Inside this parcel is a digital ultrasonic cleaner.
There is not much digital about it, however. It’s your common ultrasonic cleaner that you may find at a jewelry workshop. It is mostly used to clean personal items such as watches, jewelry, glasses, hygiene products like toothbrushes and razors, shaver and trimmer heads that are capable of wet shaving, and also electrical components and mechanical parts, among other things.
The device is very well-packaged, comes with a printed instruction manual, and includes a basket and a holder—more about that later. The materials used are mostly plastic, including the top shiny frame. However, the main component—the bath itself—is made of stainless metal.
The digital part is the touch controls and the digital timer, which is used to automatically switch off the device. Since this device requires water, it is nice that the controls are touch-sensitive, making them less susceptible to water damage. In general, this ultrasonic bath looks somewhat similar to a multi-function printer with a built-in scanner, but it is much smaller.
It is powered directly from the mains, and the power lid is detachable, allowing you to swap it easily. However, the voltage and frequency are not selectable, so make sure you order a correctly rated device suitable for your local power grid. Also, ensure you select the correct power plug. Keep in mind that the device’s output power depends on the wall socket voltage. For 100V, you get 30 watts of power; for 120V, you get 35 watts; and for 240V, you get 50 watts, which is what I am using here.
How Ultrasonic Cleaning Works
Before proceeding with the review, it’s worth briefly explaining how ultrasonic cleaning works. This method uses water and sends ultrasonic pulses to it—in this case, at 42 kHz. When something moves rapidly in water, such as the blades of a high-speed boat engine, it creates zones of alternating high and low pressure, forming air bubbles. These bubbles are short-lived, and as they collapse, they generate shock waves. This phenomenon, known as cavitation, is utilized in ultrasonic cleaner baths.
The bottom of the bath vibrates at ultrasonic frequencies, causing cavitation in the water. These shock waves blast away dirt and debris from the objects inside the bath. The best part? No scrubbing is required, and no chemicals are necessary—just water. Because water presses evenly on all surfaces, even objects with complex shapes get thoroughly cleaned without scratching, as long as the water is clean and free from excessive limescale.
A common mistake is placing objects directly on the bath floor. This not only reduces cleaning effectiveness but can also scratch the object, damage the bath, and even loosen gemstones from jewelry. The correct way is to suspend the object in the middle of the bath. The included basket and stand help with this, but the basket does absorb some ultrasonic energy, reducing effectiveness by about a third. The arched shape of the stand is designed for cleaning watches so that only the bracelet is submerged while the mechanism stays above water—since water may enter even waterproof watches in an ultrasonic bath.
Pro Tip for Better Cleaning
Adding just a drop of dishwashing soap or liquid hand wash to the water helps emulsify dirt, preventing it from resettling on the object. There are also special ultrasonic cleaning solutions available. If you use these, it’s a good practice to rinse the bath with clean water afterward and run the device for about 10 minutes to remove any residue.
Testing the Cleaner
For testing, I used some gold and silver earrings (courtesy of my wife) and some cufflinks that had been exposed to a salty climate for a week. Cleaning silver with chemicals is tedious, so I was eager to see how well the ultrasonic cleaner performed.
I placed the jewelry in the included basket, filled the bath with clean water, added dish soap, turned on the device, and set the timer. The maximum timer setting is 600 seconds (10 minutes). When operational, the bath emits a distinct but not annoying sound and has an inbuilt fan to cool the internals. Water also heats up slightly due to cavitation, the same principle used in ultrasonic humidifiers.
After the first run, the earring locks became loose, indicating that something was happening. However, the jewelry didn’t seem entirely clean, so I ran the bath two more times for a total of 30 minutes. Since the basket absorbs some of the ultrasonic energy, I also tried suspending the items using the included arch for better exposure.
The items definitely looked cleaner—mainly because body oils, sweat, and grease were removed. However, tarnish, which is a chemical reaction (oxidation), remained. To remove tarnish, a specialized cleaning solution would be required, which I did not have.
I also tested the cleaner on personal hygiene items, including Oral-B and Philips electric toothbrush heads and Invisalign braces. The ultrasonic bath worked perfectly on these, making daily cleaning much easier. Additionally, I cleaned parts from my atomizer, which typically require tedious cleaning with cotton buds. The ultrasonic bath made this process effortless—after 10 minutes, the parts looked brand new.
Final Thoughts
If you receive a new device meant for oral use, it’s a good idea to clean it in an ultrasonic bath first to remove any manufacturing residue.
Overall, you can use this cleaner for various items, from jewelry to small mechanical parts. While it excels at removing biological debris like grease and grime, it won’t remove chemical tarnish from metals. That said, I’m very happy with this device and its performance.