the same machine.
I got another tip. If you can find the super thin plastic bags (the PE biodegradable plastic roll), put the item with the cleaning solution in the bag, then submerge the bag in the ultrasonic cleaner with normal clear water. You can then wash and reuse the bag. Just don't use this method with hot water, or with cleaners that run very hot.
After watching your video and reading the 8 comments here when I got here, I think there is a lot to learn about these cleaners. And about alternative methods of cleaning. Very interested in this, as I have a ton of jewelry that needs cleaning before I make a final decision on what to do with it.
I tend to use distilled water. Distilled water and deionized water are often used as ultrasonic cleaning and or rinsing options to remove all traces of cleaning solution residues after Jewelry is removed as well as Spot-free drying which is the main benefit of Distilled water. Tap water usually has a lot of minerals in it which is why I don't use it. 👍
I love mine, especially for earrings & chains. But mine took about 3 goes initially to clean, and I did wipe them up after with a soft cloth. Also, after the 2nd time I put a tsp of dish soap in, and that helped. The water was really grimy afterwards! Overall, I like it, plus all of mine is just solid silver. Don't know if that would make a difference
Use the basket, you're damping by acoustic coupling by direct contact to the surface of the bottom of the tank, i.e. you're attenuating the energy. Try some Simple Green.
Just a guess but it occurred to me that the vibration of the waves against the item/metal bottom might damage/dislodge stones ? Was thinking about one of those but opted for those wipes you use :) I buy too many gadgets I can't (don't!) use :) Great video idea!!
I would be very interested to know which machine works best and what solution. You’ve sold jewelry for a long time and I have never been a jewelry fan; due to metal allergies. As in I can’t wear them. However, I did Acquire a big lot of jewelry and I am trying to figure out how to price them. A good half of them are just costume jewelry, but from my understanding even costume jewelry can be quite the collectors items these days. Any special place you go to figure out makers, Mark‘s, or branding?
Not an expert, but from my little experience, and what I have been reading. Ultrasonic cleaner removes the dirt that gets collected on the jewelery. But not the tarnish, that you need a cleaning solution for. And also from my understanding, you should always use the basket for the best effect, and also so you don't damage your cleaner or jewlery.
Two thirds of a cup each of isopropyl alcohol and Windex one quarter of a cup household ammonia and couple teaspoons of Dawn dish soap and that's ballpark figures because I've never measured it before so feel free to experiment
It’s meant to clean METALS not cloth. I have used this in a HS media center and had enormous success. The metal you are using may not be real jewelry vs. costume jewelry. Either Dawn or cleaner for a longer period period of time 15 minutes.
That’s seems more time consuming to me than the way I clean jewelry. I use Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo, warm water and an old toothbrush as needed. I soak the jewelry about 5 minutes, give it a gentle brush, rinse and dry lol jewelry looks brand new
Try it with Cleaning Solution for 30 min. you will see the difference. When you will pick it up after that time your water mixed with solution will be hot, It's normal. Not hot so you can stand your hands in it, but hot. Try it you will see. 🧐
I'm thinking go to Amazon and read reviews from others on expensive and less expensive ones. Personally, nothing better than a soft toothbrush with dawn or toothpaste or even silver polish...depends...that works better at cleaning. Just my thoughts ;-)
Your “side by side “ comparisons are for crap. Different lighting. Different focal distance and different angles. How can you compare before and after when everything is different? Also in your narration you say “I think I did this and I think I did that” which means you had no plan or test process in place before you started. Add all of that together and you have a virtually worthless analysis.
I could be wrong, but I think problem may be that it appears that you are trying to clean costume jewelry which is discoloring due to the plating fading. Ultrasonic jewelry cleaners are for getting grime (example: body oil, lotion, etc.) out of fine jewelry. You would put a solution of water, dish soap and ammonia into the tank of the Ultrasonic jewelry cleaner and all of the dirt should come off. For tarnish, you need polishing cream and cloth. For costume jewelry, unfortunately there is nothing you can do. I hope this helps.😊
I use an ultrasonic cleaner and I think they’re good at getting the initial grime off, but for sterling silver, I find that polishing it with a sterling cloth that’s treated with cleaner is the best. 😁
I love my cleaner especially for the really dirty jewelry I use it with the cleaning solution it works best that way and yes sometimes you have to do it twice, I take it out rinse it and check with the loop to make sure it’s clean!! I have used it on earrings and backs it’s better than using a brush and soaking in just soap and water!
