Is a steamer necessary?

[diamonds_galore]

Greetings PSers! I have a question. Is a steamer necessary? I have gone through 3 steamers already! This time around, if I do purchase one, it is going to be the industrial strength one at 90 psi but man that toy is expensive! Is it worth investing in it? Does it really make a difference in cleaning? I have a heated ultrasonic already. Do I need to follow that with a steamer to ensure that the diamonds are clean or can I just stop at the ultrasonic cleaning?

 

[lovedogs]

I wouldn't if I were you. Most of us either use an ultrasonic alone or just dawn dish soap+water.

 

[yssie]

What on earth are you doing with your steamers that you’ve destroyed so many? Actually don’t answer that, I don’t know that I want to know.

I’ve never owned a steamer and haven’t used an ultrasonic in a decade. My diamonds do just fine with a toothbrush and dish soap.

 

[secretagentlaura]

My jewelry pieces are doing fine without one. My tool is choice is small soft toothbrush.

 

[denverappraiser]

Soap and a toothbrush with a clean water rinse works pretty well for just about everyone. It’s mostly what I do. The only thing that really misses out on is waterspots, which are annoying if you’re taking pictures. A distilled water rinse solves about 90% of that. Cheap steamers last most people years. 3 of them should be like a decade. Are you leaving it pressured up all the time?

 

[Wink]

I recommend a can of compressed air for quickly blowing off water drops after cleaning with a toothbrush or ultrasonic.

It odd way cheaper than a steamer and lots safer to use.

 

[MMtwo]

I recommend a can of compressed air for quickly blowing off water drops after cleaning with a toothbrush or ultrasonic.

It odd way cheaper than a steamer and lots safer to use.

Bless you! Thanks so much! I needed this information.

No steamer needed here, just simple green and a soft brush (and canned air)

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

The last time I used a steamer was when I worked at the bench (jewellery). Never occurred to me to use one outside of a professional realm.

cheers--Sharon

 

[CircularBrilliant]

I used to have a more complicated cleaning process, but now I'm pretty much exclusively using isopropyl alcohol (thanks, @kenny !) My jewelry is in less accessible settings than @kenny 's, so I actually soak in a small container and use a soft brush to scrub, followed by compressed air to blow the alcohol off. It's quick, cheap, safe (for diamonds/rubies/sapphires + gold/platinum), and very effective.