Ultrasonic Jewellery Cleaner

[LadyEloise1]

I have a plug in Ultrasonic jewellery cleaner.
I have lost the instructions for it as the last time I used it was years ago.
What can I use please to clean jewllery in it ?
Can you use just water ?

I use warm water with a drop or two of washing up liquid. Don't put in pearls or opals though

Yes, exactly what the above poster says

Thank you

I find a cap of seaclean cleaning fluid makes jewellery really sparkle. Much better than with just water.

Could i add ammonia ?

"How to Clean Jewelry With Ammonia" www.thespruce.com/ammonia-for-jewelry-cleaning-2042881

Well I wouldn't the warnings look pretty dire metal and stone wise. It's dodgy stuff. You certainly couldn't put it in the machine

You can get special stuff on Amazon called Octopus.

Thank you

Please be careful with these, I bought one a couple of years back and admittedly cleaned my engagement ring more than probably I should have done (but I loved the fresh sparkle) and the diamond came loose. I took it to the jewellers where the ring was purchased and they said to be very careful with rings in these machines as the gentle tapping of the ring at the bottom of the machine can cause the diamonds to dislodge.

Other than that, they do work and they do clean, but just be careful with certain items!

Thank you @poppypetal
I will be careful.

I will use ammonia in the US occasionally.

It's actually quite risky to put a lot of stones, including diamonds in one. Any stone with a flaw (including diamonds) can shatter.

This is a reliable guide to what is safe to clean in one

Sorry - pup is "helping" Here is the link

4cs.gia.edu/en-us/blog/gems-ultrasonic-cleaners/

I love mine… but I did manage to completely dislodge a channel set diamond in my wedding ring so I’m definitely using it more sparingly now.

I used to work in fine jewellery. We would use a splash of flash and some warm water. We had to change the water way too often to be using an expensive jewellery dip cleaner we would sell to customers. In fact I still use flash and warm water at home, but I don't have an ultrasonic. Leave your jewellery in it so the dirt softens. I use an old toothbrush to gently stir them so the gunk floats away and then a scrub with the toothbrush to make sure all the dirt is gone. I rinse everything off in clean warm water and dry really well. They come out looking brand new.

Obviously don't do any of this near a drain!!!

And as a PP said, do not put pearls or opals in there. You should also not put emeralds or aqua marines in. They are both of the same chemical makeup, and they way the stone is essentially made up or 'put together' means that they are prone to cracking much more than a regular stone. And also they are oiled stones to bring out the colour. Soaking these stones will strip them of some of their colour.

If you have emeralds in anything, rings/earrings etc only use water.

Hi, i'm in the jewellery trade and hope i can help. The essential additives of an ultrasonic bath are hot water, a few drops of de-greaser (fairy liquid ?), and a few of Ammonia. Leave for 5-10 minutes. No ultrasonic ? A cup of hot water, Ammonia, de-greaser and scrub with stiff tooth brush concentrating on the underneath/back of the piece. Both methods rinse with cold water. As previous comments stated do not put pearls or opals in, basically anything porous.

@markyno1 Can you use the same hand-wash technique for silver jewellery too? I have a couple of pieces of Tiffany silver which have tarnished with age which I would love to see brightened up again.

Washing won't remove tarnish - just dirt.

Try a soft polishing cloth as your first port of call. The Waitrose one is surprisingly good and I've started packing one with my silver jewellery sales so my customers can keep their jewellery shiny.

No. Won't help. Tarnished silver is only grey/black oxides coming to the suface. Easy quick clean by a silver polishing cloth, puchased anywhere. Keep polishing cloth in bag afterwards. Re-usable for long time.