Can you use an Ultrasonic Cleaner to often?

[butterfly 17]

Date: 9/20/2005 11:40:21 PM
Author: Mara
Ok the deed is done, I bought and paid for mine so hopefully it will ship tomorrow. I can''t wait.

I did too. Did you bid or did you just use the "buy it now" option?

Anyway, the total with everything came out to $46.66. I hope I get it soon. I still need to buy ammonia.

I hope they ship it out today!

 

[gwyneth]

hi all!
well, i gotta pipe into this thread following my lovely auntie lynnb!

i''ve been using a jewelers quality ultrasonic for about 10 years now and i love it!
it really gets all the gunk (soap residue) out and leaves even my trillions sparkly and shiny!
i recently upgraded to the one attached - from Frontgate. i really like it because it has the following features:
Ultra-Sonic Jewelry Cleaner
$79.50

Also cleans eyeglasses, watches, and small silverware — using only water
Quiet and effective, our digital Ultra-Sonic Jewelry Cleaner uses 42,000 Hz of energy waves to separate surface dirt and dust particles for a thorough cleaning that restores articles to their original brilliance.
* Five programmable cycles (1-1/2 to 8 minutes) take care of any job at hand
* Auto shutoff after cycle ends
* Ideal for cleaning coins, pen tips, small metals, razor heads
Stainless steel tank.
20-oz. capacity.

and it''s so purty, too! the programable auto shut off feature is unique though and i LOVE it! just click, go about my business, come back and WOW!

just my 2 cents!
~gwyneth

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 9/21/2005 9:53:32 AM
Author: butterfly 17

Date: 9/20/2005 11:40:21 PM

Author: Mara

Ok the deed is done, I bought and paid for mine so hopefully it will ship tomorrow. I can''t wait.

I did too. Did you bid or did you just use the ''buy it now'' option?


Anyway, the total with everything came out to $46.66. I hope I get it soon. I still need to buy ammonia.

I hope they ship it out today!

I just bought mine too! (buy now option) I figured I can always return it if it doesn''t work well...I am excited to try it.

 

[jcrow]

wow gwyneth- it is pretty!!

 

[aljdewey]

I did three! Can''t wait for it to arrive.

As Mara mentioned, I was STUNNED when my earring seemed to have a FILM on it. I was stunned for a few reasons.

1) I clean my rings daily with the cleaner that WF sells, and scrub the daylights out of them with a toothbrush.

2) I take all my jewelry off right before hitting the shower, and it doesn''t go back on until I''ve finished getting ready in the morning....that means AFTER hairspray use, etc.

Brian said they can still collect deposits debris during the day, even with such care. When your hair rubs by the earrings, potential for transfer of film, etc.

I NEVER would have believed how much difference if I hadn''t seen it myself.

One of the reasons I wasn''t high on ultrasonics is the ridiculous cleaners you have to put in them, and with some models, you''re not supposed to reuse it. Defeats the ease of use for me.

But, since this SI one just requires water and a few drops of stuff readily available in the house, I think this might be a workable solution. YAY!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

We should all repost our jewelry AFTER using the ultrasonic. I am so excited b/c even when I clean my e-ring there is still smudges I can''t get at under my stone and since it is an E-cut I feel like it is more obvious. It is also so hard to clean my diamond studs b/c of the basket setting. So this should solve all my problems....

 

[Mara]

I think this will be a savior for me as well because I also clean my ring daily but I can''t get under the pavilion to get the culet and the bottom area because my stone entirely fills the head (I wanted it squashed in there) and so I feel like sometimes it''s not AS clean as it could be which secretly drives me nuts but I wasn''t sold on an ultrasonic til seeing that huge difference in Al''s earrings and a newly cleaned stone. Talk about visible difference!!

We''ll all have to report back with our thoughts on the thing when it arrives. Oh and Kayla I did BIN..I wasn''t going to sit there bidding for a day to try to save $5 from the starting price..hehehe. I''ve been swamped with work and I just want the darn thing to arrive already!

 

[curlygirl]

Oh man, I''m such a follower. I just bought one too. We''ll definitely all have to compare results after we receive them!

 

[Mara]

Seriously, for $35 it''s kind of like...WHY NOT!!?!

Hope it works.

 

[boston33]

I see the older version of the SI ultrasonic cleaner on ebay, but can''t seem to find the newer version on ebay? Am I looking in the wrong places or does ebay simply not have the newer version one? Thanks!

This will be a great present for my fiance-to-be!

 

[FireGoddess]

Not to sound like a shill for ultrasonic cleaners, but there really is no comparison between manual cleaning solutions and the clean you can get from the ultrasonic. Most people who haven''t had their rings cleaned with an ultrasonic don''t believe this, and as aljdewey said, there really is no convincing those people without them seeing it for themselves.

I have no doubt that everyone who gets one is going to love it...wait till you see the sparkles! Before I got mine, I''d get my rings cleaned at my jeweler and then meticulously try not to smudge them or wash my hands with them so the shine would last longer. Now with one at home, I don''t have to worry about it!