Where do I buy the cleaner from ??
I like my cleaner a lot for removing dirt. I never expected it to remove tarnish. I still use Wrights silver cleaner to loosen tarnish before putting the item into the cleaner to remove dirt. I use the ultrasonic cleaner solution. Also, you have to wipe your items with a microfiber cloth when they come out of the cleaner. You'll see a ton of loose dirt come off on the cloth. You should see the dirty sweaty stuff that comes off my husband's watchband. Ick.
What's the name of the cleaning solution you use please?
I had a machine and never used it. I find a soft tooth brush and vinegar with baking soda works well on cloth, Silver diamond's etc.
If the pieces are really dirty I soak them in this first, then use the tooth brush. That's how my mother did it. Love your videos 💖
I use extremely near boiling hot water with Dawn which does a good job of breaking down the oils that accumulate on the jewelry from being in contact with human skin. Caution is advised with anything that is compromised of glued construction as the hot water may dissolve the glue.
Hi i like your videos , I’m not sold on the ultra sonic machine .. i prefer an old tooth brush and tooth paste for all my jewelry even diamonds! Especially crest charcoal toothpaste..
Wow...thanks I'm going to get that charcoal toothpaste!
It was like a private lesson. I'm educated, thank you!
Hi, I love my cleaner. I never think of it as doing all the work .I usually wipe them totally with a soft cloth or even paper towel. I love it for loosening dirt in difficult to clean places. There is always some brushing or polishing to do on really dirty pieces. I always use the cleaner a nd basket. I feel the basket is a buffer or protector.
Try using Distilled water or Deionized water. I personally think it works better then using Tap water and it usually dries Spot-free and also helps remove the cleaning solutions used when done.
You are meant to use the basket to keep your jewellery off the bottom, tarnish will remove with the correct cleaner from jewellery making supplies, but dish soap is good enough for just dirt. I’ve been using a small ultrasonic sold by Durston and it’s really good, it operates at 50 hertz.
50 hertz is not ultrasound. Its deep base just above the lowest hertz human ear can hear.
@@aw5364 thanks, I just wrote down what it said on the machine, it’s only a little one, I make silver jewellery and use it in between polishing as I change grits, I have no idea how it compares to a more expensive bigger professional machine. I would like to know more.
@@twigletthecat Pretty sure something else is stated on the machine.
What is the meaning of the word ultrasonic?
1. : having a frequency above the human ear's audibility limit of about 20,000 hertz. used of waves and vibrations.
@@aw5364 I am looking at the bottom of the machine, I apologise I must have misread it at the time. It says. Input AC220-240V 50Hz. Frequency 40KHz. Power 35W.
Thanks Margaret for doing this. I have one, most of the time I forget I have it. I have just used it with water only. So this is very interesting to see. I mainly find I use it with extra gunky jewelry, that is just too nasty to touch. So this was very helpful. I will certainly be ordering a cleanser for it now.
As a person that loves his jewelry! Loves my jewelry clean always all my jewelry have diamonds so i have to be shining no matter what. Ive been through alot of cleaners and ultrasonics. More and likely its your ultrasonic brand your using another big thing is preping your jewelry for cleaning. Taking a very soft brisle brush with warm water and brush prep your jewelry helps the ultrasonic and the solution break down the tarnish and grime. And you will get professional grade jewelry cleaning as well as after using the ultrasonic you use a jewelry cleaning cloth with the residue cloth to remove any dirt and cleaning residue to give it that brand new shine!! I promise you if do that it will come out amazing!
Jewelry with nooks and crannies I will use the ultrasonic cleaner and dawn dish soap, but I use a toothbrush. Vinegar can, help, but only with sterling. If you use the US on costume you run the risk of removing the finish of the piece and loosening glued stones.
To clean your silver or gold use Never-dull. It is a tin can and can be used for brass, silver, gold or chrome. I have been using it for years. Takes out scratches. I don't know where you can buy it in the US.
Thank you so much for this video. Super helpful and well-presented. Your time and effort is most appreciated!
You're very welcome!
I use mine mostly for cleaning glass or plastic beads, or metal pieces that have a lot of books and crannies. Like others have said, it’s really for getting the grime off, not tarnish., so I will use polishing cloths for that. It does a nice job of cleaning my eyeglasses and wedding ring though!
