Buy It And Try It: The Ultrasonic Cleaner

It's valuable, it's sentimental, and can be a challenge to keep shiny. Ted Grebitus should know. In the jewelry business for 30-years, he runs Grebitus and Sons Fine Jewelry at the Downtown Plaza. "If you take care of them, they last longer, they look nicer, and will be more fun to wear," said Grebitus.

We asked him to help us out testing the Ultra Sonic Cleaner. In just three minutes sonic waves and water are supposed to clean things like waterproof watches, rings, even eyeglasses. But right away Ted is concerned the machine could damage a watch. "If the seals weren't brand new and really able to protect the watch, it could get a leak and ruin it," said Grebitus.

We find two grimy rings, and I'll take one for the team sacrificing my pretty dirty watch. The watch hasn't been cleaned in a year. Ted can tell a lot about me, just by looking at the dirt build-up. "This watch is evidently worn by an individual who doesn't care about a lot of things," said Grebitus.

We drop in the watch, and the two rings, and add water. "Press on, then start the cleaning," said Grebitus.

You can hear the vibrating and keep an eye on your jewelry through a window. Three minutes later it automatically shuts off. We check it out. The jewelry comes out a bit shinier, but both rings and the watch still have dirt on them. "There's still a little bit of residue on the back of the stones," said Grebitus.

But the directions say we can add detergent, maybe that'll work better. It doesn't come with any, so Ted finds some and we try it again. Three minutes later the water is noticeably dirty. "The water looks like it has contaminates floating around in it," said Grebitus.

But he points out the rings appear just as dirty. The grime came off the watch. "Just a little bit in the very recessed corners, otherwise it looks pretty clean," said Grebitus.

Ted takes the rings into the back, where we can't go for insurance reasons, to use his professional grade cleaner and sure enough they come back sparkling! This is his best advice for anyone thinking of buying the ultrasonic cleaner. "It may not be perfect, but it'll help more than it'll hurt, if it's used wisely," said Grebitus.

The machine we bought costs $30. If you buy one of these machines, it's a good idea to call a jeweler to make sure it's o.k. to put your stuff into this type of machine.