And you definitely don''t need to go out and buy ammonia, the recipe I posted with household items works amazingly!

 

[jcrow]

anyone else with the Frontgate Ultra-Sonic Jewelry Cleaner?? it''s cheaper...
i know it''s supid, but the SI one looks like a toliet bowl. also, i didn''t see on the SI site the older model. is that still available?

 

[jcrow]

ok- found the older model on the site...

 

[SLK]

How about this one: http://www.gemappraisers.com/. It is $59.00 ($47.00 plus $12.00 shipping)

 

[jcrow]

the basket on this and the frontgate one scares me. would earrings fall through? and if so-then what?

 

[SLK]

How about this one: http://www.shop.com/op/~Haier_Ultrasonic_Jewelry_Cleaner-prod-10561778 it''s about $42.00 ($35.00 plus approx. $7.00 s&h)

 

[jcrow]

i wish i could see the inside!! sounds like the best deal yet. they all are saying 42,000 energy waves per second, so there can''t be that much difference.

 

[SLK]

Here''s more: http://www.jewelsmall.com/cleaner.html

 

[FireGoddess]

One thing I would love to know, and perhaps an expert can chime in here, is how can we tell the quality of an ultrasonic versus the price? I finally bought the SI one, but only after another friend showed me hers and I tried it. I had been looking online for months but could never "bite the bullet" because I was worried that cheaper models would vibrate which is NOT what gets the jewelry clean. In fact, that can loosen stones. So I was always worried about this.

After trying the SI one I was convinced enough to buy it and I''m thrilled, but when shopping sight unseen, is there any way to tell???

 

[Mara]

There are SO many ultrasonics out there, that is what deterred me in the past from getting one, it was always which one to get etc. There are always ultrasonic threads on here and I would get overwhelmed reading about them. But after I saw this thread and someone who had the SI one LOVED IT and it was $35 I was like..no brainer?! I could spend $79 or $89 or $99 and get some larger version or a prettier version whatever but in reailty I just want something tiny that works well that goes on my bathroom counter, end of story, hehee. I was an easy sell on this one!!

 

[LadyluvsLuxury]

You all are going to make me want one too!!! Off to research!

 

[jcrow]

Date: 9/21/2005 5:20:43 PM
Author: LadyluvsLuxury
You all are going to make me want one too!!! Off to research!

please let us know what you find!

 

[Shay37]

Date: 9/21/2005 4:00:30 PM
Author: FireGoddess
Not to sound like a shill for ultrasonic cleaners, but there really is no comparison between manual cleaning solutions and the clean you can get from the ultrasonic. Most people who haven''t had their rings cleaned with an ultrasonic don''t believe this, and as aljdewey said, there really is no convincing those people without them seeing it for themselves.

I have no doubt that everyone who gets one is going to love it...wait till you see the sparkles! Before I got mine, I''d get my rings cleaned at my jeweler and then meticulously try not to smudge them or wash my hands with them so the shine would last longer. Now with one at home, I don''t have to worry about it!

And you definitely don''t need to go out and buy ammonia, the recipe I posted with household items works amazingly!

Quick question for you, FG. I thought that ultrasonics weren''t good for pave''? Have you had any problems? Can any experts chime in as well?

Shay

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I chose the SI for two reasons. First all of you who had rave reviews on the SI model and second because of the return policy. The fact that they let you return an online purchase (I bought it at their eBay store) to a local store is great. It took any worries I had about it. They give you 30 days to return it.

 

[FireGoddess]

Shay,

So far, so good. The only pave I have is on the halo - the bands are shared prong. No stones loose, no stones fallen out. I don't do it every day however, maybe once a week now. Twice if I've got somewhere special to go.

 

[LadyluvsLuxury]

Date: 9/21/2005 5:21:33 PM
Author: jcrow

Date: 9/21/2005 5:20:43 PM
Author: LadyluvsLuxury
You all are going to make me want one too!!! Off to research!

please let us know what you find!

Sorry JC, all I have learned so far is there are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many choices!

 

[jcrow]

dang- so far i am btw the frontgate and the SI. but with shipping on the frontgate, it still comes out to be just as expensive. hum...

anyone know which stones specifically NOT to put in the ultrasonic cleaner? i know opal, tanzanite and pearl. any others? anyone know? is there a list that comes with the purchase?

 

[Tacori E-ring]

on the ebay page for my SI it said "Not appropriate for soft, fragile stones such as pearls, opals, amber and emeralds."

 

[Sundial]

I have been following this thread with interest and have decided to join the pack. I went with Gwyneth's recommendation for the Frontgate jewelry cleaner because I needed to order some other items from them anyway. Anxious to see how it does! I had one of the old Connoisseur models, but it wasn't too impressive. I have a few pieces with pave and hope I don't lose any stones, but I think it will be worth the risk if I don't put them in too frequently.

 

[Mara]

Well mine was shipped last Wed from SI so I''m just waiting and waiting and waiting!!! I got regular Ground but I hope it arrives within the next few days. Maybe even TODAY!