Shopping at LEGO or Amazon?
Please use our links:
LEGO.com •
Amazon
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Cleaning lego with an ultrasonic cleaner
I was cleaning my Lego with a soft toothbrush and a little bit of detergent and letting it air dry. This is incredibly laborious and takes so long with the amount I have it will be like painting the Forth Bridge.
I'm considering investing in an ultrasonic cleaner. I like the idea that it doesn't take any effort on my part (dunk it in and walk away). They seem to vary wildly in price. I would like to hear from anybody that has used one to clean Lego. Is it effective? What are the pros and cons? What features should I be looking for in an US cleaner? Do you use plain water or some sort of mix? Which model did you buy and what do you like and dislike about it? Is it noisy?
Thanks.
0
Shopping at LEGO.com or Amazon?
Please use our links: LEGO.com • Amazon
Recent discussions •
Categories •
Privacy Policy •
Brickset.com
Comments
Why would you need to scrub your collection with a toothbrush? Or are you cleaning up a bulk purchase previously owned by a red-headed step child?
I'd also like to know if an ultrasonic cleaner would work.
Thanks. I have seen that video. It seems to be fairly effective but I was curious to hear from somebody with more experience.
I agree. Completely useless.
Definitely DO NOT put Lego in a dryer! Just lay out on a towel to air dry.
This probably shows an ignorance of how US cleaners work more than anything else.
For example :
Funny, along with a few others, I have the exact same piece in a takeaway container roughly the same size on my desk right now waiting to be cleaned!
I can see the usefulness of these. A bit bigger would be preferable, but even though it takes a 3 minutes rather than a few seconds with a toothbrush, you can just leave it and do other stuff. Cleaning a bulk lot with a toothbrush can get very tedious and sore on the fingers - more so than putting a new pile in the water every now and again.
You can get a 9L for £150. For example: https://www.amazon.co.uk/GT-Ultrasonic-Stainless-Transducer-Adjutable/dp/B01M0H3BUT/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494324858&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=ultrasonic+cleaner&th=1
Is my time worth £150? If it's effective, yes.
Overall how good a job does it do? Are there any issues with overcrowding the Lego pieces causing a less effective clean?
I think I'm going to give that one a whirl at some point. I'm just aware that it will be expensive to return if it doesn't do a very good job, it will be heavy and bulky.
Please let us know how it goes. I had never considered cleaning my dirty LEGO using this technique before I read this thread, but am now very tempted....
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/dolfi-next-gen-washing-device-design-travel--2#/
Looks to be a better value as it can be used in different sized containers. Not sure it's available yet tho. The project was successfully funded last year.
It's been done before and it didn't turn out too well.
First off, nobody with any inkling of how to treat stained clothing would go about washing in that way, in a traditional washing machine let alone using ultrasonics. Adding that much detergent to such a small volume of washing can actually inhibit effectively cleaning the clothes. No pre-soak, no changing out the water which would be necessary for that level of soiling.
Secondly, observing the resulting wave action of the device in that video isn't much different from how the conventional ultrasonic baths perform as seen in the other posted videos in this thread. If your LEGO are covered in mustard and ketchup then ok, maybe this isn't going to work so well.
I'm still interested to see how it would perform on LEGO in reasonable cleaning applications.
My considerable Lego collection on open display doesn’t get dusted. Dust has been building up for an awful long time, so much that it starts to form a ‘greasy’ film. If you haven’t dusted something in a long time you know what I’m talking about. I was looking for a shortcut to bulk clean my Lego that didn’t involve considerable effort and would not damage anything.
I had been watching the price of a GT Sonic 6L ultrasonic cleaner on Camelcamelcamel, waiting for a good deal. I managed to buy one from Amazon for £72.
I added some dish washing liquid, heated the water up to 50C and set the timer for 45 minutes. I put it through two cycles because I wanted to give it the best possible chance to work. When pulled out the Lego still had the film on it but it was very quick and easy to wipe it off with a cloth or paper towel, and then rinse under a tap (rinsing alone did not remove the film).
I then did another run with the same parts (symmetrical model), with dishwashing liquid, heating the water to 50C but no ultrasonic cleaning. The result for all intents and purposes was identical.
My conclusion is that an ultrasonic cleaner does not work for cleaning Lego. But just soaking it in warm water and dishwashing liquid does(ish).
I’m assuming the people posting videos on YouTube showing ultrasonic cleaning never attempted a control test.
We appreciate your sacrifice and news report. Not all heroes wear capes.
My current strategy is long soaks in warm soapy water, rinse, wipe them off with a towel, then dry. I can run several batches at once and can move through a rather large bin over a short amount of time.
Bummer your ultrasonic option didn't end up working out. It would have been a worth-while investment had it done the trick!
(I would just get her a hoverboard.)
She doesn't like heels. Besides, the floor is tiled.
(I would just get her a hoverboard.)
She would like a hoverboard but she'd spill every dish she cooks going back and forth from the sink to the stove.
Does the Ford Superduty in your profile pic come with a rope ladder for her to get in?
I don't lift my trucks so it's stock height. She doesn't mind driving them but prefers her Jeep.
Trampoline.
We do have a trampoline ( I won't abbreviate that one when discussing my wife).