Opinions on ultrasonic cleaners for reeds

[cass]

Hello all. I have several accordions' worth of reeds to clean and have been considering buying an ultrasonic cleaner. Scrubbing the reeds by hand gets old pretty quickly but I have found some members believe that to be the best method. From the on-line research I have done, it seems that cheap ultrasonic models (less than $100 or so) are hit and miss, usually only lasting a few cleanings. More expensive cleaners, $500 or so and up, look to be more reliable (no surprise there). Several questions for the community. Of those folks who use ultrasonic cleaners, do you feel they are worth the investment? Is the cleaning satisfactory? Have your reeds been damaged by the cleanings? If you needed to replace your ultrasonic, would you? For the folks who don't use them, are there reasons other than cost not to? Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[Dingo40]

A sales point may be, you can use them to clean your wife's jewellery!
I wonder if they'd work on one's dentures?
Well I never!
Apparently they do.
Another selling point!
See here:

Google Search

And this too:
"People also ask
Can I put my eyeglasses in an ultrasonic ?
Yes ,ultrasonic cleaning of glasses is a very effective method . It is possible to see the particales of contamination, ( dirt ) migrating from all the surfaces of the glasses , including the hinges . It also is a spectacular way to clean jewelry."

 

[cass]

All very valid points. My perch on the decision fence has just become more precarious!

 

[losthobos]

I have an ultrasonic cleaner for work....to clean podiatry instruments before I sterilise them......
I would not put my girls jewelry there for cleaning if I wanted the stones to remain in place during the process......
I don't imagine reeds need to be squeaky clean....but perhaps the nail holding them in place doesn't want to be loosened either....

 

[Mike t.]

I’ve used an industrial ultrasonic for cleaning filters, pump parts and hard to take-apart widgets. There is a bunch of different chemicals cleaners we added depending on the metal or plastic in the parts being cleaned. I’ve see a carburetor someone dropped in destroyed by using the wrong cleaner. More of a chemical reaction than the ultrasonic cleaners fault.

 

[Dingo40]

I would not put my girls jewelry there for cleaning if I wanted the stones to remain in place during the process...

Commercial jewellers use them all the time, as far as I know.

 

[Caps]

A sales point may be, you can use them to clean your wife's jewellery!
I wonder if they'd work on one's dentures?
Well I never!
Apparently they do.
Another selling point!
See here:

Can I put my eyeglasses in an ultrasonic ?
Yes ,ultrasonic cleaning of glasses is a very effective method . It is possible to see the particales of contamination, ( dirt ) migrating from all the surfaces of the glasses , including the hinges . It also is a spectacular way to clean jewelry."

I would not recommend putting your good pair of glasses in an ultrasonic cleaner. I tried it by putting two old pairs of glasses in my cleaner and while it cleaned the frames nicely, it wrecked the lenses. Both the sunglasses and the clear lenses had the non glare and UV protective coatings removed by the cleaning solution after being in it for about 20 minutes. I used Distilled water with a little lens cleaner solution that I got from the optometrist near me. Might have worked better with just water and a couple drops of detergent. Don't know as I have no more old pairs of glasses to try it with. It may be that my machine was a bit too heavy duty as it is made to clean firearms. It's large enough to hold two handguns at a time and holds about a gallon of solution. Works great for jewelry and small machinery parts though.

 

[jollyrogeraccordions]

Used by clock and watch repairers. I have a small one and it does bring up the reeds nice *after* you have scraped off glue/wax and any light corrosion. So most of the time it was just an extra step that I no longer bother with…it's extra work and faff. It doesn't remove stubborn glue and wax, at least not the little one I bought. It is however very good at cleaning glasses (eye glasses), metal watch straps, clogged fountain pens etc. Blast reeds with a hair dryer after you've cleaned them (also standard clock repair practice - my dad was a clock repairer).

 

[KiwiSqueezer]

I admit to having no practical experience of ultrasonic cleaners, but I've done a bit of research because I will probably buy one soon. My application will be small mechanisms and machine components, from which I want to remove dirt and grime, but probably not for attempting to remove corrosion, and also probably not for reeds.

The cleaners' action is twofold: the mechanical (hydraulic?) scrubbing action resulting from cavitation, and the chemical effects of the cleaning solutions. It's the solutions which worry me. There's a large choice, and the right choice may not be obvious. The 'corrosion removers' have a chemical action. The problem is that if any of the dissolved chemicals remain between plate and tongue, there's a considerable risk of moisture or condensation, at some later time, setting up an electrochemical corrosion cell between the dissimilar metals of the reed plate, tongue and rivet. The same goes for simply dunking reed plates into a rust-remover. I suppose very thorough rinsing with distilled water might be effective, but is it worth the risk? It seems that ultrasonic cleaners may not be good at removing wax residue, so you're going to have to do a moderate amount of hand work on the reeds anyway. Whatever you do, it's going to be a long job...

It's possible to get 2 mm diameter glass-fibre cleaning 'brushes' in the form of refills for a holder like a clutch pencil, and (rather expensive) ceramic abrasive 'sticks' of smaller diameter, for similar holders. They both easily reach the tongue deep in the reed plate and deal with corrosion admirably. Try Cousins or Walsh in UK.

 

[cass]

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies. I was hoping to avoid the long hours involved in scrubbing reeds. fortunately, those that I have are not corroded so I am only dealing with years of grunge. I have been using isopropyl alcohol soaks and rinses with lots of scrubbing. that works but slowly.

 

[Mike t.]

I admit to having no practical experience of ultrasonic cleaners, but I've done a bit of research because I will probably buy one soon. My application will be small mechanisms and machine components, from which I want to remove dirt and grime, but probably not for attempting to remove corrosion, and also probably not for reeds.

The cleaners' action is twofold: the mechanical (hydraulic?) scrubbing action resulting from cavitation, and the chemical effects of the cleaning solutions. It's the solutions which worry me. There's a large choice, and the right choice may not be obvious. The 'corrosion removers' have a chemical action. The problem is that if any of the dissolved chemicals remain between plate and tongue, there's a considerable risk of moisture or condensation, at some later time, setting up an electrochemical corrosion cell between the dissimilar metals of the reed plate, tongue and rivet. The same goes for simply dunking reed plates into a rust-remover. I suppose very thorough rinsing with distilled water might be effective, but is it worth the risk? It seems that ultrasonic cleaners may not be good at removing wax residue, so you're going to have to do a moderate amount of hand work on the reeds anyway. Whatever you do, it's going to be a long job...

It's possible to get 2 mm diameter glass-fibre cleaning 'brushes' in the form of refills for a holder like a clutch pencil, and (rather expensive) ceramic abrasive 'sticks' of smaller diameter, for similar holders. They both easily reach the tongue deep in the reed plate and deal with corrosion admirably. Try Cousins or Walsh in UK.

I’ve used those glass fiber brushes, they work good, some solvents work better than others some are pretty volatile. I would try acetone but follow the precautions, gloves, ventilation for sure and fire hazard ect… wicked stuff. Might try soaking a few over night to see if it dissolves wax.

 

[cass]

Hi mike i've had success with the IPA cleaning the wax i try to reserve the acetone as a very last resort as it is truly nasty used it to clean table saw blade took off all markings smell is awful as well