Steam vs Ultrasonic

Jewelry Discussion
1

Now that I am ‘finally’ the owner of a steam cleaner (used from MPG),
I wonder why I have/need my ultrasonic! I haven’t found anything the
steam won’t clean. The only thing I can think of is something so
delicate the steam pressure will harm it. Would someone please
enlighten me as to the use of an ultrasonic in addition to a steam
cleaner? tx, Regis

2

We use our ultrasonic as a preliminary cleaner to loosen up the dirt
and to get dirt out of hard to reach places (usually up under stones)
that the steamer can’t reach. We have found the combination of the
two to provide the most effective cleaning. You will see sometimes
that if you have a really heavy build up of polishing compound that
the steamer is not the most efficient cleaner as a solo unit.

Daniel R. Spirer, G.G.
Spirer Somes Jewelers
1794 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02140
617-491-6000
@spirersomes
www.spirersomes.com

3 
Would someone please enlighten me as to the use of an ultrasonic in
addition to a steam

Take a really dirty ring and blast it. After the gunk flies
everywhere, including all over you, you will be happy to have an
ultrasonic! Seriously though, steamers are good for specialized
cleaning cleaning applications and are useful when you are done with
a job and want no water spots on your work. Still, a really dirty
item will tend to have the dirt shoved or blasted to a spot that the
steamer may not be able to reach. There is nothing as fast and
vigorously effective as an ultrasonic in good working condition. And
let’s face it, we need to get jobs done as quickly as possible.

When cleaning a piece of jewelry, you need an item as close to
surgically clean as is reasonably possible. Steamers will not give
you this. The day will come when you torch a steamed item only to
find that bits of grease and dirt have burned a stain into it. It
will take four times as long to remove the stain as it would have if
you had soaked it in an ultrasonic. Then you’ll gain a new
appreciation for this little machine. (Hmmm…do I hear the echo of
experiance here) In fact, not only do I use an ultrasonic and
steamer, I also at times will use a rectifier and electrocleaning
solution to make sure that all grease is gone. The obvious fact is
that for a lot of work you may only need a steamer, sometimes only an
ultrasonic, but there are times when you need both.

Larry Seiger

4

Regis, Great investment. Here is but one of many lessons learned
about steamers during my apprenticeship. This a very general rule of
thumb to follow. The ultrasonic removes dirt and polishing compounds
The steamer is used to remove the ultrasonic solution.

John Sholl
Littleton, Co

5 
In fact, not only do I use an ultrasonic and steamer, I also at
times will use a rectifier and electrocleaning solution to make sure
that all >grease is gone.

This caught my attention because I have a rectifier for anodizing
titanium. I know there are many different rectifiers–but could mine
be retrofitted to do cleaning? Anybody know whether and how(bearing in
mind that I’m “good with my hands,” and willing to attempt almost
anything, but pretty ignorant about electrical theory)?

I love this forum!!
Noel