So based on feedback I’ve gotten here, I’ve decided to abandon my traditionally ineffective way of cleaning stainless steel watch bracelets with soap and a toothbrush in favor of a small ultrasonic unit. Two questions:

Time for complete cleaning: with a ring, I get it - you stick it in, clean it, then inspect it to see if it’s clean. With a watch bracelet, there are many nooks and crannies that can’t be readily seen. So, is there a typical cleaning time you experienced ultrasonicers use that pretty much insures a complete clean, or do you clean, clean again, and keep cleaning until there is no dirt present in the reservoir?

The directions say to use water. I know some add a few drops of dishwashing liquid, Mr. Clean, or dedicated ultrasonic solution. What do you use and have had success with? I also hear anecdotally that hot water works better than room temp. Thanks for your suggestions.

 

Depends on how crusted on the muck & DNA is. I rarely find that ultrasonic alone gets everything off and still use a brush to get in all the nooks and crannies.

I use an ultrasonic specific concentrate called seaclean - I also place a small glass bowl in the cleaner to put the parts in, it uses less of the concentrate (it's just in the bowl and not the whole cleaner)

 

Ultrasonic cleaning is not the complete answer for cleaning expansion bracelets. Non-expansion bracelets (I. e. chain link styles) do come out cleaner, generally. But the links on an expansion bracelet (Scissor type or ladder type) fill up with crud over years, And 15 minutes in an ultrasonic machine will not purge the accumulation. A combination of cleaning machine, brush scrub, and compressed air will do about the best clean you’ll get. And these cheap drugstore ultrasonics used to clean jewellery and false teeth are not powerful enough for bracelets.

 

I had a reasonable amount of success cleaning crud of bracelets with this affordable unit - but as @Canuck mentions it’s nottremendously powerful

I’m considering an upgrade and haven’t had this particular unit for long, so you can tell how I feel about it.

Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaner,CJ-008 Ultrasonic Cleaning Machine for Jewelry Watch Glasses False Teeth (US Plug) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082J43YH7/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_m6M0EbQ75QT7B

 

To clean an Omega flat-link completely then, does one have to disassemble the spring links completely to get all the debris inside them?

 

Try compressed air, extend the bracelet, and direct the air along the edge. Take the bracelet apart to get it 99% clean? Your OCD is showing.

 

Yes. You can get a lot out with ultrasonic cleaning and brushing, but there will still be dirt inside. If you want to go one step further, the common additional item used by professionals is a steam cleaner.

 

I find 15 minutes with 50C water and a dash of "Dawn", maybe a quarter teaspoon is adequate. In the UK it's called "Fairy Liquid". My ultrasonic isn't commercial but far better than the plastic things sold at jewelry and hardware stores. It's supposedly rated at 60 w on the driver and another 50 w on the heater. I find it not as noisy as my Watchmaster but then the container is much larger.



I've taken a couple tube and pin joints apart to check my work. I think it's far cleaner than I could have gotten with a toothbrush as the toothbrush doesn't get into the spaces between pin, tube and link. I'm sure there are applications where a brush would do better, for instance the underside of a bezel that I had to leave in the ultrasonic for a full hour to get clean. It also cleaned the filling out of the number engravings.

 

I have one of those cheap plastic numbers, which works good enough. The very first time I used it, a fair amount of gunk was left behind.

But I'm OCD enough to clean my bracelets fairly often, so now the gunk doesn't have a change to get built-up. And I usually just use a toothbrush for most cleanings.

To answer the OP's original question, my cleaner has a 4 minute cycle, and I run stuff through twice.

 

Thanks. I hear some go as long as 15 minutes for something really grimy.

 

May I ask, has anyone used cola (coke) or water with some vinegar before as solution for cleaning the bracelet?
Thanks

 

Or the milk froth wand from a coffee machine if your in a pinch.

Use this for the odd thing

 

Or your wife’s dishwasher!

 

Yep!

 

I'M my wife's (fiancée's) dishwasher.