Ellen
Super_Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2006
- Messages
- 24,433
Because of a recent thread in here by OUpeargirl on cleaning Aqua''s, which I found to have conflicting info (from what I personally had read/heard), I decided to ask RH what was ok and what was not. My question pertained mainly to ammonia and alcohol, and the use of an Ultrasonic cleaner. I asked if the US was ok to use, with just warm water and not using the heating element. Mine has the option of heat or not. Here is his response, which I appreciate so much, and I''m sure will be helpful in the future. Thank you Richard!
All Aqua is tough and chemically very resistant. As long as the gem is
free of inclusions with no open cracks,
etc....(which yours is very clean), you may use alcohol, ammonia, or
virtually any cleaner. The issue with ammonia in
cleaning gems is that if you use it in high concentrations and keep a gem
in such a solution, a mild acid is created in
the water solution and this can surface etch or diminish the gems polish
quality. Peridot is commonly affected in
this way, but, Aqua is not. In my 30 yrs in the industry, I have never
seen an Aqua that was affected by either
ammonia or alcohol.
Heat, as in the prolonged use of an ultrasonic cleaner, contributes to any
corrosiveness of a chemical agent to a
gems surface if it is susceptible to corrosion to begin with. Excessive or
prolonged heat also can cause some
inclusions to expand faster than the gem host and, thereby, cause internal
strain ...even to the point of internally
cracking the gem (I have seen this happen to a few garnets, for example),
so as a general rule, one always wants to
limit a gem being subjected to heat both in its degree and in its exposure
time. Even still, most gems weather heat
quite well as long as the temperature increases slowly and stays relatively
low....which is exactly what an ultrasonic
cleaner does. You start out at room temperature and as the water/solution
cavitates, it gets warmer and warmer
over a period of time. THat kind of temperature rise over time generally
does not pose a problem and that is why
ultrasonic cleaners are successfully used.
In the case of the ultrasonic cleaner, it is the micro-cavitation of the
bubbles in your water/cleaning solution that
actually does the cleaning. As the micro-bubbles explode, their bursting
blows away dirt. The heater just helps
things (along with the cleaning solution) in cutting oils, grease, hand
creams, etc that may be on the gem. But
again, if you just leave it in the ultrasonic for a short
duration...everything generally is fine. I think the key point is
to keep your gem clean by periodic use of the ultrasonic cleaner rather
than waiting when it is absolutely filthy and a
more strident effort is needed to clean it.
The safest way to alcohol clean a gem in the ultrasonic is to simply fill
the ultrasonic tank with water and then use a
small baby food jar into which you can pour an inch or so of alcohol in the
jar. Place your ring in the alcohol jar,
close the lid well, and then just insert the jar in the water...preferrably
suspending the jar using a string. You don''t
want the jar floating in the water like a cork....we just want the alcohol
level of the jar submerged in the ultrasonic
water. The transducer of the ultrasonic will cause the alcohol to cavitate
just like the water and then the micro-
bursting of the alcohol bubbles will quickly and safely clean the gem and
cut oils, creams, etc.
Good luck!
Richard
All Aqua is tough and chemically very resistant. As long as the gem is
free of inclusions with no open cracks,
etc....(which yours is very clean), you may use alcohol, ammonia, or
virtually any cleaner. The issue with ammonia in
cleaning gems is that if you use it in high concentrations and keep a gem
in such a solution, a mild acid is created in
the water solution and this can surface etch or diminish the gems polish
quality. Peridot is commonly affected in
this way, but, Aqua is not. In my 30 yrs in the industry, I have never
seen an Aqua that was affected by either
ammonia or alcohol.
Heat, as in the prolonged use of an ultrasonic cleaner, contributes to any
corrosiveness of a chemical agent to a
gems surface if it is susceptible to corrosion to begin with. Excessive or
prolonged heat also can cause some
inclusions to expand faster than the gem host and, thereby, cause internal
strain ...even to the point of internally
cracking the gem (I have seen this happen to a few garnets, for example),
so as a general rule, one always wants to
limit a gem being subjected to heat both in its degree and in its exposure
time. Even still, most gems weather heat
quite well as long as the temperature increases slowly and stays relatively
low....which is exactly what an ultrasonic
cleaner does. You start out at room temperature and as the water/solution
cavitates, it gets warmer and warmer
over a period of time. THat kind of temperature rise over time generally
does not pose a problem and that is why
ultrasonic cleaners are successfully used.
In the case of the ultrasonic cleaner, it is the micro-cavitation of the
bubbles in your water/cleaning solution that
actually does the cleaning. As the micro-bubbles explode, their bursting
blows away dirt. The heater just helps
things (along with the cleaning solution) in cutting oils, grease, hand
creams, etc that may be on the gem. But
again, if you just leave it in the ultrasonic for a short
duration...everything generally is fine. I think the key point is
to keep your gem clean by periodic use of the ultrasonic cleaner rather
than waiting when it is absolutely filthy and a
more strident effort is needed to clean it.
The safest way to alcohol clean a gem in the ultrasonic is to simply fill
the ultrasonic tank with water and then use a
small baby food jar into which you can pour an inch or so of alcohol in the
jar. Place your ring in the alcohol jar,
close the lid well, and then just insert the jar in the water...preferrably
suspending the jar using a string. You don''t
want the jar floating in the water like a cork....we just want the alcohol
level of the jar submerged in the ultrasonic
water. The transducer of the ultrasonic will cause the alcohol to cavitate
just like the water and then the micro-
bursting of the alcohol bubbles will quickly and safely clean the gem and
cut oils, creams, etc.
Good luck!
Richard
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