How to Determine the Right Ultrasonic Cleaning Solution
Buying decision of an ultrasonic cleaner is crucial, and should serve your cleaning needs. Choosing the right cleaning agent is as important as purchasing the best ultrasonic cleaner that answers all the cleaning needs and requirements. When operated at the right frequency with a compatible cleaning agent, an ultrasonic cleaner enhances the scrubbing activity of the cavitation bubbles. You must also take into consideration a few other factors. Some of these include the tolerance of the equipment or object to heat, the kind of dirt to be removed (it could be either non-oily or oily) and the properties of the cleaning solution. At no point in time should the ultrasonic cleaner react with the items being cleaned. This can damage the equipment and render them useless forever.
Ultrasonic cleaners used for household purposes don’t usually necessitate any specialized cleaning solutions. However, for professional and industrial uses, care must be taken to ensure that you buy the right type of ultrasonic cleaner only after weighing in all considerations and needs.
Ultrasonic cleaning solutions have four main types. These are acidic, alkaline, mildly alkaline and neutral. Acidic cleaning solutions are used for cleaning heavy-duty equipment like those made of ferrous materials. These solutions remove the mineral deposits and rust from iron. Objects made of glass, plastic and rubber must be cleaned using neutral cleaning solutions. Organic compounds, pigments, grease, soil and other impurities can be removed from the surface easily. To remove dust, soot and oil from metallic surfaces, mildly alkaline ultrasonic cleaning solutions are the best bet.
The same cleaning solution can be used for multiple cycles of ultrasonic cleaning. Glass, ceramic, semiprecious metals, jewelry and tools used in the lab need ammonia-based alkaline solutions. But these solutions are not suitable for cleaning aluminum and zinc. You should never pour hydrochloric, nitric, formic, hydrofluoric, or sulfuric acid directly into the stainless steel cleaning tank of the ultrasonic cleaner without using a plastic tub to cover the entire stainless steel portion. Flammable solvents should not be used in ultrasonic cleaning.
Ultrasonic cleaners blast the dirt, oil, grime, soil, pigments, etc off the surface of the materials and devices to be cleaned through waves between the frequency range of twenty to four hundred kilohertz. These are called ultrasonic waves and as they travel through the liquid cleaning agent that is poured into the single-layered stainless steel cleaning tank or chamber of the ultrasonic cleaner, they produce microscopic bubbles. These high energy bubbles are created through the process of cavitation. So, based on the working principle of the ultrasonic cleaner, the liquid cleaning solution to be used as a cleaning medium must ensure thorough cleaning and also, it must not harm the equipment that is to be cleaned.
This article was written by Dr. Bob Sandor, a Director at Tovatech, a leading North American supplier of analytical balances. When not busy running his company, he explores his fascination with the many aspects of various scientific & industrial devices. For more information on this article visit the Tovatech site from any of the above links.