Ultrasonic cleaners aren't meant to be used the way you're using it, first and foremost your jewelry needs to be buffed and polished to remove the tarnish, dirt, and to restore the surfaces, between buffing and polishing you put the pieces in the ultrasonic cleaner to remove rouge and or tripoli to ensure the surface is clean for the next step, once the jewelry is restored you can maintain it with the ultrasonic cleaner regularly as well as periodically polish the pieces to maintain the luster
One point people need to recognize with ultrasonic cleaners, they can dislodge surface dirt, skin and mechanical oils, bits of corrosion and paint, they do not remove oxidization or tarnish, they are meant to remove dirt and grime from the little crevices that you can't get at with a brush or a cloth. It shoots sound waves at the object you're cleaning, which can knock loose basically anything that can be knocked loose, but since tarnish occurs in such a thin layer on the surface of the metal, there's not really much it can really do. The jewelry is clean after it comes out, it's just still tarnished. One thing I would reccomend is putting a liberal amount of baking soda and a ball of tinfoil in the cleaner (or if you want quicker results in a pot on the stove), the oxidization will transfer from the surface of the jewelry to the tinfoil, and it will be significantly less dull. [I'm a musician and guitar/amplifier technician, I use an ultrasonic cleaner (actually the same one you have there) to remove dirt, dust and dead skin/skin oil from knobs, hardware and metal and plastic parts while doing restoration and cleaning]
Matt Malone, :) Thank you very much!! :)
Could be useful to try earrings, leave one in original condition for comparison purpose. I use a cleaner on occasions, had similar results … sigh. Didn’t get the result I wanted, maybe they aren’t designed for well loved pieces. I’ve gone back to toothbrush and soap, more labour intensive, better results. Thanks for sharing as always
Got a minute to come up for air…this looks interesting, thanks!
I just got one from my grnadma and wanted to use smt other than water. This vid got reccomended to me so i thought why not
I love my Magnasonic best for cleaning rings and other pieces that have hard to reach stones. Dollar stores and wal marts carry a cleaning product called Awesome, which works very well with these cleaners!
Loving your nails!
I love my cleaner..I use the ultrasonic soap..
Always love your educational videos!
I've been using ultrasonic cleaners for decades, I own many different models, ranging from entry to professional.
A few tips
First, make sure you never put your fingers (or any other body part) in an ultrasonic cleaner when it's running. It will cause horrific damage to bone marrow.
Always use the basket, it's there to prevent damage to the cleaner and to the item being cleaned
Use the hottest water you can, it makes a huge difference. My ultrasonic devices have built in heaters, which I run between 100° - 160°.
Never put soft gems or fabric into an ultrasonic. The gems will likely break, and fabric can't effectively be cleaned in them.
Two good DIY jewelry cleaning solutions are 1) Dawn dish soap with ammonia 2) Dawn dish soap and vinegar
Using a cheap ultrasonic cleaner, with hot tap water and one of the above solutions, with one 8 minute cycle, I can get most jewelry new shiny clean, stubborn pieces might need 2 cycles. Choose the solution based on what you're cleaning, vinegar will destroy some gems.
If that doesn't work, which is rare, I step up to one of my Branson or Crest ultrasonics. Still using DIY solution.
You can use containers filled with different cleaning solutions and have them all in the cleaner at the same time, cleaning vastly different materials. For my larger ultrasonic cleaners (5+ gal), that's what I do, because it's a pain to clean out those tubs.
An ultrasonic cleaner simply makes cleaners work better. I've cleaned everything from ancient coins to rusty car parts, using the same machine.
I got another tip. If you can find the super thin plastic bags (the PE biodegradable plastic roll), put the item with the cleaning solution in the bag, then submerge the bag in the ultrasonic cleaner with normal clear water. You can then wash and reuse the bag. Just don't use this method with hot water, or with cleaners that run very hot.
What is your solution mix ratio for rings, chains or stainless watch bands please?
After watching your video and reading the 8 comments here when I got here, I think there is a lot to learn about these cleaners. And about alternative methods of cleaning. Very interested in this, as I have a ton of jewelry that needs cleaning before I make a final decision on what to do with it.
Thanks for this video! I’ve wondered if I’m missing out ? Nope! Sterling is easier to dip for 5 minutes in jsp
Have you tried Hot water and Pine Sol...?
Not yet!
