Why every drummer should think about getting an ultrasonic cleaner...

[smittyboy63]

I bought this ultrasonic cleaner years ago to clean jewelry. I learned about them years ago working in graphics. We use to use it for cleaning our technical pens...getting all the clogged india ink out of the tips. Anyway, upon getting back into playing drums again, I decided to THOROUGHLY clean my kit as fine as humanly possible. Been working on it for almost two weeks now, a little bit every night. Last night, I took apart my 15" rack tom...removed the rims, and unscrewed all the lugs so I could shine them up. This morning I took the 16 tension rods, and the screw and washers from the lugs, and dropped them into my ultrasonic cleaner...filled it up with hot water, added 3 drops of dish soap, and just a little sprinkle of Bar Keeper's Friends. Ran the cleaner twice for around 5 minutes each time.

Look at this water...and this is just from 16 tension rods and the screw and washers from the lugs....ewwwwww!
Look how dirty the water is and the grime on the sides...

My tension rods, washer and screws are gonna be sparkling now...I've done this with my entire kit.

I also dropped my snare throw into it, and it looks like a sparkling jewel now. You should have seen it before.

 

[crash]

To each their own. I'm just not that possessed by it. I give it a wipe down every so often with Pledge. Good enough for me. It's not surgery equipment.........

 

[blueasajewel]

I bought this ultrasonic cleaner years ago to clean jewelry. I learned about them years ago working in graphics. We use to use it for cleaning our technical pens...getting all the clogged india ink out of the tips. Anyway, upon getting back into playing drums again, I decided to THOROUGHLY clean my kit as fine as humanly possible. Been working on it for almost two weeks now, a little bit every night. Last night, I took apart my 15" rack tom...removed the rims, and unscrewed all the lugs so I could shine them up. This morning I took the 16 tension rods, and the screw and washers from the lugs, and dropped them into my ultrasonic cleaner...filled it up with hot water, added 3 drops of dish soap, and just a little sprinkle of Bar Keeper's Friends. Ran the cleaner twice for around 5 minutes each time.

Look at this water...and this is just from 16 tension rods and the screw and washers from the lugs....ewwwwww!
Look how dirty the water is and the grime on the sides...

My tension rods, washer and screws are gonna be sparkling now...I've done this with my entire kit.

View attachment 742423

View attachment 742425

I also dropped my snare throw into it, and it looks like a sparkling jewel now. You should have seen it before.

View attachment 742427

Great idea! When I do go to that length, I clean them by hand and it takes a while because I get bored and lose interest!

 

[1988fxlr]

I’ve been wanting to get one for years, mostly for carburetors. I really need to pull the trigger

 

[Talktotommy]

If you’re gonna take the time to disassemble everything and clean it, you might as well do it the best way with the least amount of work and a good ultrasonic cleaner is it.

 

[smittyboy63]

If you’re gonna take the time to disassemble everything and clean it, you might as well do it the best way with the least amount of work and a good ultrasonic cleaner is it.

True 'dat. The only thing you end up having to do is take a paper towel to all the tension rods, squeeze your fingernail into the thread, and un-twirl it down to the end...removes all the crud jammed into the threads.

 

[smittyboy63]

I give it a wipe down every so often with Pledge. Good enough for me. It's not surgery equipment.........

I did that for years when I was still playing, but when your kit has been sitting in storage for 13 years, you need to clean it up better then just a simple wipe-down with paper towels and Windex...as that just wasn't cutting it AT ALL this time around. There comes a time when every kit needs a REALLY GOOD cleaning, unless the grunge doesn't bother you, and you sell it and buy another kit, which alot of folks do, but my old kit is a 10-piece, and those kits cost a fortune nowadays (brand new), so this 45 year-old set deserved a much needed THOROUGH cleaning, and it is getting it.

 

[bpaluzzi]

I second the recommendation for the ultrasonic cleaner. I use mine with Evaporust as the liquid and it gets old drums looking brand new again. I put all the tension rods and small parts into the cleaner w/ evaporust, and clean the lugs and hoops w/ hot water + aluminum foil.

Rinse them all off, stick them in the oven at ~150 degrees for 30 minutes to make sure every speck of water is off, and you're all set.

 

[crash]

I did that for years when I was still playing, but when your kit has been sitting in storage for 13 years, you need to clean it up better then just a simple wipe-down with paper towels and Windex...as that just wasn't cutting it AT ALL this time around. There comes a time when every kit needs a REALLY GOOD cleaning, unless the grunge doesn't bother you, and you sell it and buy another kit, which alot of folks do, but my old kit is a 10-piece, and those kits cost a fortune nowadays (brand new), so this 45 year-old set deserved a much needed THOROUGH cleaning, and it is getting it.

Mine's pretty old. 1959 bass and snare. Unknown vintage toms. But, it's a "player's kit". Sounds good, but nothing I could ever do to make it a collectable looking piece!

 

[DrumheadPirate]

What other "agents" have you all used in your ultrasonic cleaner? I just experimented with water and a few drops of Dawn. It cleaned up OK but not as good as I had hoped. This was just some tension rods, a throw and butt. I have used Evaporust on things other than drum hardware before but not in an ultrasonic machine. Sounds like a very good combination.

 

[jmcohen]

I use about an ounce of Dawn. Squirt it in there and away we go.

 

[smittyboy63]

What other "agents" have you all used in your ultrasonic cleaner?

I use very warm water...NOT HOT, but VERY warm...with a drizzle of Dawn and a good sprinkle of Bar Keeper's Friend. Think of it like cleaning silverware in a dishwasher...the water can't be cold or it won't clean well. Also, when I do this I run the ultrasonic cleaner for 5 minutes...then let it all sit and soak for 5 minutes...then a second cleaning for another 5 minutes...then sit and soak for another 5 minutes...then a third cleaning for 5 more minutes. That usually does the job. You will find that the tension rods will still have some gunk on them though. So, take them out of the cleaner, run them under clean warm water, then take each one separately, press onto the top of the thread with a paper towel (jamming your fingernail into the thread), and use your fingernail to "unscrew" them, twirling them with your other hand, all the way down to the ends. You'll be surprised just how dirty the paper towel is when you're done all the rods. It'll be a mess, but your rods will look great. Then get some white lithium grease, put a dab on the end of the rod, then screw them back into the lugs. This worked for me beautifully. Hope this helps.

 

[CC Cirillo]

Great results.

I’ve always wanted one.

But…but…BuT…BUT…it’s removing all the mojo….