Thread: WTH did my sonic cleaner do to my blade?

Tap water is not recommended for several reasons, firstly the pH level is likely to be low (acidic) or high (alkaline), and secondly it may have minerals and metal deposits in it. The liquid should be pH neutral at 7 on the pH scale. Proper distillation of water achieves that, or you can buy neutral us cleaning fluid with surfactants, anticorrosion and stain remover already in it.

Dissimilar metals, eg steel, brass pins and lead washers should not really be cleaned in an us machine as plating may occur.

Yellow- brown and light orange marks are rarely rust, if rubbing hard with a pencil eraser removes the discolouration it was just a stain, usually induced by high pH, whereas if any pitting remains then it was rust.

Leaving steel in an acidic or alkaline water will rust it, especially if it is for 10 mins, which is plain common sense. The rust is usually darker brown and may be blackish or have black dots, though.

It usually helps to read the instructions first and stick to recommended cleaning products.

Regards,
Neil