Would you recommend using distilled water if you have hard water? I just got my cleaner yesterday and have not tried it out yet.
I tend to use distilled water. Distilled water and deionized water are often used as ultrasonic cleaning and or rinsing options to remove all traces of cleaning solution residues after Jewelry is removed as well as Spot-free drying which is the main benefit of Distilled water. Tap water usually has a lot of minerals in it which is why I don't use it. 👍
I love mine, especially for earrings & chains. But mine took about 3 goes initially to clean, and I did wipe them up after with a soft cloth. Also, after the 2nd time I put a tsp of dish soap in, and that helped. The water was really grimy afterwards! Overall, I like it, plus all of mine is just solid silver. Don't know if that would make a difference
Use the basket, you're damping by acoustic coupling by direct contact to the surface of the bottom of the tank, i.e. you're attenuating the energy. Try some Simple Green.
I think the cleaner works on rings or jewlery that has stones in a metal setting, it vibrates the tiny nooks and crannies to remove particles intended
The basket does significantly decrease the waves of the ultrasonic cleaner. They only include it for fine jewelry which can easily break.
Just a guess but it occurred to me that the vibration of the waves against the item/metal bottom might damage/dislodge stones ? Was thinking about one of those but opted for those wipes you use :) I buy too many gadgets I can't (don't!) use :) Great video idea!!
You are correct.
I would be very interested to know which machine works best and what solution. You’ve sold jewelry for a long time and I have never been a jewelry fan; due to metal allergies. As in I can’t wear them. However, I did Acquire a big lot of jewelry and I am trying to figure out how to price them. A good half of them are just costume jewelry, but from my understanding even costume jewelry can be quite the collectors items these days. Any special place you go to figure out makers, Mark‘s, or branding?
My jeweler told me to use a soft toothbrush with dawn dish soap to clean my jewelry.
Not an expert, but from my little experience, and what I have been reading. Ultrasonic cleaner removes the dirt that gets collected on the jewelery. But not the tarnish, that you need a cleaning solution for. And also from my understanding, you should always use the basket for the best effect, and also so you don't damage your cleaner or jewlery.
Two thirds of a cup each of isopropyl alcohol and Windex one quarter of a cup household ammonia and couple teaspoons of Dawn dish soap and that's ballpark figures because I've never measured it before so feel free to experiment
Company says it will not take off tarnish.
It’s meant to clean METALS not cloth. I have used this in a HS media center and had enormous success. The metal you are using may not be real jewelry vs. costume jewelry. Either Dawn or cleaner for a longer period period of time 15 minutes.
How cool!
That’s seems more time consuming to me than the way I clean jewelry. I use Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo, warm water and an old toothbrush as needed. I soak the jewelry about 5 minutes, give it a gentle brush, rinse and dry lol jewelry looks brand new
use warm soap water with mul;tiple runs
Try it with Cleaning Solution for 30 min. you will see the difference.
When you will pick it up after that time your water mixed with solution will be hot, It's normal. Not hot so you can stand your hands in it, but hot.
Try it you will see. 🧐
U can’t put gold?
Use water at around 50 to 75°c.
Use the cleaning solution at a 1:10 ratio.
You should see good results
*** The cleaners I've used all the instructions said "Don't let items being cleaned make direct contact to the bottom surface use the basket"
It's important to tell customers that it's been cleaned ultrasonically, since most people are germaphobes.
Most are?
I'm thinking go to Amazon and read reviews from others on expensive and less expensive ones. Personally, nothing better than a soft toothbrush with dawn or toothpaste or even silver polish...depends...that works better at cleaning. Just my thoughts ;-)
I came across a sonic cleaner for $5 at a yard sale and im still kicking myself for not buying it.
Eh toothbrush and a little toothpaste works best for me
I don’t think an ultrasonic machine is supposed to be used on silver jewelry. You should use a special cloth for cleaning silver.
😊I saw no improvement with my machine
Dawn detergent with a toothbrush and warm water….
Sonic cleaners are usually to remove caked on dirt out of cervices. It would be nice if it restored jewelry to its brilliance.
👏👏👏👍👍👍🥰🥰
Your “side by side “ comparisons are for crap. Different lighting. Different focal distance and different angles. How can you compare before and after when everything is different? Also in your narration you say “I think I did this and I think I did that” which means you had no plan or test process in place before you started. Add all of that together and you have a virtually worthless analysis.