Is De-Ionized Water Needed for Ultrasonic Cleaning?

The use of de-ionized water can improve the performance of ultrasonic cleaning systems and for rinsing components that have been cleaned. The use of ordinary water is adequate for cleaning lightly contaminated parts or for parts that can withstand robust cleaning. A mild detergent or the application of heat may be needed when cleaning heavily contaminated parts or fragile parts. For parts that cannot withstand mild detergent or heat, the use de-ionized water is the best way to speed up the cleaning process and to ensure even and thorough cleaning.



Ordinary water naturally comes with traces of impurities. To turn ordinary water into de-ionized water, it is first filtered to remove organic matter. Then it is passed through an ion exchange bed. The ion exchange resins attract an remove the dissolved ions which produces very pure water.



De-ionized water helps the performance of ultrasonic cleaning systems in a number of ways. As it doesn't contain contaminants, ultrasonic cleaning applications using de-ionized water and detergents are more effective. The detergents maintain their cleaning power due to the absence of impurities of de-ionized water. Once the detergents are used, the cleaning solution has to be rinsed off after cleaning is done.



If the rinsing is done with de-ionized water, it doesn't leave any residue when dry. Ordinary water, on the other hand, leaves traces of impurities such as salts or organic films on cleaned parts.



Parts such as machined components or metal parts can have metallic dust on the surfaces. The microscopic cavitation bubbles produced by the ultrasonic cleaning systems can dislodge the dust particles and de-ionized water quickly absorbs all the metallic ions which dissolve in the cleaning solution. This type of cleaning application benefits from the use of de-ionized water but the detergents and heating are not needed.



Kaijo offers a free consultation to ensure that their ultrasonic cleaning systems meet a customer’s cleaning requirements.  For more details read the complete blog article, “Is De-Ionized Water Needed for Ultrasonic Cleaning?”  Contact Kaijo Shibuya at 408-675-5575 or email info@kaijo-shibuya.com if you can questions or need a free consultation to discuss your specific ultrasonic cleaning needs.